So Much More Than Lott

newsmax ^ | 12/31/2002 | Barry Farber

[justshe]

ROFL!

[justshe]

~~~That's a normal cut/paste job from him from the link he provided, not his writings.... and it was dated back on Dec. 12/02.~~~

Ah so.....thanks, deport.

I WISH I could say your explanation helped me understand old TLB...but, what the hey.....HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[optimistically_conservative]

Unlike the author, I won't presume to speak for, or characterize, the Republican politicos or electorate.

I will say this, the only person pushing my buttons everytime he opened his mouth during this fiasco was Sen. Lott.

I didn't write my Senator out of cowardice. I've been accused of being a racist, a sexist, and several other things that aren't fit to print while in a leadership position. I faced those charges head on, and everytime proved that my accusers were maligning me. At no time did I ask or expect anyone to rally to my cause, or complain afterward. I wasn't afraid of the accusations then, and I am not afraid of being labeled as a Republican (or a conservative) now. No one person holds the mantle of conservatism, to abdicate my individual judgement would be, to my thinking, antithetic to conservatism.

Sen. Lott did not display leadership or strength.

Here's the dilemma that Lott's comments put me in.

Could a principled (by that I mean conservative) person approved of Sen. Lott's comments?

I couldn't.

Could a principled person accept the comments were taken out of context, and defend Sen. Lott's honor, even give him the benefit of the doubt based on his past?

I tried, but his explanation did not provide what principles of Thurmond's Presidential campaign would have helped us to avoid all those "problems." His apologies did not express a conservative philosophy and rang more hollow each time. His abandoning of conservatism on BET added my nail to his coffin.

Could another more principled politician weathered the criticism coming from both sides better than Sen. Lott?

I believe so. I would hope they would go down fighting explaining their bedrock conservative views. I think Sen. Lott demonstrated that he was not a good choice for SML in the next congress. I won't condemn (and I looked up the spelling) him for past statements or affiliations, nor absolve him for his past votes. That's background or mitigation, but how he handled himself over the past two weeks were testimonials (had to look that one up also) of his character, principles and leadership abilities.

IMHO, he failed the test. Who administered it was irrelevant.

As a matter of fact, Sen. Lott gained back my respect because he let go of the leadership position, stayed in the Senate.

To my thinking, it's over. Time to move on.

[deport]

I WISH I could say your explanation helped me understand old TLB...but,

---

TLB is a fine chap.... you have to just take people as they come.

[TexKat]

There are precisely four human beings on the planet still stewing about Trent Lott's being gloriously deposed and they are all on this thread.

And one of them is obsessed with it. When I read the title of this thread, I knew who the author (poster) was without looking. Imagine that!!

[TexKat]

Lott is not the majority leader because of what he said, that was just a convenient excuse for the administration to put their man in that position.

I don't understand all this ranting and raving about it being a racial issue, because it was and is as clear as day that the administration desired and accomplished the change. Some people are just in denial.

[okie01]

"Really? What exactly did he say that couldn't be taken in numerous ways."

Let's look at his actual words.

"I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had of followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either."

Is he not saying that, if Strom Thurmond had been elected President in 1948, we would've avoided a lot of "these problems"?

Inasmuch as Thurmond and the 1948 Dixiecrats ran on a straightforward segregationist platform -- indeed, without segregation, there was no animating reason for the Dixiecrat movement -- there is simply no other way to interpret the remark than that the "problems" were "black people" and "integration".

Now, I'll cut Lott some slack and assume that's not what he meant to say. But what he said is quite clear.

In fact, it is instructive that everybody at the party knew he'd stepped in it. When Lott stated "We voted for him", they chuckled. The following "We were proud of it" drew polite laughter. But the last clause -- the punchline -- was met with a slight gasp...and dead silence.

We're free to construe what he meant anyway we want. But what he actually said, and what it meant in the context of actual history, is a matter of record.

[Darling Lili]

Well, well, another "canonized conservative" painting with a broad brush. Because I think that Lott was screwed over a meaningless remark, I'm therefore a "Dixiecrat apologist"?

Well? Why not??

Every person who disagrees with you, YOU broad brush with the "white guilt" label.

That shit cuts both ways, ya know.

[cynicom]

Lili...

A persons language speaks volumns about their character.

[sinkspur]

Every person who disagrees with you, YOU broad brush with the "white guilt" label.

Sorry. If you're black, then it's "black guilt."

[TLBSHOW]

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 20, 2002

Statement by the President




"I respect the very difficult decision Trent made on behalf of the American people. As Majority and Minority Leader of the Senate, Trent Lott improved education for the American people; he led the way in securing tax relief; he strengthened our national security; and he stood for a bold and effective foreign policy.

Trent is a valued friend, and a man I respect. I am pleased he will continue to serve our Nation in the Senate, and I look forward to working with him on our agenda to make America safer, stronger, and better."

George W. Bush

[Fred Mertz]

Trent is a valued friend, and a man I respect.

Bush respects racists? [/sarcasm]

[VRWC For Truth]

In the immortal words of Jim Robinson, you need to "Get a little".

[artsie]

Thanks for the tip re election results. How funny, I received, "Reagan's War" for Christmas. I am so looking forward to reading it, first I have to finish "Autumn of War". Geez I sound like a hawk lol.

[Torie]

Off topic, but how can one encourage you to have more interchanges with BhuddaB? So far the exchange has been hilarious; pity that such excellence to date has hit cyberspace, but one hopes for more. There is always more.

[TLBSHOW]

You know what the whole thing reminds me of?

A shakespearean play.

[Luis Gonzalez]

Lott's title was comprised of two words.

"Majority"--Handed to Congressional Republicans by the people of the United States, lost by Lott once as he failed to perform the duties expected of the person holding the title.

"Leader"--What he failed to be in his "forgive me" tour as he sold out the principles of the Party he was supposed to be a leader of.

Good riddance.

[Torie]

You just hate him because of his sartorial taste. Admit it. You probably don't like his accent either. Or maybe you don't like bass singers. Are you a tenor? I have so more that is silly to say, but why blow it all at one time?

[TexKat]

PASCAGOULA, Miss., Dec. 30 — Trent Lott said tonight that while his resignation as Senate majority leader had been "a very trying experience," he believed that some good would come of it. The episode has taught him, he said, that he must know more about all his constituents and focus more on issues of interest to African-Americans.

The senator's remarks drew applause from almost 1,000 people, some 20 of them black, who attended a hometown reception for him here sponsored by three local Chambers of Commerce.

Mr. Lott added that he "would have preferred to have not have found out this way" that he needed to change.

[Luis Gonzalez]

I'm more of a baritone actually.