I'm not a Lott defender. Don't even like him much. But I still have failed to see where there's a connection to segregation. (Was Thurmond a Democrat or Republican before he ran as a Dixiecrat?) Leap, yes; connect, no.
In 1980 we were in a helluva mess thanks to the man who accepted the Nobel Peace Prize today.
Maybe we should remind them
I saw a documentary on Carter a few weeks back .. I never knew he had a 25% approval rating by the American people ..
And that was BEFORE the Iran Hostage Crisis
Thurmond was a Democrat, then ran as a Dixiecrat on an explicitly segregationist platform.
If you still fail to see the connection, pray consult with your eye care specialist.
Thurmond was a Democrat when he ran for and won state offices in South Carolina--this was effectively a one-party state for a hundred years following Reconstruction (nah, we don't hold grudges, really we don't). He bolted to the States' Rights Democrat Party in 1948, then was elected to the Senate via write-in as a Democrat in 1954 when the Democratic SC political machine appointed another candidate to replace their primary pick (who died), rather than run another primary.
I believe Strom switched parties to the R's in 1964 to help with Barry Goldwater's campaign. He and LBJ never got along well. Thurmond was one of the first conservative yellow dog Democrats to bolt to the GOP and begin the power shift that has made the R's dominant in the South today.
Strom was a Democrat. Finding a Republican in the deep South at the time would be like trying to find an honest Democrat anywhere today.