# Will Harry Reid be forced to step down? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 10, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394 "2010-01-10T15:39:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/81 "2010-01-12T00:58:14Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > It would be foolish for anyone to drive a judgment based on words alone. Context and background are critical, too. What is hypocritical is to pretend they don’t exist. > > [The KKK without the robes:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Conservative_Citizens) > > [Lott](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trent_Lott#Resignation_from_Senate_leadership): > > Lott has a racist background, Reid does not. Yes, that should influence one’s judgment. But calling these two very different things “this comment”, as you do, is either a calculated, result-oriented, lawyerly choice of words or just simply inane. Here’s a [better cite](http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/CCCitizens.asp?xpicked) for you: > [@](#): > > However, the ante was upped a few days later when Post reporter Thomas Edsall revealed that Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott had appeared as the keynote speaker at a 1992 meeting of the CCC in Greenwood, Mississippi. In the article, Edsall cited an issue of The Citizens Informer that featured a large photograph of Senator Lott at a CCC conference and quoted him as telling attendees that “we need more meetings like this.” According to the Informer, Lott asserted that “the people in this room stand for the right principles and the right philosophy. Let’s take it in the right direction and our children will be the beneficiaries.” Lott’s involvement was more complicated than Barr’s, because Lott originally denied firsthand knowledge of the CCC (later having to backtrack on this statement) and because, as opposed to Barr, there was evidence of an ongoing relationship. CCC leaders revealed that Lott had spoken to them on more than one occasion; that his syndicated column regularly ran in The Citizens Informer, and that his uncle, a member of the Council’s Executive Board, called him an “honorary member.” Lott later criticized the CCC’s use of his name in their publications, denied membership and claimed ignorance as to the racist nature of the group’s rhetoric. Unlike Barr, however, he never condemned the group’s racist ideology explicitly and unequivocally. So, uh, not really anything like Harry Reid. There’s a reason the Republicans didn’t fight for Lott to keep his position. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/82 "2010-01-12T01:22:56Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > That Auster analysis is spot on. Thank you for providing it. The only spot is where Reid pee’d on the rug. The leader of the Senate should be racially paper trained by now. It’s nice that the President has given him absolution so that he can run for re-election with a cleansed heart. As spiritual leader of the party that’s his job and besides that he needs Harry to keep his health care bill alive. The reality of all this is that Harry Reid went on a party-approved apology tour which is an acknowledgment that he stepped in it. The fact that he isn’t expected to live by the same code of conduct he bestowed on Trent Lott (and followed by the Republican party) speaks volumes for both parties. Harry Reid is a man of words but not of his word. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/83 "2010-01-12T01:28:27Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > The only spot is where Reid pee’d on the rug. The leader of the Senate should be racially paper trained by now. It’s nice that the President has given him absolution so that he can run for re-election with a cleansed heart. As spiritual leader of the party that’s his job and besides that he needs Harry to keep his health care bill alive. > > The reality of all this is that Harry Reid went on a party-approved apology tour which is an acknowledgment that he stepped in it. The fact that he isn’t expected to live by the same code of conduct he bestowed on Trent Lott (and followed by the Republican party) speaks volumes for both parties. > > Harry Reid is a man of words but not of his word. He didn’t say anything close to what Lott said. If you don’t understand that I’d suggest you reread both quotes until you comprehend them. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/84 "2010-01-12T01:37:04Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > The only spot is where Reid pee’d on the rug. The leader of the Senate should be racially paper trained by now. It’s nice that the President has given him absolution so that he can run for re-election with a cleansed heart. As spiritual leader of the party that’s his job and besides that he needs Harry to keep his health care bill alive. > > The reality of all this is that Harry Reid went on a party-approved apology tour which is an acknowledgment that he stepped in it. The fact that he isn’t expected to live by the same code of conduct he bestowed on Trent Lott (and followed by the Republican party) speaks volumes for both parties. > > Harry Reid is a man of words but not of his word. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Could you please explain specifically what Reid said that offended you? What “code of conduct” do you believe is being violated? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/85 "2010-01-12T01:37:30Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > He didn’t say anything close to what Lott said. If you don’t understand that I’d suggest you reread both quotes until you comprehend them. That’s correct, Lott never said anything racially insensitive. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/86 "2010-01-12T01:40:12Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I have no idea what you’re talking about. Could you please explain specifically what Reid said that offended you? What “code of conduct” do you believe is being violated? I have no idea what you’re talking about. Can you please explain why Reid apologized for his remarks? ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/87 "2010-01-12T01:45:10Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > That’s correct, Lott never said anything racially insensitive. You are wrong and still appear to not have read what Lott said. It’s not that hard to understand. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/88 "2010-01-12T01:47:47Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I have no idea what you’re talking about. Can you please explain why Reid apologized for his remarks? Because he’s a gutless politician. Politicians apologize for trivial bullshit all the time. Hell, most everybody apologizes for shit that doesn’t really merit an apology sometimes. It’s a bullshit social and political nicety. It means nothing. It certainly doesn’t mean there was anything to apologize for. What did he say that offends you? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/89 "2010-01-12T01:49:59Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > You are wrong and still appear to not have read what Lott said. > > It’s not that hard to understand. What Lott was pummeled for was based on assumptions. There were no mention or intimation of race in what he said. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/90 "2010-01-12T01:51:06Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Because he’s a gutless politician. Politicians apologize for trivial bullshit all the time. Hell, most everybody apologizes for shit that doesn’t really merit an apology sometimes. It’s a bullshit social and political nicety. It means nothing. It certainly doesn’t mean there was anything to apologize for. > > What did he say that offends you? then the President is a gutless person for accepting an unnecessary apology. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/91 "2010-01-12T01:53:38Z")
Other than the fact that he said electing a segregationist President would have spared us “all these problems.” I think Lott was talking out of his ass, trying to say something nice to an old man on his birthday, and didn’t really think about the literal implications of his words, but that doesn’t _change_ the literal implications of his words. Reid’s words contained no offensive implications, intended or otherwise. What did Reid say that offended YOU? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/92 "2010-01-12T01:56:24Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > then the President is a gutless person for accepting an unnecessary apology. Rejecting it would imply that there was anything to be offended about in the first place. There wasn’t. Accepting the apology and moving on is the only sensible, reasonable, intelligent and politic thing to do. Rejecting it would be asinine, and _actually_ offensive. Do you believe Obama should have rejected the apology? Did Reid offend you that much? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/93 "2010-01-12T01:56:47Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > then the President is a gutless person for accepting an unnecessary apology. That’s just crazy. You only refuse to accept an apology if you want to pick a fight. At most you accept and add something like, “No apologies are necessary.” But you absolutely don’t refuse to accept it. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/94 "2010-01-12T02:00:57Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Rejecting it would imply that there was anything to be offended about in the first place. There wasn’t. ??? If there wasn’t a reason to be offended then rejecting an apology would be the correct thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/95 "2010-01-12T02:02:04Z")
No, that would be an asine thing to do, for reasons that are alreadsy stated. Why won’t you answer my question about what Reid said that offended you? ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/96 "2010-01-12T02:20:08Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > What a load of crap. You can hand wave all you want, but Reid is a product of his time, living in a white bread Mormon world where Blacks were marginalized well passed the days of Jim Crow. It’s astonishing to what lengths you’ll go to rationalize the irrational. Er, wah? He’s from Nevada, not Utah. And he went to law school in Washington DC. And he’s been a politico throughout most of his adult life, implying that he would brush against a variety of people. (That doesn’t imply that he can’t be a bigot though: I’m merely puzzled at the allegation that he’s _sheltered_.) Not to put too fine a point on it, but I recall John Mace saying ~2 years ago that Obama wouldn’t be anywhere near as acclaimed if he wasn’t black, a position I found dubious. Now JM maintains that he isn’t offended by what Reid said in private, but he could understand how others would be. But I find it odd that JM’s social tuning has appeared to sharpen so much in the intervening time period. More generally, Reid said in private that he thought that Obama had an excellent chance of becoming the first African American President, albeit in an awkwardly phrased manner. Lott said in public that it would of been better if an explicitly segregationist party had won in ~1950: then we wouldn’t have “All these troubles”. Many modern conservatives seem to think that the 2 incidents are equivalent, which says more about them than it does about any US politician. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/97 "2010-01-12T02:22:45Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Other than the fact that he said electing a segregationist President would have spared us “all these problems.” Except that he never said that. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/98 "2010-01-12T02:28:09Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Except that he never said that. Would you mind telling us what he DID say, then? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/99 "2010-01-12T02:35:20Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Would you mind telling us what he DID say, then? your internet provider only connects to The Straight Dope? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394/100 "2010-01-12T02:39:42Z")
I can see a reasonable complaint for Obama, but its not so much a racial slur as a political one. That part about not speaking like a Negro “except when he wants to”. Suggesting that Obama panders to black people by “passing” for black when the need arises. Kind of the flip side of praising Colin Powell for being “articulate and well-spoken”. Now, unless memory fails again, when he made these remarks he was still leaning Clintonish, so that little barb would be expected, not enough to actually disparage, but enough to take some of the shine off. And I bet _that_ is what he was apologizing for, one politician to another. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-harry-reid-be-forced-to-step-down/524394.md?page=6)