Trent Lott Should Resign - David Horowitz

FrontPage Magazine - David's Blog ^ | Dec. 11, 2002 | David Horowitz

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Trent Lott Should Resign

The revelation that Trent Lott made a similar remark about Thurmond's segregationist presidential campaign twenty years ago comes as no surprise. Desegregation was the most important domestic event in Lott's lifetime, especially because of his role as a leading politician in what was once the most segregated racist state in the union. If he was oblivious to the implications of his outrageous remarks at Thurmond's party, that is reason enough for him to step down as Republican leader in the Senate. The stakes are simply too high to allow this kind of political stupidity (which is to put the best spin on it) to pass without consequence. It is bad for the Republican Party and for the country.

That said, one should not let the hypocrisy of some members of the Black Caucus go unnoticed. California congresswoman Diane Watson, former State Senator and former ambassador to Micronesia is one of those calling for Lott's head as though he were a dedicated racist. Watson is infamous for attacking Ward Connerly's interracial marriage on racial grounds. This would be hypocrisy enough. But she is also indebted to Trent Lott for making her ambassadorship -- which was blocked by the opposition of her hated (or should I say hateful) colleage Maxine Waters (the antagonism is personal not political). With Watson's appointment in limbo because of Waters' opposition, Lott intervened on Watson's behalf to make her appointment possible. This episode makes Watson a prime candidate for the Jean Carnahan award for graceless ingratitude.

Here's a comment from a Republican reader:

Senator Lott's apology was disingenuous. He talked about "discarded policies" of the past--not wrong policies. He speaks in code; he antagonizes blacks with his transparent longing for the ante-bellum South. I don't think Senator Lott is a racist, and I do think the Black Caucus is vicious and hypocritical. But Trent Lott as majority leader spells disaster for the politcal future of the Republican Party.

Kathleen

[Ohioan]

This is simply a reprise of the gambit that has been in play for a few years now on the Confederate flag. The intention is to split Northern and Southern Conservatives, and make the future election of a Conservative President absolutely impossible. In the process, they have managed to make a lot of Conservatives dance around like absolute fools, afraid to defend any of their traditions--and if Conservatism is not about tradition, what is it about?

Again, I say to those who are in a panic over a statement that I agree with, that is that it would have been good for America if Strom Thurmond had been elected President, "Get over it. You have nothing to gain by dancing to the Left's tune. Nothing! Six months from now, no one will respect you for it. Nothing of any value can possibly be gained by it. Get over it!"

And see Creating Hate In America Today, to see more evidence of the Left's game plan in this.

William Flax

[Jorge]

And those Southern Republican Conservatives are loudly thanking God that Strom wasn't born in late October or in the first couple days of November.

You got that right. He would have blown the mid-term elections for Republicans for sure.

Just when blacks seemed to be catching on that the Dems have just been using them...Lott goes and gives Dems this opportunity to demogogue Republicans as racists again.

[MHT]

Lott is a pathetic leader and they should welcome the chance to get rid of him. He was a democrat convert to begin with and his arrogance and pomposity remind me greatly of Foghorn Leghorn--all doo (as in hairdo) and no cock (as in cock-a-doodle-doo). He and his commentaries are poor reflections upon this party.

After the election, Rush spoke of how W. stayed up four hours past his bedtime waiting for results while Lott kept trying to leave so he could get home to bed. The very idea that he wouldn't hang around with his boss while the future of his own job was being decided was beyond belief.

The confidence in his voice as he made his Thurmond comments reflects his own egotism and misconception that he can do no wrong. Loss of the leadership position would be just desserts to the guy who was almost single-handedly resopnsible for the 2001 shift to the Dems. (After all, given the style differences between Lott and Jeffords, can you imagine them getting along for years in that quartet? I can see how someone like Jeffords would be totally peeved with someone like Lott and exiting at a critical moment would have been Lott-revenge more than anything else.)

[per loin]

Al Sharpton has issued his interpretation of what Lott meant, and all loyal Republicans must stand with Al Sharpton.

