Trent Lott Birthday Speech

[Twystyd]

O.K. everyone, you have been hiding under a rock or really don't give a shit about news if you have not heard the ruckus and formed an opinion on the Trent Lott statements.

Though I agree that his comments were blown way out of proportion, I mean he was trying to say something nice to a guy on his 100th birthday, what a fuck up. Basically Lott said, "Thurmond would have made a good president," and the media decided to add, "because he ran as a segregationist." That said, combined with Lott's questionable history, this isn't going to blow over, even though I believe he was trying to say something flattering about the currently decaying Strom Thurmond (who is living proof that man is not supposed to live to 100, did you see this corpse).

He may have been catering to the audience but what actually got him in trouble IMO was the statement "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 of followed our lead we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either."

LOL, what problems might those have been? Problems that are presumably only around today because blacks are integrated into "white society"? You can see why minorities are asking such questions when your state Mississippi is the only state that still flies the confederate flag. I do understand that the confederates were fighting first for state individualism as well as a host of other issues besides slavery but this still seems amoral and inappropriate for the times.

Strom's whole platform was segregation. I cannot say Lott is obviously a racist but I can say he fucked up and in one night may have committed political suicide.


BTW this is from Washington post:

"Twenty-two years ago, Trent Lott, then a House member from Mississippi, told a home state political gathering that if the country had elected segregationist candidate Strom Thurmond to the presidency "30 years ago, we wouldn't be in the mess we are today." The phrasing is very similar to incoming Senate Majority Leader Lott's controversial remarks at a 100th birthday party for Thurmond last week."

[Guyute]

Personally I think that it's ok to have your own opinions. Wether that be that my favorite color is blue, or that I don't like a certain minority, that is my right as a person.

A politician however, in a democratic society, has to pussy-foot around as to not step on any toes, which is BS. One slip up can ruin your entire career, as the media closely scrutinizes every word that you say.

In short, a politician may have no opinions, just a homoginized, pasturized, pollitically correcticized way of dealing with media.

[Twystyd]

That's the reality of it. Blame the voters as they are the toes.

[Naeriad]

I think Lott should stay as majority leader to make more an even bigger ass out of the Republican Party.

[Twystyd]

LOL, as a Republican I do agree this feeds a liberal machine that is desperately in need of momentum caused by a lack of a visible agenda. It is also ironic that most Rep. are looking for Lott to sink himself for the sake of the party as most Dem. are in the line of thinking of Neriad. Fun, fun.

I also voted no.

[Pytt]

In Minnesota I would have thrown him a bulldog. Tae boe hoe.