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(V)Earl Butz Revisited - Trent Lott
12-15-02 | Tall_Texan

Posted on 12/14/2002 10:38:23 PM PST by Tall_Texan

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To: mhking
If Lott doesn't leave on his own, the answer is simple. We tell then Lott will resign when Byrd resigns. In fact, if we can get Lott to step down and yet stay in the Senate, I'd hope they'd turn it around on them and said "we disciplined our problem, so why do you still give leadership positions to the Klansmen in your ranks?"
21 posted on 12/15/2002 10:23:56 AM PST by Tall_Texan
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To: Tall_Texan
In fact, if we can get Lott to step down and yet stay in the Senate, I'd hope they'd turn it around on them and said "we disciplined our problem, so why do you still give leadership positions to the Klansmen in your ranks?"

That would be the ideal way to handle it - I'm just hoping we can continue to work with that kind of forethought, as opposed to running off willy-nilly, and allowing the Dems to stay in the driver's seat.

22 posted on 12/15/2002 10:27:14 AM PST by mhking
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To: Tall_Texan
This article was too long to post the whole thing, but it is interesting to read. There is a nice joke he tells about the Clintons at the end of this article. It also has a different question that was supposedly asked to him when he told the joke that got him fired.

http://www.kpcnews.net/special-sections/reflections3/reflections17.html

Hard work, insight enabled Butz to become agricultural leader

By GRACE HOUSHOLDER

Dr. Earl L. Butz's Noble County roots gave him the start he needed to become U.S. secretary of agriculture ... the highest national office any Noble County native has achieved.
Butz held the position under Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford.snip...


He taught at Purdue until 1954 when he went to work for three years for President Dwight D. Eisenhower as assistant secretary of agriculture.

At that time, Butz had developed a reputation around the nation as an advocate of free-market agriculture. Butz served under Ezra Taft Benson who later went on to head the Mormon Church. One of Butz's friends during his service under Eisenhower was Vice President Richard M. Nixon.snip...

President Nixon called on his old friend from his vice president days. He liked Butz's free-market philosophy and knew he had tremendous popularity with American farmers. Butz had also become active in Republican politics.
Butz's goal as secretary of agriculture was to "get the government out of the ag business."snip...

One battle Butz fought as secretary was over the use of nitrates in bacon and sausage as a preservative. A Harvard University study found that nitrates could cause cancer.
"I asked some physician how much nitrosity would I have to ingest to get the same amount, pound for pound, as those laboratory rats at Harvard University," Butz said. "He said I'd have to eat about 15 tons of bacon a day. And I don't care for that much bacon."

Butz was famous for his barbed humor. When asked about the pope's stand on birth control, Butz quipped, "He no playa the game, he no makea the rules!"

Catholics and Italian-Americans howled in protest.
The quip that caused Butz's resignation was his reply to a question about why the Republican Party wasn't attracting more blacks.

Butz apologized for the remark, but it was not enough. Because he did not want the racial slur to hurt Ford's chances for re-election, he resigned and quietly returned to Purdue.snip...

For many years Butz remained active in Republican politics, speaking at Lincoln Day dinners across the country. He also campaigned for Sen. Robert Dole who was seeking the Republican nomination eventually won by George Bush.

Butz, 90, is dean emeritus of agriculture at Purdue. His wife, whom he called "a full partner," died several years ago. Butz lives at Westminister Village, a retirement community about a mile and a half from his office. He goes to his office for a few hours every day.snip...

Butz enjoys good health. His only challenge is a problem with balance, so he uses a cane. "I carry a cane so if I meet a 'Clinton Democrat' I can whack him," he said. "I meet very few of them. They won't admit it."

This article also mentions that he was head of the Mormons for a time.

23 posted on 12/15/2002 7:17:06 PM PST by AUsome Joy
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