Lott Decried For Part Of Salute to Thurmond(Senate Leader Hails Colleague's Run As Segregationist)

Washington Post ^ | 12/07/2002 | Thomas B. Edsall

[KQQL]

Senate Republican leader Trent Lott of Mississippi has provoked criticism by saying the United States would have been better off if then-segregationist candidate Strom Thurmond had won the presidency in 1948.

Speaking Thursday at a 100th birthday party and retirement celebration for Sen. Thurmond (R-S.C.) in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Lott said, "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 followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either."

[KQQL]

@

Lott is not " Smart or Wise"..

What a stupid thing to say...........Crap like this is why 90%+ African Americans vote RATS......

[BillCompton]

I can't beleive he said that. Stupid and wrong.

[KQQL]

It's time to get rid of him..and replace him with Frist or
Nickles..

[goldstategop]

I prefer Bill Frist. You didn't hear it from me but I think he'd make a great President in 2008.

[BillCompton]

Normally, he is a very careful man. I see this blowing up big. I don't think he will survive as leader. This is really bad.

[metesky]

Could it be that Lott was ineloquently trying to say something along the lines of, "If Thurmond had been elected the governments, Federal and State, would have moved to integrate, leaving individuals and private property owners to deal with each other as they will."

Remember that it was State governments that wrote segregation into law and it is government that requires equal treatment of all citizens under the law.

An individual person or a business should be perfectly free to indulge in the foolishness of prejudice under our concept of free association.

Assaults and property crimes are what counts, not if some bohunk doesn't want Blacks, Jews, Brits, Chinese, Japanese, Norwegians, Native Americans or whomever buying his wares.

The market would swing into action and the bohunks that deprived themselves of a portion of that market would soon disappear.

"Public accommodation" my fanny.

[MadIvan]

If Lott has deprived himself of the Senate leadership with this quip, I shan't complain.

Regards, Ivan

[d.p.2222]

I can't understand why we put up with Lott. The man has no backbone and the stupid party keeps returning him as leader. I would probably be like the men who were supposed to follow Kerrey into battle - when he turned around nobody was there. We should abandon Lott now!

[Catspaw]

I saw Lott saying this on CSpan and couldn't believe it. There are so many more in the Senate that are more qualified than he is to be Majority Leader.

It also sounds like he's huddled with his aides to spin his way out of this.

[John W]

Lott has been a terrible leader and we need a new one,however,I watched this birthday tribute and it was a throw-away line that didn't mean diddly.Political correctness knows no idealogical bounds apparently.

[BillCompton]

I bet he was just trying to be endearing to the family, but his is the kind of thing that can make hey. It plays from two directions: Moderates get scared of by the "racist" Republicans and Southern Republicans revert back to Southern Democrats because he refuses to stand up for the unreconstructed south. Bad and bad. Sleeping dogs should be left alone and he just threw hot bacon grease on it. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Normally he is the consumate smart politician. Unbelievable!

[Catspaw]

From the story:

Thurmond, then governor of South Carolina, was the presidential nominee of the breakaway Dixiecrat Party in 1948. He carried Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and his home state. He declared during his campaign against Democrat Harry S. Truman, who supported civil rights legislation, and Republican Thomas Dewey: "All the laws of Washington and all the bayonets of the Army cannot force the Negro into our homes, our schools, our churches."

On July 17, 1948, delegates from 13 southern states gathered in Birmingham to nominate Thurmond and adopt a platform that said in part, "We stand for the segregation of the races and the racial integrity of each race."

I think Lott should be asked if this is what he wanted.

[11th Earl of Mar]

Is the Post going to give the same scrutiny to the KKK leader Robert Byrd when HE retires?

[Huck]

On July 17, 1948, delegates from 13 southern states gathered in Birmingham to nominate Thurmond and adopt a platform that said in part, "We stand for the segregation of the races and the racial integrity of each race."

This is real bad. I can't believe he said this. Lott's got to go.

[BillCompton]

>Is the Post going to give the same scrutiny to the KKK leader Robert Byrd when HE retires?

This completely misses the point. The import of the article is not Thurmond, but Lott. If Daschle said upon Byrd's retirement "I think we all would have been better off if more people had joined the KKK." That would be more parallel with what Lott said. The Dixiecrats led by Thurmond were driven by racism, pure and simple. Highbrowed talk federalism is a smoke screen.

[Huck]

Is the Post going to give the same scrutiny to the KKK leader Robert Byrd when HE retires?

Probably not, but that doesn't excuse or explain Lott's comments, which are of an extremely recent vintage.

[AppyPappy]

Where did Lott mention segregation?

