# Trent Lott **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 11, 2002, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127 "2002-12-11T22:56:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/21 "2002-12-12T01:28:29Z")
Mama always used to say stupid is as stupid does. (And I suspect **elucidator** may be on to something. The peasants are gathering their pitchforks, and the other landlords are telling Lott he’s on his own.) ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/22 "2002-12-12T01:51:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by chickendoc \* > \*\*And as far as calling Republicans racists/bigots etc. I would think that the majority of racists/bigots in the South would be Democrats. \*\* The conservative Southern Democrat is a rare animal these days. They’re all Republicans now. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/23 "2002-12-12T03:24:35Z")
Lott said … > [@](#): > > We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn’t have had all these problems over all these years either, … Source: [http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/12/11/lott.comment/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/12/11/lott.comment/index.html) In 1980, Lott also said … > [@](#): > > You know, if we had elected this man 30 years ago, we wouldn’t be in the mess we are today … Source: [http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/12/11/lott.comment/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/12/11/lott.comment/index.html) In 1981 Lott wrote … > [@](#): > > Racial discrimination does not always violate public policy … Lott, then a congressman from Mississippi, was writing a friend of the court brief that unsuccessfully urged the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the Internal Revenue Service from stripping the Bob Jones university’s tax exemption. Source: [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/12/11/national1950EST0835.DTL](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/12/11/national1950EST0835.DTL) Today in his apology on the Sean Hannity radio show, Lott said … > [@](#): > > Well, first of all, I wanted to honor Strom Thurmond, the man, who was turning 100 years old. He certainly has been a legend in the Senate, both in terms of his service and the length of his service. It was certainly not intended to endorse his segregationist policies that he might have been advocating, or was advocating, 54 years ago. > > But obviously I’m sorry for my words. They were poorly chosen and insensitive, and I regret that I have had that–the way it’s been interpreted, actually. I think that–when I think back about Strom Thurmond over the years, what I’ve seen is a man that was for strong national defense and economic development and balanced budgets and opportunity, and that’s the kinds of things that I really had in mind. > > But the words were terrible and I regret that, and you know, I can almost say that this was a mistake of the head, not of the heart, because I don’t accept those policies of the past at all. Source: [http://www.drudgereport.com/flashb.htm](http://www.drudgereport.com/flashb.htm) Huh? “But the words were terrible and I regret that, and you know, **I can almost say** that this was a mistake of the head, not of the heart, because I don’t accept those policies of the past at all.” _Almost say?_ Another slip? Gee, it’s pretty cut and dried if you’re going to repudiate segregation in an apology, but Lott is still not clear. Seems to me as a former and soon to be again Senate Majority Leader, Lott’s clarity of issues is very poor, even with an apology. If so, he does not deserve to be Senate Majority Leader ever again. Then again, if what he said in his apology is really what he meant to say, he does not deserve to be Senate Majority Leader ever again. As far as I’m concerned Lott’s lot in public life is finished. However, barring any upswell in the Mississippi electorate, he’ll be Senate Majority Leader anyway. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/24 "2002-12-12T03:34:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by you with the face \* > **The whole get-together was a political blooper waiting to happen. Someone was bound to drink a little bit too much wine and forget the tacit agreement to never ever _ever_ speak (especially in praising terms) of the good ole days when Strommy used to go out with the guys to flame crosses and put those uppity darkies in their proper place (like up in a tree, hanging in the wind).** Well, you know what they say: always think about what you are going to say lest you say what you think. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/25 "2002-12-12T03:37:38Z")
It should be pointed out that most of the outrage over this is coming from _Republicans_. Which is as it should be. Clean your own backyard first. ---
**Author:** ![cleops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2acd7d/32.png) [@cleops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cleops)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/26 "2002-12-12T03:45:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Revtim \* > \*\*His apology would be more convincing if he actually **explained what he meant** , as opposed to what he wants us to think it didn’t mean. If he says exactly what problems he was referring to, then I’ll consider the possibility it was not the most likely explanation, that he’s a bigot. \*\* Yes, you’ve got it, Revtim: When is he going to tell us what he DID mean? ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/27 "2002-12-12T04:14:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Stone \* > It should be pointed out that most of the outrage over this is coming from _Republicans_. Which is as it should be. Clean your own backyard first. Oh really? How about citing me a few prominent Republicans who’ve called for his resignation as Majority Leader, hmm? ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/28 "2002-12-12T04:18:49Z")
Note: He shouldn’t resign. He should just bloody well say that he was kissing Strom’s ass and that Thurmond’s 1948 platform was unadulterated evil. Given those admissions, I’m willing to forgive and forget this particular indicator of bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/29 "2002-12-12T06:16:41Z")
