Lott's Comments Indefensible

December 11, 2002

Since Strom Thurmond’s much ballyhooed 100 th birthday party, I’ve heard some conservatives defending the indefensible.   During that party, Senate Republican leader Trent Lott made a statement that cannot be laughed aside nor explained away.   He made reference to Thurmond’s failed attempt at the presidency in 1948 as a ‘Dixiecrat.’   Dixiecrats were Southern Democrats unhappy with the civil rights plank of that year’s Democratic party platform.   They broke away from the party and nominated their own candidate, Thurmond, on a single party platform – preserving segregation.

During a campaign swing through Jackson, MS, Thurmond said, “I want to tell you ladies and gentlemen, that there's not enough troops in the Army to force the Southern people to break down segregation and admit the Negro race into our theaters, into our swimming pools, into our homes, and into our churches.”   That was the tone of the Thurmond campaign in ’48 and the Dixiecrats, fortunately, went down in flames.

Flash forward to 2002.   Thurmond, the elder statesman who long ago repudiated his racist past, is being honored as he leaves the senate after a half-century.   Lott steps to the microphone and, referring to his home state of Mississippi, says, “"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.”

What part of that comment is acceptable?   Some Lott defenders claim he was joking.   I saw the clip.   His announcement that his state voted for Thurmond got some laughs, although it looked as if Lott did not intend it as a joke.   The last part drew nervous laughter.   Armstrong Williams, a black conservative who interned in Thurmond’s office and attended the party, said Lott’s comments “sent chills down my spine.”

No doubt, the Republicans have had a PR problem over the last few decades when it comes to the race issue.   That’s in spite of the fact that more Democrats voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act than Republicans, one of those being Al Gore, Sr.   Still, the image of Democrat President Johnson signing the act into law with leaders of the civil rights movement looking on has inextricably linked his party to the cause.   That’s unfortunate because the policies of LBJ have trapped millions of black Americans in the cycle of poverty and government dependency.

The Republicans have a golden opportunity to make a strong statement.   Unlike the Democrats who stood behind Jesse Jackson when he referred to New York as Hymie Town and Robert Byrd when he used the ‘N’ word in an interview a couple of years ago, the Republicans have a chance to do the right thing.   Carpe Diem – Seize the Day.   Or better yet, Carpe Trent and throw him from the train.

Many conservatives have long been bothered by Lott’s capitulation in dealing with Democrats.   Sharing power just after President Bush took office made it nearly impossible to advance the Bush agenda.   Tom Daschle, however, took full advantage of his razor-thin majority or, should I say, plurality.   His slash and burn, scorched earth policy brought business in the Senate to a standstill.

True conservatives know that Lott must go in order to bring to fruition the Bush agenda of tax cuts and slowing the growth of government.   Of all the defenders of Lott’s comments, none should be more telling than this statement: “There are a lot of times when he and I go to the mike and would like to say things we meant to say differently, and I'm sure this is one of those cases for him as well.”   That was Daschle’s take on the flap.   Need I say more?