[Catspaw]

No, Lott didn't say that. This is a platform of the Dixiecrat Party.

I've watched interviews with Thurmond and he moved away from that platform. However, I can't believe Lott to be so stupid as to even bring this up. When I heard him say it at Thurmond's birthday party, I knew the press would go after him.

[BillCompton]

Where did Lott mention segregation?

He was suggesting that a Dixiecrat President Thurmond would have protected us from "all these problems over all these years."

Yeah, a segregationist President is exactly what we needed then. </sarcasm>

[metesky]

Sleeping dogs should be left alone and he just threw hot bacon grease on it. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I hold no brief for Lott. In my opinion he has not been a good leader (that power sharing vomit among other things).

The right of free association should not be left to die, however.

[John W]

I'm trying to recall,were many great strides against segregation made during the term of the winner of that election,1949-early 1953?

[Huck]

No, Lott didn't say that. This is a platform of the Dixiecrat Party.

I know what it is; I can read. Lott said we'd have been better off had we all voted for Thurmond as President. There is the platform he ran on. Lott said what he said this week. It is inexplicable. And it isn't just the press "going after him." I am not a member of the press. I am a conservative Republican voter who is very troubled by this bizarre endorsement of the Dixiecrat party by the Senate leader of the GOP. This is not good news.

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

I listened to the tribute on CSPAN radio. The Washington bleep is working overtime on this one. Lott did say it but there was no response from the audience. As a matter of fact, Lott was pretty terrible in most all of his remarks. Came off as a jerk as he didn't know whether to be light or serious. I have to say Bob Dole was way better.

I agree with the Mad Ivan on having someone else as Majority Leader as Lott is IMHO ineffective and still wants to treat the Dims as gentlemen. However, Lott can not and should not be removed because of this remark. The WP is merely trying to stick it to the Repubs. Their nose is still out of joint as a result of the midterm elections.

[Always Right]

Everyone is reading way to much into this. All Lott was doing is paying tribute to a great American, Strom Thurman. Strom has been one of the great Senators in the history of our country, despite being a racist Democrat at one time. That was our history and Strom was part of it.

[d.p.2222]

I think the issue is Lott pure and simple. He is not willing to fight/work for a core set of values. He wants to play things safe. He can't articulate values which he knows the press doesn't support. His feet are made of clay. He is the reason Clinton got away. He allowed Clinton to paint right wrong and wrong right. Goodbye Trent!

[metesky]

If that's what he wanted, he's dumber than we think and should be put on the back-bench where he belongs.

[Huck]

I can see how my earlier post was misleading. My apologies. I meant to say only that I couldn't believe that Lott was, by his recent comments, endorsing a platform which contained segregationist elements like the ones I posted. I can see how you got the impression that I was misattributing that platform as a direct quote from Sen. Lott. I am sorry for my "snippy" reply.

[MattinNJ]

I just heard O'Donnel report on NBC that if Terrel wins, "La. will join the rest of the Confedaracy in being solidly Republican." Looks like they have their first talking point to rally the blacks in 04.

[metesky]

Harry Truman integrated the Armed Forces, but I don't remember if it was during his term or when he was finishing out FDR's fourth term.

[pbranham]

Wow! I knew Lott was spineless but I didn't realize he was an idiot to boot.

Let's hope this story doesn't blow up until after today's LA election.

Maybe this will be a good thing in that it will give us an excuse to finally get the new leadership most of us Freepers have been craving.

[AppyPappy]

So you inferred he was talking about segregation.

[Catspaw]

Well, don't get snippy about it :-))

It just that a smart politician knows when to keep his mouth shut. I don't include Lott among those smart politicians.

[John W]

Hes not smart,can't argue that.However,its distressing to see conservatives doing too very liberal-like things;applying our current enlightened state to a totally different time,and,using something such as this to throw a poor leader overboard.

[Catspaw]

This is only the last in a long string of woosie moves & faux pas by Trent Lott.

[aristeides]

I agree that Lott is not smart, but attacks on Lott over this kind of stupid remark just reinforce the PC strictures on speech. It's particularly discouraging to see them on a conservative forum like this one.

[William McKinley]

There was probably no response from the audience because they were sitting there in stunned silence.

[BillCompton]

So you inferred he was talking about segregation.

This isn't a logic test we talking about here, its politics. When Bubba said it depends upon what the meaning of the word "is" is. He had a point because he was saying "There is no relation with that woman." He was being slick because there "was" a relationship but now there "is" not a relationship. Logically, he had a point, but it bit him on the ass. Unlike a lot of people here, I like Lott, but this was an impolitic thing to say and furthermore, I wonder myself what the hell he meant by it.

