Archive through December 16, 2002
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TV ClubHouse: Archives: Trent Lott (ARCHIVE): Archive through December 16, 2002

Maris

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 04:08 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Goddess you are right, I envision lots of soundbytes of Lotts speech at Thurmonds birthday bash. The Dems as a party want Lott around. As a democrat personally I want him gone.

Squaredsc

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 04:21 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
here is an article that i found on black america web:

Support from blacks shrinks in Lott's hometown
12/15/2002 11:11 PM EDT

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) - A drive through Sen. Trent Lott's hometown quickly reveals the depth of devotion residents have for their senator. There's the Trent Lott Middle School, Trent Lott International Airport and, at the ship yards, government-funded projects the senator secured.

A week after Lott made a controversial comment about segregation, followed by a series of personal apologies, many residents here remain fierce in their support - white residents, that is.

It's hard to find a black resident who forgives him.

Lott's fifth apology came on Friday after he reopened old racial wounds with remarks on segregation at Sen. Strom Thurmond's birthday party a week ago. He asked for "forbearance and forgiveness" in a personal appearance in Pascagoula.

"I don't care what they say, he's not a racist," said Mary Anderson, 70, the white matriarch of Anderson's Bakery. She said Lott has always been open to both blacks and whites.

But Oreatha Bailey, 71, who is black, said the apologies haven't been enough.

"I think the damage has been done," she said.

The Rev. James Goodman Sr., leader of a small black church in neighboring Moss Point, said a small gathering of church members had talked about Lott and nobody thought the remark had been a simple slip of the tongue.

"You wouldn't say something that strong, that forceful and not feel that way," Goodman said.

Lott's hometown newspaper, The Mississippi Press, called last week for the senator to resign his leadership position. As editor Dan Davis explained, "Our editorial simply was we thought Lott's comments were insensitive and were an embarrassment to Mississippi."

But Lott's support of the local defense industry has earned him backing from many residents, including the mayor.

He has helped funnel contracts to Ingalls Shipyards, now Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, where his father once worked, as well as to Naval Station Pascagoula. Northrop Grumman employs 11,000 in this town of 26,000. It has built and delivered two or three destroyers per year for the last two decades, said Mayor Joe D. Cole, Jr., a vice president at the company.

"He's always been a staunch supporter of U.S. Navy shipbuilding and that's resulted ... in the company landing new business and shipbuilding contracts," said Cole, 54.

A $47.5 million high-rise bridge that towers about 100 feet over the Pascagoula River will open in mid-2003, cutting down on the wait time for shrimp boats and motorists.

Neighboring Biloxi and Gulfport eye the high-rise with envy, knowing they are stuck with their draw bridges. Todd Jordan, an engineer for the Mississippi Department of Transportation, says the only reason Pascagoula gets the new bridge is because the project received millions of dollars in federal funding.

"If we lost his leadership in the Senate and if he left the Senate we'd be hard pressed to replace Trent Lott," Cole said.

Goddessatlaw

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 04:23 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Well, we'll see, Maris. I didn't enjoy the roasting Clinton took as much as one might think for a Republican (it frightened me early on, when it actually looked like a presidential resignation was coming - one week earlier we were in a fairly peaceful place and then the explosion. Too much, too fast), and I'm not enjoying this one of Lott either. I dislike destruction politics. We all get hurt.

Squaredsc

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 04:24 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
and another article:

Lott no stranger to racial controversy
12/12/2002 11:55 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) - Trent Lott led the fight to restore Jefferson Davis' U.S. citizenship and once suggested the Confederate leader would support the Republican Party if alive today. He voted against expanding the Civil Rights Act, and opposed the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, saying there were other heroes "more deserving."

And he supported segregation - which he now repudiates - when as a college student he watched armed U.S. marshals escort the first black student to the University of Mississippi. He also advocated keeping blacks and whites separate at his fraternity.

In 30 years of public service, the Senate's top Republican has mixed a fierce devotion to Southern history, including the Confederacy, with a political ideology that federal legislation should not try to rectify past discriminations or wrongs.

Along the way he has been forced to make apologies - for his most recent comments at Sen. Strong Thurmond's 100th birthday party and for addressing in the 1990s a group that advocated the preservation of the white race.

But those who know him best say Lott doesn't advocate racism in any form. They note Lott has consistently won in a state with a large black population, mostly recently capturing 11 percent of the black vote in 2000.

"I also know that he is committed to the belief that all people are equal, not only under our Constitution but also in the eyes of God," said Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., a member of the GOP's Senate leadership.

One critic said Wednesday that Lott's apology is a step in the right direction, but he still fears his subtle comments and actions over the years have lent credibility to more extreme views.

"Most people who make comments like this try to ignore it away or try to double speak-it away, but he hasn't. He's apologized clearly," said Joseph Roy, who oversees the Southern Poverty Law Center's efforts to track racist and hate groups. "But when people in power say and do things that seem to give a stamp of approval to such views it risks moving people toward the harder core positions."

A review of Lott's speeches, writings and interviews over the years shows the Mississippi lawmaker has talked to groups in the South who hail the causes of the Confederacy or white supremacy.