[Blake#1]

Bull manure! If you and your toleration for Democrap smears prevail, then all is lost. We fight now for victory. Lott does not cave and we shove the charges back down their own throats. Don't tell me you believe that Black Democrats don't refer to "Honkies" when there are in their own offices. Don't let them do this!!

[GraniteStateConservative]

But no where do they dare to debate the actual issues before the American people, when Strom Thurmond ran for President in 1948.

Strom Thurmond says he was wrong. Holy crap! Some people on this site stun me.

Thurmond: "All the laws of Washington and all the bayonets of the Army cannot force the Negro into our homes, our schools, our churches."

The Dixiecrat Party platform: "The negro is a native of tropical climate where fruits and nuts are plentiful and where clothing is not required for protection against the weather ... The essentials of society in the jungle are few and do not include the production, transportation and marketing of goods. [Thus] his racial constitution has been fashioned to exclude any idea of voluntary cooperation on his part." "We stand for the segregation of the races and the racial integrity of each race."

The Dixiecrat Ballot:[A vote for Truman is a vote in suppport of Truman's civil rights program]...This means the vicious FEPC--anti-poll tax-- anti-lynching and anti-segregation proposals will become the law of the land and our way of life in the South will be gone forever."

That you would try to defend this sickens me.

[Jorge]

Everyone with half a brain knows Lott was praising Stroms Pro States Rights position and dedication to the Constitution.

Segregation never even entered his mind.

If this is true then why didn't Lott have half the brain to explain this was what he was really talking about?

Worse yet, why did he apologize for it, calling it a "terrible" thing to say..that he "regrets" it etc. etc.

What's wrong with "Pro States Rights position and dedication to the Constitution" that Lott should apologize for it, or try to avoid admitting that is what he meant?

I heard Lott offer alternate explanations on Hannity today of what he meant by "all these problems", and none of them included anything you refer to above.

[GraniteStateConservative]

That you would want a Dixiecrat elected president is sad and does a disservice to this site.

Please peddle your views elsewhere.

[Thisiswhoweare]

Agree. The old cliche "There's more than one way to skin a cat" is very much in play here. The dems have tried to lie, buy, steal cheat you name it to win and when they lose, they refuse to accept it. They have dragged this country through more dung in the last couple of years over their lust for power, the citizenry have become collateral damage in their wake of "by any means necessary" plot.

Does anyone remember when it came out about Hilary having made the anti=semetic slur and all the dems came to her defence with "The Republicans are really grasping at straws to dig up something that she said over 20 years ago." Sound familiar to this? Yes. They convinced everyone to get over and move on from it and now, we have the unfortunate position of clintoff being a US Sentor in our gov't. and we pay her a nice salary to listen to her anti constitutional ideas and imput.

I suggest we stop all this PC stuff and realize Lott exercised the First amendment and actually people read into it what he later stated was not what he intended. He is not the first, will not be the last to say something that is said to have hidden meanings.

I am just saying it's time for all to realize you don't get through this life unscathed. Someone is going to offend you at sometime. We have choices though, get over it, sue or chalk it up to expierences we learn from.

[Stone Mountain]

Free speech does not mean that one doesn't take responsibility for what one says...

[Ohioan]

All right, you have quoted some rhetoric out of context. Are you suggesting that that is the sum total of what Strom Thurmond stood for in 1948?

Secondly, do you support the idea of an FEPC law? It is a highly Socialistic idea. (See "Civil Rights" vs. A Free Society.) Instead of getting sick, why don't you see what you are endorsing and be certain that you really want to be endorsing it.

As for the anti-lynch law that Truman had advocated. The South considered that insulting. They already had local laws on the subject, and they were being enforced. Unfortunately, I do not have the statistics handy, perhaps you do, but was any one lynched in South Carolina while Strom Thurmond was Governor? He was not advocating lynching, just opposing dictation from Washington. That is quite a different thing.

Personally, as a school boy in 1948, I was an enthusiastic supporter of Harry Truman and his Civil Rights proposals. It was only as I grew up over the next few years that I realized that I had bought a proverbial "pig- in-a-poke"; that the issue was not fairness, at all, but one of the allocation of power and control.

