[mhking]

It was said by a man from Indiana, apparently free from the influence of the segregationist South, still just a few years beyond the civil rights turmoil of the mid-sixties.

Bull. In those days, Indiana - once outside the urban areas of the state, was percieved (rightly or wrongly) by most as being as prejudiced as depest, darkest Mississippi. And Butz's comments were pointed to as indicative of that mindset.

It was continually pointed out that the home of the KKK was in Plainfield. Ironically, today, Plainfield (in particular, metro Indianapolis in general) is a huge hotbed of Muslim activism in the midwest, with a population penetration second only to Dearborn, MI & the Detroit metropolitan area.

In any event, Butz's comments were used to help reenforce the perception that all Republicans are racist, and Lott's comments will be used the same way today. It's going to be difficult at best for me to overcome this, but I will - in time.

Whether right or wrong, personally, I don't expect Lott to survive the week, in that regard.

[Tall_Texan]

If we have trouble getting black conservatives to look past these comments, imagine how difficult it will be to convince swing voting minorities to look past it? The entire party needs to tackle this, not just Trent Lott because it is the entire party who will face the attacks. And the first thing the party has to do is get Trent Lott out of his leadership post. That should be enough for everyone but the professional poverty pimps.

I'm glad to hear Don Nickles say today he wants a re-vote. The story said he needs four other senators to ask for the same and a vote can be held. Let's not leave it up to Lott to save his own neck. Either the rest of the party has to get behind him and save him (a poor choice in my view) or they need to convince him to step down.