[11th Earl of Mar]

The Post is trying to make a big deal over nothing. And you people are falling for it.

Lott, in his clumsy way, simply stated that his long time friend would have been a good national leader. He did not endorse all of Thurmond's views. He simply stated the US would have avoided many problems with Strom as President. It was a very polite thing to say about a friend and colleague.

Yes, Lott should retire and go fishing. But this non-story is a lot to do about nothing.

Time to move on and focus on the real enemies.

[Catspaw]

Lott should've known that the press would be all over him when he made the remarks, bringing up the segregationist platform of the Dixiecrats and his speech before the CCC, but he said it anyway--on live TV. He gave the Dems a weapon against him. They can use this to say, "see? This guy is a leader of the Republican Party and he believes in segregation. Don't vote for a Republican unless you want to go back to drinking at a 'colored' water fountain, using a separate bathroom and sit at the back of the bus." That's stupidity, sheer idiocy, and Lott gave it to them.

[BillCompton]

applying our current enlightened state to a totally different time,and,using something such as this to throw a poor leader overboard

Disagree. If we were criticizing Thurmond, you would have a point. Lott, the current leader, said we would have been better off if a segregationist had won the presidency in 1948. What was the purpose of this comment?

[Non-Sequitur]

So you inferred he was talking about segregation.

I don't think Lott was promoting segregation, he was just too stupid to realize the implications of wishing for a Thurmond win. There is no doubt that Thurmond's run for the presidency was in response to Truman's integration of the military in July 1948 and because of his and Hubert Humphrey's support for Civil Rights laws. A Thurmond administration would have fought to the death against any kind of legislation that weakened segregation.

[BillCompton]

...attacks on Lott over this kind of stupid remark just reinforce the PC strictures on speech.

So, in the name of anti-pc, we should not be held responsible for the things we say? I care what politicians say and do. What did he mean by his statement? I expect the truth and if I don't like the truth I will hold him responsible. If I am lied to, I will hold him responsible. This is not "PC strictures of speech." It is "words mean things."

[HoundsTooth_BP]

I agree that Lott is not smart, but attacks on Lott over this kind of stupid remark just reinforce the PC strictures on speech. It's particularly discouraging to see them on a conservative forum like this one.


I AGREE.

[buffyt]

I agree, Frist sounds great to me as Pres. in 2008, and taking Chester Trent Lott's job now. Excellent suggestions. Nickles for VP maybe? (anyone would be better than Hillary or Gore)

[Catspaw]

The one thing you don't do is give your enemies the weapons to use on you and that's what Lott did.

[opocno]

Lott has put the Senate Pubbies in an excruciating position - since every reporter will ask them if they agree with Lott's position or get them to explain what they think Lott really meant, preferably while the cameras are rolling.

Lott should stay as MS senator, but resign as majority leader. Let Nickles take over. Then we can go out and kick some 'Rat a$$.

BTW, I agree with the post that said Lott let Clinton get away with calling white black and black white.

[BillCompton]

Time to move on and focus on the real enemies.

I'll tell you what: If you get a signed afidavit from the Dems that they will not make a big deal about this, like Repubs gave Byrd a pass on his "I'm a white nigger" remark, I will drop it. The ostrich approach has its problems though.

[Huck]

Lott, in his clumsy way, simply stated that his long time friend would have been a good national leader.

That's your favorable spin on it. But what Lott actually said, unfiltered, uninterpreted, was this:

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 followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either."

Had Senator Lott, whose profession requires that he understand the specific meaning of words (he is a legislator, you know) referred to a specific, recorded historical event: The casting of electoral votes to the Dixiecrat Party in the 1948 election. And he gave what looks to me like an endorsement of that party. We'd have been better off, he appears to say. Spin all you want. But I am looking at what he actually said.

He did not endorse all of Thurmond's views. He simply stated the US would have avoided many problems with Strom as President.

You want to generalize it; But Lott did not. He didn't say he personally thought Thurmond would be a "good leader." He said that in 1948 Mississippi voted for Thurmond and that'd we'd have been better off if he'd won. It makes sense to me to see what the platform was that he ran on.

Time to move on and focus on the real enemies.

Yeah, yeah. Nothing to see here. Move along. No sale, friend. In order to effectively defeat our enemies, we need effective leadership. And IMO, having a Senate leader who appears to endorse the Dixiecrat party of 1948 is not effective leadership. We shall see if this is much ado about nothing or not. Take care.

[nicmarlo]

I don't think he will survive as leader. This is really bad.

One can ONLY hope.....maybe now, Bush will see it needs to be done and make more changes. He can put pressure on Lott to step aside and let someone else take his place as Majority Leader.