Need I point out that ,not so very long ago, virtually all the major politicians in the South believed in segregation (or pretended to) and virtually all of them were Democrats? Indeed, you will search in vain for a more vile, repulsive, foul-mouthed bigot than one J. William Fulbright. And yet, as I recall, when Fulbright died a few years back, one William Jefferson Clinton eulogized him, and told us what a wonderful man Fulbright was. So did virtually every Democrat in Congress. Did those of you who loathe Strom Thurmond take Clinton and the Democrats to task for praising a scummy racist like Fulbright? I suspect not. (After all, Fulbright was so laudably liberal on most other issues!) For that matter, the vile segregationist Lester Maddox made an abortive run at the Presidency himself, back in 1968. One of his proteges was a young fella named Jimmy Carter. Do you doubt for a moment that, with minimal digging, I could find audio of Carter proclaiming that Maddox was a great American, and the finest governor Georgia ever had? Say, come to think of it, there’s a former Klansman in the Senate right now! His name is Robert Byrd. Is he persona non grata among the Senate Democrats? Well, not exactly… it seems they elected him Majority Leader twice! But of course, his racism is FAR in the past, right? I mean he wasn’t STILL for segregation in the 1970s, was he? Umm… well yeah, actually, he was. But I’m SURE that not a single Senate Democrat ever appeared at a rubber-chicken banquet and proclaimed that Byrd was a great American! - Apparently, though, I’m failing to grasp something: apparently, there are GOOD former bigots and BAD former bigots. For the record, Strom Thurmond IS an embarrassment, and I’m not sorry to see him leave the Senate. But when I hear politicans toasting each other and giving each other glowing testimonials at banquets, I don’t take that drivel seriously. Like him or not, Strom was a fixture in the Senate for a long time, and it stood to reason his colleagues were going to praise him to the skies. Did Lott REALLY think Thurmond would have made a great president? I doubt it (and what was that line about “we were proud to vote for you,” anyway? Lott wasn’t nearly old enough to vote for Strom in 1948!). But what do you EXPECT him to say at such an event? At a eulogy, we say only glorious things about the dead. And politically, Strom IS dead. ---
**Author:** ![RobertTB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@RobertTB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobertTB)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/30 "2002-12-12T06:17:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cleops \* > \*\*Yes, you’ve got it, Revtim: When is he going to tell us what he DID mean? \*\* Well, on Fox News they aired the Sean Hannity interview of T.Lott. He denies any support of segregationist policies. (But then, ironically, talked up his support for ‘historic black colleges’) He said he was supportive of Thurmond’s anti-communist and economic policies, and mostly said what he said to ‘throw mad props to Thurmond’, to very loosely paraphrase. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/31 "2002-12-12T06:42:47Z")
**Minty:** The National Review, Robert George of the Washington Post, Neal Boortz, Stephen Hayes of the Weekly Standard, Andrew Sullivan, Glenn Reynolds, Howard Kurtz, and no doubt dozens of others I can’t think of right now. It’s becoming a deafening roar. And this report: > [@](#): > > According to a knowledgeable Republican source, GOP members of both houses are extremely concerned that Lott’s comments have so derailed the momentum gained from the 2002 elections that it would be impossible to come in in January, make numerous political confirmations for the executive branch, and begin planning a legislative agenda that would include accelerating the Bush tax cuts and pushing through a prescription drug plan for seniors. . . . > > “Even Lott’s people understand how serious this has become,” says the Republican source, who added that while there is no discussion in Lott’s office of his stepping aside, Lott’s people are steeling themselves for a growing drumbeat from their side of the aisle for Lott to give way to a noncontroversial leader who can get the Republican agenda back on track. ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/32 "2002-12-12T11:12:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Stone \* > \*\ ***Minty:** The National Review, Robert George of the Washington Post, Neal Boortz, Stephen Hayes of the Weekly Standard, Andrew Sullivan, Glenn Reynolds, Howard Kurtz, and no doubt dozens of others I can’t think of right now. It’s becoming a deafening roar. \*\* [quibble]Although I agree with **Sam Stone’s** general point, Kurtz is a Democrat and Reynolds is libertarian.[/quibble] ---
**Author:** ![tramp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@tramp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tramp)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/33 "2002-12-12T12:15:59Z")
I also think Rush Limbaugh said that his old buddy Trent was a moron for saying that. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/34 "2002-12-12T13:16:22Z")
**Sam:** Are they asking him to resign as Minority Leader, or just criticizing him for being an ass? **astorian:** If Lott has just praised Thurmond to high heaven, nobody would have cared. Instead, Lott _specifically_ praised him for his segregation-driven 1948 presidential campaig, and _specifically_ said that the country would have been better off if Thurmond had _won_ that election. If you can’t see the difference, I’m afraid I can’t help you. And I suspect you’ll have a hell of a hard time finding Clinton praising Fulbright’s segregationist policies. Same thing with Carter and Maddox. And if Byrd (whose eventual death will make me very, very happy indeed) was still advocating segregation today, he’d be in a hell of a lot more political trouble than Trent Lott. ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/35 "2002-12-12T13:35:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by minty green \* > \*\ ***Sam:** Are they asking him to resign as Minority Leader, or just criticizing him for being an ass?. \*\* A whole lot of conseravtives on the web have been calling for Lott’s replacement as Majority Leader for the last several days, including Andrew Sullivan, the National Review and Glenn Reynolds. You can find a number of links by scrolling down [http://www.instapundit.com/](http://www.instapundit.com/) The WSJ opinionjournal all but called on him to resign. Incidentally today’s NY Times finally had an editorial calling on Lott to resign. Today’s [www.opinionjournal.com](http://www.opinionjournal.com) points out that Lott (unfortunately) has already been re-elected: > [@](#): > > Trent Lott may not consider himself lucky. But he is. Back in October, he abruptly advanced the date of Republican leadership elections by several weeks in a bid to squelch competition for his job. The vote re-electing Mr. Lott was held only two weeks after the November elections. Smart move. > > Leadership elections are held by secret ballot, so the safe money says if those elections were held today, the man from Mississippi might well lose if he were up against a credible opponent, such as Mitch McConnell of Kentucky or Bill Frist of Tennessee. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/36 "2002-12-12T13:51:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by minty green \* > \*\*Oh really? How about citing me a few prominent Republicans who’ve called for his resignation as Majority Leader, hmm? \*\* You can add [Cal Thomas](http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/thomas1.asp) to **Sam Stone** ’s list. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/37 "2002-12-12T14:17:39Z")
Ah, the punditry. Like rats abandoning a sinking ship. I was really looking for Republican officials, but the blog feeders will have to do, I guess. Nevertheless, I still dispute Sam’s assertion that “most of the outrage over this is coming from Republicans.” It was Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and other Democrats who pounded away on this issue until it gained some momentum, and even [today’s CNN story](http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/12/11/lott.comment/index.html) says that “Democrats and _some_ conservatives have questioned Lott’s comments.” And you gotta like these nuggets: “Lott said no one in his party or in the Bush administration has said anything directly to him about the remarks . . .” “No Republican senator, however, has said Lott should give up his leadership post . . .” and **december** , the WSJ was exactly the kind of source I was talking about as criticizing him as being a dumbass for making the Republicans look bad. It did not call for him to resign. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/38 "2002-12-12T14:30:37Z")
This must be crushing for sincere conservatives, and to a degree you have my sympathies. That word “discarded” is going to fuel the arguments of those who doubt the credentials of the Republicans for some time - it will underwrite every allegation of dog-whistle politics in the US for a decade. You’ll be gnashing your teeth every time that footage comes on, and it’ll be plenty. The guy’s toast, but a fair bit of damage has been done. December mentions the NYTimes [editorial](http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/12/opinion/12THU1.html?ex=1040274000&en=1d6e885bdec5cfe3&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE). I thought this line a cracker: > [@](#): > > Southern white politicians who lived under segregation and the civil rights movement either repress the thought that anything terrible went on in their region or remember it all the time. In some ways the most interesting thing is the slow response of _both_ sides of the political establishment on this. Daschle’s mild response (as I read it, obviously minty saw it otherwise) is fascinating, and suggests that change at the top may not be long limited to the Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/39 "2002-12-12T14:33:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by minty green \* > \*\*and **december** , the WSJ was exactly the kind of source I was talking about as criticizing him as being a dumbass for making the Republicans look bad. It did not call for him to resign. \*\* I said they “all but called on him to resign.” I know that the Wall St. Journal has a policy of never endorsing candidates for election. Perhaps their policy would extend to barring them from specifically calling on Lott to resign. However, their level of criticism almost amounted to that, IMHO. However, you are correct that no Republican elected official has made a public call for Lott’s replacement. At least I haven’t seen any. I understand where they’re coming from, although I don’t like it. I guess they’re waiting for a signal from someone – e.g., Karl Rove. It’s obvious that Lott isn’t going to go voluntarily. The same insensitivity that allowed him to make that awful statement allows him to ignore the magnitude of its consequences. In terms of elected officials, CNN is correct in writing “Democrats and some conservatives…” However, conservative pundits were the first ones to pound on this issue. They were doing so when Daschle was still excusing Lott, [dismissing Lott’s comments as misstatements.](http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=1891983) ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127/40 "2002-12-12T14:34:09Z")
I think Lott was not thinking clearly when he made his remarks. Fact is that these types of tribute speeches are so full of jive that most politicians probably don’t pay much attention to what they are saying. Most of the outrage is not coming from Republican or Democratic leadership. Seems to me that it is being heavily driven by the CBC, which is prodding the Democrats and making the Republicans nervous. Personally, I think this type of thing is a tempest in a teapot - leave it for a few weeks and it will blow over as if it never happened. I don’t think Lott should resign. Still, it was a foolish remark. Lesson to be learned is to pay more attention to the implications of what you are saying. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott/142127.md?page=3)