Trent Lott: A Distortion Wrapped in a Conspiracy Inside an Agenda

My own thoughts... | 12/13/2002 | DoughtyOne

[DoughtyOne]

During a radio broadcast in 1939, Winston Churchill was asked to forecast the action of Russia.  In response he stated, "It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma."

Having run across this quote this evening, it occurred to me that this closely describes the actions of the media and the left over Trent Lott's recent comments.  Changing the phrase slightly, my perception of the media and left's actions regarding Lott are this:

What has happened to Lott is a distortion wrapped in an conspiracy inside an agenda.

Lott did state that things would be different today if Thurmond had been elected.  That is not to say he was focused on Thurmond's segregationist views when he stated this.  Only the media and leftist leaning individuals have made that case.  Well meaning conservatives have acquiesced to this perception in an honest attempt to avoid even the appearance of racism.  But I feel they have been duped.

Lott's comments are only a part of the equation.  Is the Trent Lott of today pursuing segregationist policies?  Does Lott introduce or support racist legislation today?  Does anyone?  Leading Democrats were heaping praise on Thurmond in recent months.  Where's the outrage over that?

Folks, none of us should back a racist, but let's be sure we've pinpointed one before we abandon ship.  Trent Lott is not a racist.  Those who have spent decades with him in Washington, D.C. know him better than we do.  To a man they refuse to describe him as a racist.  Should we do less?

Trent Lott did not say I think your segregationist policies would have served this nation well.  I know that's what people are thinking, but it is not true.  He referenced Thurmond's policies, but did not specifically state this one.  And it should be noted that his opponent was also a segregationist at that time.  Yes Truman was also a segregationist.  So let's be clear about this.  That portion of their views being somewhat similar, why would Lott think Thurmond's racism would have served the nation better than Truman's?  Could it be that Lott was thinking of other aspects of Thurmond's agenda?

Since when do we take the media's and left's perceptions at face value, damning someone on groundless charges and adopting disdain for them?

I am not going to damn Lott based on media spin and Democrat conjecture.  Jessie Jackson does not speak for me.  Senator Daschel does not speak for me.  Dan, Tom and Peter do not speak for me.  The idiots on CNN and MSNBC do not speak for me.  The Washington Post, the NY Times, the Pravda on the Pacific and other leftist rags do not speak for me.  Political figures with their finger up in the air do not speak for me.

I choose to back Trent Lott against the charge of racism.  He is not a racist.  Despite my gutt feelings about anything else Lott does, I am not going to sit by and watch him driven out of office based on a lie.

If the Republican party wishes to address the issue of whether they have the right guy at the helm early next year, I am all for it.  And if they assess that Lott is not a strong enough leader, I'm all for him being replaced.  In the right time, for the right reason, I will back Lott being replaced as the Majority Leader.

Until then he has my full support, when he attempts to drive conservative legislation in the Senate by reasonable means.

There is only one thing going on here.  The Democrats have lost the Senate and will stoop to any means possible to take it back.  To hell with them.  To hell with the media whores who do their bidding.  They do not speak for me.  I will not help them out.

[TommyDale]

The Democrats have a battle cry as long as Lott remains in a leadership role. He should be stripped of his leadership, but remain in the Senate. Replace him with someone of good reputation, and send a signal to black conservatives that is is okay to vote Republican. This is a chance to break the back of the Democrats. Lott was already weak, now he is also compromised. By leaving him in a leadership role, he is hurting the Republican Party.

[Professional]

Totally agree, great article.

The Dems if anything, are just putting on a great show of what rats they are. This McCarthyism is going to backfire bigtime.

[Professional]

So, according to you, Lott is a racist, because somebody SAYS he is. What if this was YOU, say, at work? Would you want to be treated in the standard that you purport for Senator Lott?

[88keys]

"Amen" to all that...well said, and I absolutely agree.

Thanks for post, and Freegards

[katze]

Outstanding observation and post; I agree commpletely. The same could be said that things would be different if GHW Bush was elected instead of Clinton.

Seems quite simple, the Dems will do what they can to get the majority, and the wimp Chaffee ready to jump ship at first light. If Lott is to be disposed of, then the SD election should be reviewed, perhaps the LA as well; get a little cushion for insurance; this may change a few minds about Lott leaving as leader or senator.

One thing forgotten by many, the Majority Leader has a lot of people to "please", and he has to act accordingly. Was Lott any worse than Dole? I don't think so, and we have little else to make comparison.

[Mike Darancette]

Great article - Buchannan on Fox tonight voiced many of the same thoughts (for once I agree with him).

We must give Lott all of our support in the short term let the debate over Lott's leadership be over something relevant and factual.

[Turbodog]

When you take into account the magnitude of what Clinton got away with, and compare it to Lott's miniscule by comparison verbal gaffe that has gotten blown way out of proportion, and then consider that it is the liberal Socialist Black Caucus leading the charge for his removal, Senator Lott would be extremely stupid to resign. There's a lot I don't like about Senator Lott's leadership of the Senate, but I'm not willing to compromise principle for political expediency. If Lott is forced to step down from his Senate leadership position, what's to stop him from also stepping down from his Senate seat? Is this the way the Republican Party repays its own leaders after many good years of prominent and very distinguished service to the party? The Republicans have a very slim 51 - 49 majority in the Senate, and you can bet the farm that Mississippi's Governor, who just happens to be a DemoRat, will not appoint another Republican to take Lott's vacant seat. What Senator Lott and Republicans are facing here, is a very skilled, indeed, very crafted and orchestrated plot designed to steal the Senate, and that plot has Bill & Hillary Clinton’s fingerprints smeared all over it. It stinks to high heaven!