Lott gave a keynote address in 1992 to the Council of Conservative Citizens, which advocates the preservation of the white race. He was quoted as saying "the people in this room stand for the right principles and the right philosophy."

Several of Lott's columns on Republican policy issues were also published in the group's publication, and the senator hosted some group members at his Washington office.

After an outcry over his connection to the group erupted in 1999, Lott said he didn't know about the group's view on white supremacy, condemned it and cut his ties.

Years earlier, Lott gave an interview to Southern Partisan magazine, which published articles defending Confederate figures and sold a T-shirt commemorating Abraham Lincoln with the phrase his assassin uttered, "Thus always to tyrants."

In it, the then-House Republican whip explained why he opposed expanding the Voting Rights Act and the creation of the King holiday. Lott was one of 90 lawmakers to vote against the holiday in 1983.

"Look at the cost involved in the Martin Luther King holiday and the fact that we have not done it for a lot of other people that were more deserving. I just think it was basically wrong," Lott said in the 1984 magazine article. He added he opposed any more national holidays, even one for Thomas Jefferson.

As for the Voting Rights Act - which created penalties for Southern states that didn't assure open polls to black voters - Lott was one of 24 House members to vote against 1981 legislation extending the law. "They are still trying to exact Reconstruction legislation that is just not fair," he said at the time.

Lott is hardly the first Republican tied to Southern Partisan. John McCain was criticized during his 2000 presidential bid because one of his advisers worked occasionally for the periodical. And John Ashcroft, now the attorney general, gave an interview in the magazine in which he hailed Confederate figures as "patriots."

Back at home and inside the Congressional Record, Lott has championed several black causes.

He introduced the Senate resolution condemning a rash of black church arsons in the 1990s, helped win a space research center that now bears his name at the traditionally black Jackson State University and led the effort to overcome a filibuster and get the Africa Free Trade bill passed.

Also, he worked with the Clinton administration in the 1990s to help create the Delta Regional Authority to help spur economic development in the mostly poor, minority areas of the Mississippi Delta. The region recently got 6,000 jobs with the arrival of an automaker.

While Lott served on the Republican Party platform committee in 1984, he attended a meeting of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Biloxi, Miss., in which he was quoted as saying "the spirit of Jefferson Davis lives in the 1984 Republican Platform."

He expounded on that idea in his Southern Partisan interview, saying that after the Civil War "a lot of Southerners identified with the Democrat Party because of the radical Republicans we had at the time." But he said the GOP was now attracting Southern votes by embracing many of Davis' ideas on foreign policy, neighborhood security and taxes. He did not mention slavery.

The Confederate president has been a key historical figure for Lott.

As a Mississippi congressman in 1978, Lott led an effort to get Davis' U.S. citizenship restored. A fellow Southerner, then-President Jimmy Carter, signed the bill into law and Lott was later awarded the Jefferson Davis Medal by a Confederacy group.

In apologies since the latest uproar, Lott has made clear he rejects segregation. "He repudiates segregation because it is immoral," Lott spokesman Ron Bonjean said Thursday.

But that wasn't always the case, Lott acknowledged in a 1997 interview with Time magazine. He said he supported segregation when armed U.S. marshals bring the first black student to the University of Mississippi where he was a student.

"Yes, you could say that I favored segregation then. I don't now," Lott was quoted as saying. "The main thing was, I felt the federal government had no business sending in troops to tell the state what to do."

As head of the Sigma Nu fraternity at Ole Miss, Lott also advocated segregation for frat members.

"This was years ago in a different time, in a different era," Bonjean said. "He repudiates segregation and supports integration of his old fraternity."

Squaredsc

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 04:29 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
personally i don't see either party as doing anything to benefit minorities in this country. and its a sad thing that lott's comments are affecting the whole republican party. i don't think all republican's are racists. there are racists in both parties. but at least the hood is off of this one.

Maris

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 04:39 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
that is exactly it Goddess, we are in an era of destruction politics. It is all about tearing politicians as men/women down and not the positions they hold. For me, I see it as what goes around comes around. The Republicans started this with Clinton, They tried Whitewater, travelgate and in the end all they came up with was a blow job. I have no empathy for Lott, he is just getting his own medicine.

Hermione69

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 04:47 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
It's embarrassing to me that this man is one of the foremost political leaders of our country. Squaredsc, and company, you guys expressed my own thoughts most eloquently.

Squaredsc

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 04:51 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
i got this comment from another discussion group:

Well I am origainally from Mississippi, and I can say that most folks there think more realistically than "what can be". And realistically nothing is going to happen to him, nor will it cost him his seat. Black folks dont vote for him in Mississippi, but then again they dont vote for much of anybody else. More specificially they dont really care, I know I dont care. Here is why, nothing changes, from president of the US down to SGA president. No one does anything, they all make promises that they never keep. Oh i know every now and then they will throw bones out there to make folks happy, but in all truth, they dont do anything. Think about it, how many poor folks you know hold public office like senate or representative? None because the way the system is set up it cost too much to run for one of those spots, so rich people run, and hold those posittions. So when you think about it, do we really have a government of the people when poor people are not represented? How does a person who is well off, know what a poor person wants from their government? And they can say what ever they want about Trent Lott, but wont anything really happen to him, because the rest of his "down low racist" will make sure of that. The only difference between him and your boss at work is he messed up and said it on TV.

