Replies

Excellent points. To the left who claim, but many of the racists in their own party aren't in the position of power that Lott is in, I had this to say in today's Washington Times editorial:

While not a fan of Trent Lott, I feel compelled to respond to the selective outrage regarding his comments at Strom Thurmond’s 100th birthday. On May 5, 1993, the Washington Post quoted former President Clinton’s comments at an 88th birthday ceremony for former Arkansas Senator William Fulbright where Clinton bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom on the man he described as a “visionary humanitarian, a steadfast supporter of the values of education, and my mentor."

Of course, the man Clinton was praising was a rabid segregationist. In 1956, Fulbright was one of 19 senators who issued a statement entitled the "Southern Manifesto." This document condemned the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Its signers stated, among other things, that "We commend the motives of those States which have declared the intention to resist forced integration by any lawful means."

Fulbright later voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He voted against the 1965 Voting Rights Act. And he did so because he was a segregationist and believed in separating the races — in schools and other public places.

More recently, in October 2002, Clinton traveled to Arkansas to dedicate a 7 foot bronze statute to Fulbright, and still nothing from the press admonishing Clinton for honoring a racist.

I'm not making excuses for Trent Lott. He should have apologized for his insensitive comments, and he did. Nor am I making excuses for Strom Thurmond's past. I'm questioning the hypocrisy of selective moral outrage by the Left.