[No Truce With Kings]

The point has never been that Lott is a bigot. Thay may be what he wants folks to believe, but it's not. The point is that Lot is a MORON. He said something stupid. *Really* STUPID. His comments will be the next James Byrd ad for the Dems come 2004. As long as Lott stays in the leadership he will be the new poster boy for the Democrats. They will have a figure around which to rally their troops, with the additional advantage that energy that would better be spent pushing through the Bush agenda will be spent defending Trent Lott.

Yeah, we had the same problem with Newt. The difference is that Newt was brilliant, and actually had some ideas worth chasing. Lott is an ineffective, linguini-spined Majority Leader that stands for nothing other than Trent Lott and Mississippi pork. He has consistently sold conservative agendas down the river whenever it was in his interest to do so. The latest being his post-election cave on the Homeland Security bill, reversed only after Bush applied a spine transplant.

Is the object to have a majority in the Senate or to get an agenda through the Senate? Thanks to Trent Lott, the agenda is DEAD. If he goes, he says he will quit the Senate, and throw it back to a 50-50 house. If he stays, he is going to collapse like wet toilet paper to keep the Dems from beating him over the head with this issue.

Frankly, I'd rather see him go. I'd rather have it obvious that the Dems are obstructing things than go through two years where Lott shops Bush to stay in power. No wonder he and Jeffords harmonized together so well.

The best solution would be for Lott to take his punishment like a man -- step down from leadership, remain in the Senate, and let an effective leader take charge. But Lott is proving he ain't a man. He's a spoiled child who would rather pout, whine, and lie -- and if that fails, go home with his marbles.

I say fine -- let him go. We are better off with him outside the tent pissing in. Given Lott's history, none of it will spash inside the Republican tent. As effective as he has always been, he will be lucky to clear his own shoes.

[dalebert]

Now how did Bill and Hill get control of Lotts mouth. Lott must have known he meant the statement in racial terms or he would have explained it away. Now he will be offering the same lame appology for the next 2 years. As for racism, Maybe we should drag up Lotts voting record for the past 10 years and present it to the public. Might help just a little.

[GOPJ]

If Lott was too stupid to know what he was saying and the effect it would have, he's too stupid to be in a position of leadership. Also, he didn't understand why an abject apology was needed before the outcry. He's a Clinton - didn't know it was wrong until he had to defend himself. It's time for Lott to go.

Lott was already weak, now he is also compromised. By leaving him in a leadership role, he is hurting the Republican Party.

[mom-7]

Don't any of you smell the clintoons, mcawful and ole baldy behind this? It is their type of politics. They took a beating in the last election, and we are going to pay for it. As to Lott, I think that he should resign the leadership position and stay in the senate.

[Garden Island]

Does anyone out there have any other good Churchill quotes?

[Turbodog]

“The point is that Lot is a MORON. He said something stupid. *Really* STUPID. His comments will be the next James Byrd ad for the Dems come 2004. As long as Lott stays in the leadership he will be the new poster boy for the Democrats. They will have a figure around which to rally their troops, with the additional advantage that energy that would better be spent pushing through the Bush agenda will be spent defending Trent Lott.”

Don’t be silly! Let the Dems focus their vitriol on this dead horse. The only ones who’ll be giving a rats a$$ is the liberal Black Socialist and, of course, the liberal press! A very minor verbal gaffe in the long run, is not going to do any harm to the Republican agenda. Indeed, if this mountain out of a molehill continues to be fueled, it’ll backfire and hurt only the politicians beating this dead drum!

[hove]

This whole "scandal" is weak. Lott shouldn't be railed out of the senate. However, he should be replaced as leader. He let Clinton skate....and that is unforgivable. He's a fruit. The Republicans need a man with real leadership qualities to take the helm! If he was a man, he would facilitate just that.

[Turbodog]

It’s desperation! It’s war that they’ve declared after there devastating losses in the last elections. It’s taking advantage of every opportunity to undercut the Repubs. Several days went by before anyone noticed Lott’s verbal gaffe. It’s clear it takes time to cook up a Plot. And who led the charge: none other than Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, two of the most reverent reverends at fostering group think in the country! I say sacrifice Lott to the Libs, while the remainder of the Repubs focus on passing the Republican agenda!

[JulieRNR21]

Exactly right....the media put words in Lott's mouth. I have been on threads today making similar arguments to yours that Lott should not resign. And why should he be driven from office when Byrd who was actually a member of the KKK gets no attention form the media.

The DNC & the biased liberal media are working together in a concerted effort to destroy Lott. The DNC is still reeling from the election and has jumped on this chance to 'unite' the party in a 'common effort'.....which is to undermine the GOP outreach to the Black community and make sure that their Black voter base doesn't stay home on election day.

Lott put his foot in his mouth with his 'insensitive' remarks for which he has sincerely apologized. If conservatives side with the Dems in calling for him to resign they are abetting the RATs attempt to destroy Lott and paint Southern Republicans as racists.

[MHGinTN]

That Lott is threatening to resign tells me he's too spoiled and too stupid to be the Senate leader. Trent needs to remove Li'l Tommy's grip on the Lott marbles and sit down in the Mississippi Senate seat to vote with the conservative agenda while finishing out his last term.

Is Lott a racist? I answer folks this way: a racist is someone vehemently opposed to racial harmony on equal terms; Lott is a segregationist, someone who deep down in his heart doesn't feel comfortable with other races but isn't militantly opposed to their existence. The leadership position in the Senate cannot afford a segregationist, much less a racist. The dems try to paint him a racist and have that spill over to the republican party. In that effort, the despotic democrats reveal their race baiting methodology. Sadly, most black voters prove, by their continued block voting for democrats, that they are unable to see that deeply in this episode. Time for Lott to go.