Maris

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 04:53 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
yes it is embarrassing that he is a political leader but what is worse is that I find it hard to believe he held his views in a vacuum. Isn't it worse that people say well lets move on he apologized? Isn't it worse that he had these views and it was accepted amongst his party peers? I see it as a much bigger problem. How many more Tren Lotts are there out ther in our senate and congress? Maybe that is the question people should be asking.

Crossfire

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 04:53 pm EditMoveDeleteIP

Quote:

I think the Dems are digging themselves a deeper hole on this one, rather than crawling out of the one they're already in.


Yes, I agree.


I also don't think we should be connecting this to Clinton in any way, to put 'a blow job' on the stage as a good reason to give Lott a hard time is cheap. What Lott has done stands on it's own.

One way or another, he is going to pay for this regardless of what the white house has to say on the matter. I find most republicans do not share the same opinion. I think he should lose the leadership position as a start, and then let his electorate finish the job as they see fit. If they want him, they can keep him, if they want rid of him, so be it.

Hermione69

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 04:55 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
That makes me sad. But I understand completely why people would feel like that. (reaction to Squaredsc's post that she clipped from another board)

Suitsmefine

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 04:57 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
My opinion is simply this...Clinton did what most men caught with their pants down would have done, he lied. I personally do not care how many interns he "diddled" that isn't any of my business.Monica was not a baby, she knew what she was doing and she knew he was married, So lets not pretend he deflowered the virgin! Those issues are between him , his wife and God .....The only people I think He owed an apology to were his wife and daughter the issue should never have been for public debate. Now as for Lott, I do not care if he is Dem. or Rep....if his beliefs are that minorities are second rate people without the same rights as himself he does not deserve to lead his party, as for apologizing...too little too late. Hell you apologize for actions you are sorry for and never intend to do again, you cannot apologize for beliefs you choose to live your life by everyday. JMO.

Hermione69

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 05:01 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
"How many more Tren Lotts are there out ther in our senate and congress? Maybe that is the question people should be asking."

Good point, Maris.

Squaredsc

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 05:02 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
me too hermione.

Maris

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 05:06 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
My comparison of Lotts actions to Clintons is only relevant as Lott was the loudest protestor of Clintons immoral behavior. The fact is that Lott is a racist, he cant get beyond that. Who didn't think it was pathetic that they paraded an african american family out in his church yesterday, nevermind that they had never been there before. It was disgusting and pandering.

Who really thinks that Trent Lott would give a damn about what BET thinks about him if he hadn't sunk into this quicksand hole. I find him disgusting and hope that he does resoign. He will find out that there is no such thing as white supremacy and that the majority of americans find his views offensive.

Crossfire

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 05:07 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Exactly.

Twiggyish

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 05:09 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Yup, I agree with you Maris!

Pottedplant

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 05:40 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
There are "racists" in both parties, I object to the labeling of the repubs as "more" racist.

There is an ex KKK member in the Senate, thats Robert Byrd, DEMOCRAT of WV. I find that pretty disturbing.

Bastable

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 05:50 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Yeah, but Byrd's not in charge of the Republican Senate.

I also find it scary that despite Lott's racist voting history (founding his career on segregation, voting against MLK Day, etc.), the Republicans have had no problem elevating him to serving their leader in the Senate. That is, until people complain.

Washington is so corrupt. Why didn't we elect Ralph Nader again?

Crossfire

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 06:04 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Lets not get crazy now Bastable. I'm still trying to figure out how to respond to your other message in the what the world thinks thread. Two aborted multipage attempts so far, but I just can't get it down to a manageable size.

Despite which, you are still one of my favorite people around here. :)

Bastable

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 06:12 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks, Crossfire! I rarely get personal. I just like injecting new perspectives wherever I go.

As long as I'm stimulated, I'm happy. And you're always stimulating!

Zachsmom

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 06:28 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
zachsmom comes up off of comfy chair..spill pop-corn everywhere



Quote:

Who didn't think it was pathetic that they paraded an african american family out in his church yesterday, nevermind that they had never been there before. It was disgusting and pandering.





WHAT??!!

Crossfire

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 06:35 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Yeah, I saw that on CNN the other day. They had cameras in the church filled to the brim with white people, and before lott could manage to get his seat on a bench, in came a black family who apparently had never been there before, and who were supportive of the leader.

I wasn't terribly impressed. Might have just been a coincidence, but it did not look terribly innocent.

Zachsmom

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 06:50 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
YIKES!

I truly hope that this was a family showing their support and not polital pandering!

Next thing we'll hear out of Lott's mouth is "I am not a racist, some of my best friends are black"

Maris

Monday, December 16, 2002 - 06:59 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Zach I take it you missed his interview on BET? He sure as S*** did say some of my best friends are..................... I think overall the interview was a flop.