You can certainly disagree. But to want to crucify Lott because he agrees with the Southern view of the time is the sort of ludicrous thought control that really should sicken any Conservative.

William Flax

[Tempest]

I listened to the Hannity show today with Trent Lott on it. It was his most pathtic coddling show ever. I thought he was Katie Couric sucking up to Hillary at times.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

You're right about Strom being a hero, and every American should know his record - war service, as judge, only elected write-in Senate candidate in history, his excellent work building up our national defense during the 80s and his stellar career as mentor, leader, public servant...but there's that little convenient "talking point" of Strom's fillibuster against the Civil Rights Act - and a far-left international mainstream media and a Democratic party continuing to undermine the administration and divide the country during wartime.

Trent needs to step down from his leadership position, but not from the Senate.

The racial divide in our country has been carefully cultivated by the left for decades. If the mainstream media won't hold "Rev." Jesse Jackson accountable for his hypocrisy, extortion, campaigning for America's enemies in Brazil, inciting riots in Florida, etc., we will not get a fair hearing now...except on alternative news sites. It's too distracting, divisive and BIG to deal with now. We'd have to examine the billion dollar industry of black victimization - including our new revisionist history schools, the truth about the far left NAACP, the socialist Congressional Black Caucus, the real story of slavery in America and who actually fought to free the slaves (Republicans and Christians first)...all un-PC, counter the leftist propaganda Americans were fed for years.

In a fair world we could simply present the evidence and ask for an apology from the left for the years of slanderous attacts. Black Americans and the press would register Republican and Jesse Jackson would stop calling himself a Reverend and pray for forgiveness from God...ah, but this comment makes me a "racist" in modern America...and, thanks to modern telecommunication and transportation...the left can assemble an international group of "outraged" celebrities to fill the airwaves with anti-Republican rhetoric - not just from sea to shining sea, but from Montezuma to Tripoli.

The UN conference on racism featured Jesse Jackson denouncing the USA - especially George Bush and the Republican party (AP, BBC and the international press reported extensively on "racist Republicans" in Florida during the 2000 election - another lie from the left) - and calling on the assembled world leaders to join the fight against American and Israeli racism. Representatives from over 180 nations spent a full week listening to mostly anti-American rhetoric and took this message home to their countries - many ruled by dictators and thugs - on Sept. 9, 2001. Think this will be included in the 9-11 Terrorism Report, or Kissinger's investigation? Eactly 15 months after 9-11 and still no comments from the press. Racism is too incendiary internationally.

[The Great Satan]

True to form, Vacant Lott pooped all over Dubya's extraordinary success in the midterm elections. Nothing for it but to take the hit, and usher him off stage center as quickly as possible.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Kudos for your #57 and #58. Sonny, your response would infuriate and disarm those working hard to divide us and paint Republicans as racists. Good idea. (^:

[F16Fighter]

Senator Lott's apology was disingenuous...

When did David Horowitz become psychic??

Funny how Horowitz, himself a rabid target of censorship, is now ready to punk down and cave in to the mob when it's someone else on the hot seat.

If the pragmatic Freepers out there need to wave the white flag (no pun intened) to Maxine Waters, Jesse Jackson, and the rest of the RAT Race-Baiters and PC Thought Police, you will only be emboldening and encouraging this Frankenstein monster to further unjustifiable initimidation...

And that is exactly how this will all go down.

[F16Fighter]

"Mark Levin was on the Hannity show today, and convinced me NOT to want Lott to step down, or even give one inch."

That is called "leadership."

[CyberCowboy777]

He said he regrets that he did not make himself clear.

As for explaining it in the moment, everyone present clapped when he said it. They knew what he meant, as did I and all who know history and do not have an agenda.

Lotts only mistake here was assuming that people are smart.

Do you think Lott is a racist?

[PISANO]

By all the clamour you would think Lott committed a RAPE or a MURDER. But of course those two crimes pale in comparison to saying we all would be better off if the OLD MAN had become President. A case of PC gone completely and totally insane.