Posted on 12/23/2002 8:30:33 PM PST by TLBSHOW
George W. Bush and the Betrayal Of Trent Lott
Being a Texan, I’ve been a Bush fan for a long time. Not that everyone in Texas is a Bush fan, but I’ve supported him and his policies for a long time, reaching back to his days as governor here. I’ve even convinced others to support him. I’ve trusted him to be a strong and fair leader and to appoint other strong and fair leaders. I’ve accepted him at his word when he claims to be a Christian, and a compassionate conservative.
It’s too bad I’ve had to revise my opinion of him lately – not only of him, but many in his own party, and those that claim to be members with the same ideological slant. I am, of course, referring to the actions of those who have twisted the knife in the back of Trent Lott.
Senator Lott has been betrayed. There’s really no other word that can describe the reprehensible actions taken by the people who were supposed to stand up for him.
Don Nickles, Lott’s own deputy, has turned his back on Lott in order to profit from Lott’s downfall. "I am concerned that Senator Lott has been weakened to the point that may jeopardize his ability to enact our agenda and speak to all Americans," Nickles said last week. "There are several outstanding senators who are more than capable of effective leadership, and I hope we have an opportunity to choose.” Which outstanding senators is he referring to, I wonder? Perhaps himself? With friends like that, as the old saying goes, who needs enemies? And it’s not just Don Nickles. There are many, many congressmen and senators from Lott’s own party who are so scared of being labeled racist that they are falling down on the side of political correctness.
And then there’s our president, who saw fit to weigh in on the controversy last Thursday when speaking in Philadelphia. “Any suggestion that the segregated past was acceptable or positive is offensive and it is wrong. Recent comments by Senator Lott do not reflect the spirit of our country. He has apologized, and rightly so. Every day our nation was segregated was a day that America was unfaithful to our founding ideals.” Well, that’s all well and good. Ninety-nine percent of the people in this country agree that segregation was wrong, and what Bush said was true. The problem with that was the fact that Trent Lott never said anything about segregation.
And there’s no way that you can convince me that President Bush thinks Lott is a racist. Bush is just doing what politicians do best – conniving, scheming, and using another man’s downfall for his own political gain.
It really is a stroke of luck for Bush that this controversy happened when it did. Bush now has a quasi – legitimate reason for helping oust Trent Lott as Senate Majority Leader. Of course, Bush will continue to say that he has no part in the workings of the Senate leadership, who they elect and who is ousted. That is bunkum, and most intelligent people know that. When Bush stood up on that platform and declared Trent Lott’s comments to be “offensive” and “wrong”, when Bush said that Lott’s comments “did not reflect the spirit of this country”, what he was really saying was that Lott was not in tune with the country, and that he wasn’t fit to lead. He was twisting the knife in the back of a bleeding man.
White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer’s continued no comments on the topic are actually a big comment – that Bush does not value Lott enough to help him save his floundering political career. There is a meeting to be held on January sixth of next year to allegedly decide Lott’s fate, but at this point it’s just a formality. Although Don Nickles is the Senate Republicans number two man, his nomination for Senate Majority Leader is far from certain. Lott has said repeatedly that he won’t desert his constituency in the middle of his term – even if he’s ousted from his leadership position - and he’s enough of a gentleman to keep his word. The White House, I believe, is counting on that from Lott. After all, if he doesn’t leave, the Senate stays in Republican hands and Bush gets a Senate Majority Leader who will toe the line. It all works out rather beautifully, doesn’t it?
Cathryn Crawford is a student from Texas. She is committed conservative and an admitted news junkie. She can be reached at jccrawford@hotmail.com. She welcomes your ideas, comments, and ideas for future columns.
When I reread my posts from a few days ago, I came across the following statement and realized I didn't state my comment well.
I WROTE:
"NOW...Lott is "just" a Senator, representing Mississippi, but RACIST SENATOR KKK "SHEETS" BYRD is STILL the RAT's SENATE PRO-TEM---the SECOND PERSON IN LINE TO THE PRESIDENCY (i.e. behind VP Cheney)."
I WILL RESTATE TO CLARIFY:
As Senate Pro-Tem, RACIST SENATOR KKK "SHEETS" BYRD---is THIRD in line overall, but TWO places BEHIND CHENEY (Cheney, Hastert, then "Sheets" Byrd).
Sorry for any confusion.
Since when has equality been a conservative value?
Since the days of the New Testament...and since Jefferson wrote that 'all men are created equal...endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights...'
"Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all." -Colossians 3:9-11
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