Lott Is Unfit To Run the Senate (Conason)

The New York Observer. ^ | December 11, 2002 | Joe Conason

[winin2000]

Conason is a clinton cox ucker...

This is one of those occasions where simple crudity - my sentiments exactly, BTW - is the only response Conason's jibberish deserves.

[ApesForEvolution]

Well said sink. Dittos to this post.

[McGavin999]

Yes, actually sinkspur I am. I think the man is a fool and has made numerous mistakes over the past couple of years. This is just the topper. I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until it came out that he made the same stupid remark before. He just handed the "enemy" a powerful weapon.

Face it, he not only said something stupid, he took so much time clarifying what he "meant" and it came across as flipant and dismissive. It was an incredibly stupid move. We can't afford to have a man this stupid as the face of the republican party.

He should accept a nice committee assignment and let someone else be the majority leader. And no, I don't think it's giving in to the liberal howlers. I think it's commonsense.

We should allow Lott to make a public statement saying that he is so contrite over the remark, even though he didn't mean it the way it was taken, that he has decided to step down. He can look graceful that way. He owes it to us after the damage his thoughtless remake did.

[goldstategop]

We plead guilty to being perceived as The Stupid Party. Its amazing with dufuses like Lott around, we still manage to win.

[SerpentDove]

REPUBLICAN SENATE MAJORITY LEADER:
RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IS OK
----------
Has Party Backing

I hope everybody likes that soundbite. Because we can "explain" till we're blue in the face, but if we keep defending Lott, we're gonna be hearing it for a lonnnnnnnnnng time.

I say it's not worth losing the whole Republican agenda over him, no matter what other high-minded motives we might have.

Lott expresses regret for remarks; court filing from 1981 surfaces

Can any politician survive this?

From Associated Press (EXCERPT):

"Senate Republican leader Trent Lott tried to help Bob Jones University keep its federal tax-exempt status despite the school's policy prohibiting interracial dating two decades before his recent comments stirred a race controversy.

"Racial discrimination does not always violate public policy," Lott, then a congressman from Mississippi, wrote in a 1981 friend of the court brief that unsuccessfully urged the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the Internal Revenue Service from stripping the university's tax exemption.

IMHO, SD

[TLBSHOW]

what BS

[TLBSHOW]

At the White House, presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer said Lott continues to have President Bush's confidence "unquestionably" as the GOP leader in the Senate.

"I think that from the president's point of view, Sen. Lott has addressed this issue," Fleischer said. "He has apologized for his statement, and the president understands that is the final word from Sen. Lott."

[TLBSHOW]

At the White House, presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer said Lott continues to have President Bush's confidence "unquestionably" as the GOP leader in the Senate.

"I think that from the president's point of view, Sen. Lott has addressed this issue," Fleischer said. "He has apologized for his statement, and the president understands that is the final word from Sen. Lott."

[TLBSHOW]

lott stays and abortion goes! LOL

[Irish Eyes]

Thank you thank you, thank you. A voice of reason, not too many hard here tonight.

[Consort]

Because of Lott, the Dems are turning from a demoralized party into a party with a purpose. He awakened the Dems and will continue to do so if he given any leadership position, including a Committee Chair. This is an example of where politics has to trump principle and conscience. If the GOP mishandles this, there will be a lot(t) of collateral damage.

[Consort]

I wish Freepers would remember that Lott got his current position because his fellow Republican Senators elected him and more than once.

The Democrats will effectively use those very words to inflict collateral damage on the GOP as I mentioned above.

[Brimack34]

Where were these people with Clinton, Condit, Byrd , The Torch, Trafficant, so on and so on!!!! Ok let me get this straight Lott represents all Republican's: Then all Islamics are terrorist and all dems hate america. If I say anymore stereo type's will be called the R word.

[bybybill]

This all goes away the minute we start really asking the Rats and the media why they aren`t critising KKK Byrd.

[Poohbah]

This all goes away the minute we start really asking the Rats and the media why they aren`t critising KKK Byrd.

Reporter: "What was that? Byrd was in the KKK a long time ago? Sorry, Trent Lott just opened his mouth again, gotta go!"

[doug from upland]

Ah yes, Joe Conason. Joe almost had a stroke when I called him a Clinton buttboy on Gloria Allred's radio show in Los Angeles. It was a wonderful radio moment.

[bybybill]

No, every time Lotts a racist comes up, the answer has to be,No, he was never part of an organization like the KKK. Why don`t you ask Sen. Bryd about what he thinks? It will end that afternoon.

[Poohbah]

No, every time Lotts a racist comes up, the answer has to be,No, he was never part of an organization like the KKK. Why don`t you ask Sen. Bryd about what he thinks? It will end that afternoon.

The rules are different for Democrats and Republicans. We do not get to use the "everybody does it" defense. Life isn't fair, get over it.

And, BTW, Byrd's affiliation with the KKK ended a LONG time before Lott's affiliation with the CCC did--which is portrayed as "KKK Lite."

This ain't a fight that's winnable, and the prize you win is a neutered majority leader and Tom Daschle as the de facto master of the Senate, followed by the Democrats getting another 5 million black voters to show up in 2004.