Trent Lott's Comeback

[Dynasty]

Trent Lott beat Lamar Alexander by a 25-24 vote to become Senate minority whip.

New York Times article

Time magazine article

I've got no specific like or dislike for Lott. But, I did think he got screwed four years ago. It wasn't surprising that Jesse Jackson would spin Lott's comments about Strom Thurmond in a way Lott had't intemded. But, I've read that Bill Frist really manipulated the situation behind the scenese in order to allow him to ascend to Senate leadership. That struck me as a bit back-stabbing.

Besides, comebacks are fun cheer for. Go Trent.

[DVaut1]

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But, I've read that President Bush and Karl Rove really manipulated the situation behind the scenese

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FYP

I'm pretty sure Inside-the-Beltway buzz was that the 2002 supplanting of Lott with Frist was a Rove-engineered coup. Having said that, Rove didn't put Lott's foot in his mouth.

And I think it's pretty darn clear what Lott meant at Strom Thurmond's birthday. Certainly, I can't be inside Lott's head, but what I do know is that the administration and other GOP leaders saw Lott as a political liability circa 2002, for the reason that his comments weren't all that veiled, nor subtle. To claim that Jesse Jackson "spun" Lott's words totally ignores the fact that even President Bush conceded the obvious:

"Any suggestion that the segregated past was acceptable or positive is offensive, and it is wrong. Recent comments by Senator Lott do not reflect the spirit of our country. He has apologized and rightly so. Every day that our nation was segregated was a day our nation was unfaithful to our founding ideals." - President Bush, December 2002

Frankly, to the GOP's credit, they've tried really hard to shed the image Lott/Tancredo/et al have projected, hence why Rove and other forward-thinkers in the party have no use for these guys.

[Dynasty]

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And I think it's pretty darn clear what Lott meant at Strom Thurmond's birthday.

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I've never gotten any impression other than Lott was trying to be nice to an old friend who was retiring after long service in the Senate.

I have no doubt Democrats will say very nice things about Robert Byrd when he retires depite his former membership in the KKK.

[DVaut1]

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I've never gotten any impression other than Lott was trying to be nice to an old friend who was retiring after long service in the Senate.

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Well, then your impression is seemingly different than everyone else's, save a few right-wingers. Like I said, even President Bush (who you'd expect should support his partisan ally) condemned Trent Lott's comment -- probably not something he'd do if Lott's comments were all that innocuous.

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I have no doubt Democrats will say very nice things about Robert Byrd when he retires depite his former membership in the KKK.

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Had Lott merely been "nice" to Thurmond, no one would have batted an eye.

It's the "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" comment that is clearly quesitonable, if not a barely coded endorsement of segregation.

I'm not even sure how Democrats could say something similar, but if Democrats say something like "Robert Byrd should have never left the KKK and run for President -- if he had done that, we'd have proudly voted for him, and we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years" at Robert Byrd's farewell party, then you may have a point. If they do that, I'll gladly condemn the Democrats with you.

[timotheeeee]

Damn you, DVaut1!!!

[JackWhite]

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I'm not even sure how Democrats could say something similar, but if Democrats say something like "Robert Byrd should have never left the KKK and run for President -- if he had done that, we'd have proudly voted for him, and we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years" at Robert Byrd's farewell party, then you may have a point. If they do that, I'll gladly condemn the Democrats with you.



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A few years ago Democratic Senator Chris Dodd said the following about a Robert Byrd, who, of course, was a KKK member and oppossed many civil rights bills:

"I do not think it is an exaggeration at all to say to my friend from West Virginia that he would have been a great senator at any moment. He would have been right at the founding of this country. He would have been in the leadership crafting this Constitution. He would have been right during the great conflict of Civil War in this nation."

Dodd thought that a former KKK member would have been a good leader during the Civil War. You can make a good case that those comments were just as bad as anything Lott said about Strom. If not, why not?

There is a reason why Dodd's remarks did not generate much outrage: the media virtually ignored it. Compare that to the attention they gave Lott's remarks.

