Posted on 12/10/2002 5:35:47 PM PST by xlib
Today on Rush a black air traffic controller was expressing his outrage over Trent Lott’s comments at the birthday party. Rush made several comments, including the point that while racism surely persists, it’s much less common than it once was, that everybody has obstacles, some hurdles are greater than others etc. The caller was surprised to discover that RUSH LIMBAUGH IS NOT A RACIST!
This is the dilemma conservatives face: although many, if not most, conservative policy ideas would benefit the poor and minorities if implemented, conservatives are widely assumed to be indifferent or hostile to the poor and minorities.
There are some parallels between our dilemma and that of African Americans. During segregation, the trailblazers were exceptional people; Jackie Robinson was one of the best ever to play the game, the first black students at the University of Alabama were all honor students. But millions of ignorant rednecks just saw “dumb, uppity niggers.” These folks endured the abuse, and persevered, because they were conscious of something larger than themselves that they represented.
We too are subject to the false assumptions of ignorant people; these assumptions are often amplified in popular culture and the media, and it limits what we can accomplish. We have two choices: we can whine about liberal media bias, the double standard for liberals and conservatives caught in ethical lapses, etc etc, or we can heed the advice given to Condi Rice by her parents: you’re going to have to work twice as hard, and hold yourself to a higher standard, than those who oppose you.
I was never prouder to be a republican during the impeachment than when Bob Livingston announced his resignation on the house floor. He had the guts to choose a higher standard, and the grace to accept his fate for falling short of it. The fact that Bill Clinton can debase the oval office and then try to portray a 21-year-old intern as a stalker, or that Jesse Jackson can yap about “Hymietown,” or that Robert Byrd can ramble on about “white niggers,” and survive politically, doesn’t surprise me. They are democrats, and the ethical bar is set low. But republicans must choose a higher standard, and Trent Lott’s comments make him unsuitable for the job he seeks to reclaim.
The Republicans could turn an apparent loss into a net gain.
Well Senator Lott should clarify what "problems" would have been avoided if everyone had voted like Missippi in 1948
Thurmond split off from the democrats that year to run as a "dixiecrat", on an explicitly segregationist platform. To suggest that such a man, running that kind of campaign, would have made a good president, is at best unbelievably stupid, at worst racist. For the man seeking what is arguably the second most important republican office in the country, it is unforgivable.
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Some already do; I'd like to see more, sooner rather than later. Lott atop the senate will delay that day; Lott chastened and replaced will hasten it.
I like your positive ("gift") outlook.
BTW, Laura Ingraham pointed out tonight that Tom Daschle was pretty soft on Trent, and she attributed this to the fact that Trent and Tom are known to be pretty good friends. (Yuk.)
But I think Tom has an ulterior political motive. I think he would like to see his friend Trent stay as majority leader because of the harm which it will do to the Republicans.
(Tom may not even be taking this position in a conscious way. He has political instincts involving ill will for the Republican party, including his "friends.")
In short, Trent needs to resign as Majority Leader. It's a WONDERFUL opportunity for us conservatives.
If you or I said it, it's forgivable. If Trent Lott, private citizen, said it, it's forgivable. For the holder of one of the highest profile positions in the GOP, it's not.
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