Trent Lott's Debacle - Now, Bush Must Act

December 14th, 2002 | Sabertooth

[Eva]

I was going to say that asking Lott to step down is best left to the party and it should be for alot of reasons, not just the Thurmond remarks. The birthday remarks were only the icing on the cake, so to speak. We dislike Lott for alot more than his stupid, ill thought out remarks.

Let's let him know.

P.S. Don't forget that Clinton was quoted in Lani Guiniere's book, making a similar, but worse remark to Lott's. Too bad the book is out of print and Guiniere is conveniently out of the country.

[Texasforever]

How will you react when a person you like has been found to make a similar "stupid and ill thought out remark"?

[Sabertooth]

Reagan was called a lot of things but not a "racist".

Don't you remember when Jimmy "ethnic purity" Carter accused Reagan of using racist code words during campaign speeches in the 1980 campaign?

Ron Jr. was so ticked off by it, there was a flap over whether he'd shake Carter's hand on Inauguration Day.

[TLBSHOW]

He won't srep down. Much to the shock of posters at FR.

[Torie]

Well here is something I think we can agree on. I pray that the Dems pursue a censure motion. That will backfire hugely, and Lott will be home free. Alas, it won't happen. The Dems are not that dumb. And censuring someone for expressing their political views, however unacceptable, assuming that is what Lott was doing, which he really wasn't, at least with mens rea, is totally foreign to a democracy.

[wardaddy]

Ugh....I hope not.

Frist would be my first choice.....not just because his cousin here is my wife's doctor..lol

[Sabertooth]

No he will step down. No man alive can withstand this type of public humiliation and survive politically except Bill Clinton.

Give that man a cigar.

Oh... sorry.

[TLBSHOW]

McConnell, the incoming GOP whip, said in Kentucky that Lott's remarks on Friday in Mississippi should be the end of the controversy.

"There are prominent Democrats who have said much worse things within the last year and a half, who apologized one time and it was over," McConnell said in a reference to Byrd. "And I think that should be our approach here."

Byrd's staff had no immediate comment on McConnell's remarks.

The Congressional Black Caucus has called for a formal censure of Lott, and sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Friday that Senate Democrats were considering the possibility of seeking a vote.

"This is a forgiving country," McConnell said. "He (Lott) knows he made a big mistake. It's time to forgive him and to move on. And I think he can still be a very effective majority leader in the Senate."

Several other Republican senators, including John Warner of Virginia and Peter Fitzgerald of Illinois, joined the "enough is enough" chorus.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20021215/ap_on_go_co/lott_19

[Torie]

Didn't Reagan start his campaign in Nesoba, or whatever it was called, where the 3 freedom fighters were killed, at the behest of Lott, and get a lot of flack for it? Or was that Nixon or someone else?

[TLBSHOW]

its over saber and torie, Lott isn't going anywhere!

[wardaddy]

Nice picks ..

Thanks.

[Texasforever]

He won't srep down. Much to the shock of posters at FR.

We said the same thing about Newt and Livingston. TLB he can't withstand this, he just does not have enough goodwill and a party with grit to survive. The shame is that no matter who replaces him, they will not dare challenge the democrats for fear of being hung out to dry alone. Republicans are so cowed that I wonder why the hell they even try to gain the majority.

[GOPyouth]

I haven't had time to read the previous posts, but here goes...

"Segregation is a stain on our nation's soul. There is no other way to describe it. It represents one of our lowest moments in our history."
"I grew up in an environment that condoned policies and views that we now know were wrong and immoral, and I repudiate them. Segregation and racism are immoral."

It's funny how some will jump all over comments that I feel were taken out of context, yet look the other way when he clears up any misunderstanding by his comments by clarifying his stance on the issue at hand.

Senator Lott, who I will be the first to say has made decisions in which I don't agree with (leadership-wise), should have been more aware of statements he was going to make in light of him being the majority leader. That post held by a republican should assume that anything and everything you say will be covered by the press, and misconstrued in anyway possible. So yes, that was an ignorant and stupid mistake upon Senator Lott.

That being said, we know his stance on a terrible part of our history. It's not in support of segregation. But, I will ask my fellow freepers. Does a stance held a man 50 years ago bar somebody from saying any kinds words about him today in 2002? Is Senator Lott banned from praising President Washington? Washington owned slaves. I proud to say that we're pretty dang well off because of his leadership and the other founding fathers. I guess President Bush should resign because he has a portrait of President Washington in the White House. (according to this logic.)

For those who have read any of my posts regarding the civil war will see that I'm very pro-union and am very much against the Democratic south foolishly trying to leave the Union. I'm ashamed of my heritage in that sense. I'm a Southerner and proud to be from Texas, but I'll be the first to stand up against what the South did and the terrible things done to African-Americans afterwards.

This is the year 2002, and I would like to think that most people in power in DC would be against the racism that the South (and north as well) pushed in the past. I know there are some in DC who have shady pasts. Sen. Byrd is one of them. But, I honestly believe that Senator Lott does not support the evils that were done in the past, and his words condemning those actions speak for clearly for themselves.

[TLBSHOW]

Its over Lott isn't going anywhere. If anything Bryd will be censored. MARK MY WORDS I AM ALWAYS RIGHT!

TLBSHOW


"There are prominent Democrats who have said much worse things within the last year and a half, who apologized one time and it was over," McConnell said in a reference to Byrd. "And I think that should be our approach here."

AP

[Sabertooth]

Didn't Reagan start his campaign in Nesoba, or whatever it was called, where the 3 freedom fighters were killed, at the behest of Lott, and get a lot of flack for it?

Yeah, that rings a bell. Can't remember if it was the same speech as the one with Carter's code words. Dunno about Lott's involvement.

Seems to me I recall that Reagan was criticized for lacking the Civil Rights credentials to honor the slain, or speak there, or something along those lines.

[Sabertooth]

If anything Bryd will be censored. MARK MY WORDS I AM ALWAYS RIGHT!

Mark me as skeptical of your words "Bryd" and "censored."

[TLBSHOW]

Lott isn't going nowhere, and after this attempt by you to drag Lott down.

I guess most people in power which as I still recall the 2002 election is the republicans by a landslide have much more sense than you and the other FR attackers have.

Do you really thing Byrd is going to let the rats keep this up against Lott?

[The Great Satan]

Well here is something I think we can agree on. I pray that the Dems pursue a censure motion. That will backfire hugely, and Lott will be home free. Alas, it won't happen. The Dems are not that dumb.

Of course they're not dumb. The heat on Lott is coming from President Bush and from conservative talking heads like Peggy Noonan, Jonah Goldberg, Andrew Sullivan, John Podhoretz, Thomas Sowell, David Horowitz, Michelle Malkin, John McWhorter, Charles Krauthammer, John Fund et al, not from the Democrats. Hillary knows Lott is God's gift to the Democrats. The NYT knows Lott is God's gift to the Democrats. Tom Daschle knows Lott is God's gift to the Democrats. They also know that Lott has a good shot at blackmailing his colleagues into letting him stay on. Why in heaven would they want to mess up a dream scenario like that?

[Eva]

If the remark is a stupid as Lott's, I would have to re-think my opinion of the person, but I don't think that we should allow the Democrats to demogogue this issue as if the Democrats are always right on race. They aren't.

Lott is a whimpy jerk and the remarks he made at Thurmond's party were made out of an egotistic, good old boy feeling of camraderie that I find both repulsive and scarey. But, these good old boys are found on both sides, Democrats and Republicans, alike. Clinton was one of them.

[TLBSHOW]

blackmailing

LOL