[DVaut1]

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"I do not think it is an exaggeration at all to say to my friend from West Virginia that he would have been a great senator at any moment. He would have been right at the founding of this country. He would have been in the leadership crafting this Constitution. He would have been right during the great conflict of Civil War in this nation."

Dodd thought that a former KKK member would have been a good leader during the Civil War. You can make a good case that those comments were just as bad as anything Lott said about Strom.

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Agreed. It's my understanding that, in addition to being in the Klan, Byrd fervently opposed integration of the military during the very early phases of the civil rights movement and attempted to filibuster the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This is a disgraceful stain on Byrd's legacy, and his peers shouldn't praise him in the way Dodd did -- particularly the line about the Civil War.

I mean, I understand we want to be nice to old men or whatever, but it seems prudent to stay away from anything that looks like exhorting these particular old guys' despicable pasts. I'm not suggesting we subject either to harsh moral standards outside of the appropriate historical context, but even so, both men's pasts seem contemptible even in context.

I understand both Thurmond and Byrd had varying degrees of "changes of heart", so to speak -- which I think is commendable and praiseworthy. Politicians who feel the need to commentate on their legacies should focus their kind words on those changes. Why they choose to do otherwise is inexplicable.

[Mempho]

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I've never gotten any impression other than Lott was trying to be nice to an old friend who was retiring after long service in the Senate.

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Well, then your impression is seemingly different than everyone else's, save a few right-wingers. Like I said, even President Bush (who you'd expect should support his partisan ally) condemned Trent Lott's comment -- probably not something he'd do if Lott's comments were all that innocuous.

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I have no doubt Democrats will say very nice things about Robert Byrd when he retires depite his former membership in the KKK.

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Had Lott merely been "nice" to Thurmond, no one would have batted an eye.

It's the "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" comment that is clearly quesitonable, if not a barely coded endorsement of segregation.

I'm not even sure how Democrats could say something similar, but if Democrats say something like "Robert Byrd should have never left the KKK and run for President -- if he had done that, we'd have proudly voted for him, and we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years" at Robert Byrd's farewell party, then you may have a point. If they do that, I'll gladly condemn the Democrats with you.

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You need to read the Time magazine piece (the issue with the elephant on the front) about the Bush family omerta. Lott and Gingrich were both left to hang in the wind (and Lott was even condemned) because Lott/Gingrich tried to keep Bush I from passing the tax increases. Also, Lott and Gingrich were not in agreement with Bush on many issues at all and viewed Bush and his father as neocons long before the term was part of the popular vernacular. From two comments I heard Lott make years ago, I don't think he even voted for Bush. There is hatred there. Gingrich doesn't like Bush either, but, in front of the media, they both posture.

I was told by the son of a high Republican official (after a few drinks) about all of the hatred between Bush and the "Republican Revolution" group leaders. They couldn't exactly jump on Bush while he was popular or they risked being "out" forever. Now, look at Lott again. He voluntarily went on CNN's "Broken Government", a series he knew would paint the Republicans in a bad light. Think about why he would do such a thing when no other Republican, save Joel Hefley (conservative Ethics Committee Chairman that rebuked Delay 3x), would do it.

[timotheeeee]

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And I think it's pretty darn clear what Lott meant at Strom Thurmond's birthday.

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I've never gotten any impression other than Lott was trying to be nice to an old friend who was retiring after long service in the Senate.

I have no doubt Democrats will say very nice things about Robert Byrd when he retires depite his former membership in the KKK.

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I don't understand the analogy. Maybe if Reid not-so-subtly praises Byrd's former membership in the KKK, the analogy will work. Thurmond didn't end up being a respected leftist, IIRC.

[andyfox]

It's one thing to be nice. It's another to say that had we elected a racist, we woulnd't have had "trouble."

Lott's comment about Thurmond should be viewed within the context of his other statements and activities. Lott is a racist. Putting him back in a position of responsibility is disgraceful for the Republicans, as it would have been for the Democrats to put Jack "I'm not interested in a bribe--yet" Murtha.