I see what you are saying now. However, it was no fault of the blacks what happened to them happened.  It was the idiocy of most white people.

Marc,

You said, "Imagine this. At a dinner in his honor, Tom Daschle stands up and says this whole country would have been better off if Byrd had been more successful recruiting for the KKK. Can you imagine what Rush Limbaugh would say!  Well, this is what Lott did."

No. Lott did not do that. Lott NEVER said anything about segregation. Or race.

I attended a funeral a while back for a great-uncle. At one point in his life, like many his age in the south, he thought segregation was the right thing to do. So anyway, at his funeral, the preacher went on and on about how if everyone strived to be like him (my great-uncle) the world would be a better place.

Did ANYONE take this as an edorsement to segregation? No. A few of the black people in attendence said, "amen." Why? Common sense. Lott said, and I quote, "We're proud of it, (Mississippi voting for him). And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either."

Not what the media tells you. No. They give you a bullet statement that says, "Trent Lott said the country would be better off if a segregationist had won."

Lott did not say that.

Does ANYONE remember when Al Gore ran for president? Remember what he said about his dad and how he had inspired him to run for office? That his dad's service had been an example to him? He even said, and I quote, "My father served our country with honor and integrity, that is something I want to continue." (New York Times; Transcript from Debate with G.W. Bush)

Where was Dan Rather on that one?! Al Gore's father filibustered the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He DIDN'T want it to pass. And Al Gore wants to continue that? Hmm.....and he received 91 percent of the black vote. Where was the public outcry? Where was Jessie Jackson? Nowhere. Because everyone knew that Al was not endorsing anti-civil rights. Just like Lott was not endorsing segregation or anti-civil rights.

As Trent Lott said about his statement "It was not an endorsement of his positions of over 50 years ago, but of the man and his life."

Another thing. Before Lott's statement, I heard Democrats praising Thurmond's service to our country. You know, statements to CNN from several "key" members of the senate. Tom Daschle was one. I don't remember the others' names, but just that several Democrats praised Thurmond. Some others of you have to remember seeing this. And does anyone else watch C-Span on occasion? Remember the standing applause for Thurmond from ALL of the senate? Were they applauding racism? :frowning:

No! Just like Lott wasn't endorsing it.



[!--EDIT|admin|Dec. 26 2002,11:22--]

Hey! It's snowing in L.A.! (At least on the board) Cool! :D

Republicans seem to want it both ways. Either Trent was endorsing a segregationist platform or Bush and the rest of the party are too dumb to realize he wasn't or the GOP are just political cowards afraid of the ramifications of standing up for one of their own. Which one is it? :lookaround:

Lincoln freeing the slaves is true but that was not his main goal in the Civil War.  He said he wanted to preserve the Union with or without ending slavery.  Only as the war progressed and popular abolitionist support grew was he willing to add that to the "war goals" list.  Lincoln is also on record as saying black people were not equal to white people.

Finally able to get back to the computer.  There's a ton of stuff I could say here, but in the name of peace on earth :christmas:  I'll keep to a couple of points.

First, a couple of people have said that nobody's talking about Robert Byrd.  What have you been watching?  Every Lott-defending talking head I've seen has brought up Byrd's association with the KKK.  

As a West Virginian, let me say that people are putting Byrd in the wrong role.  He's not Trent Lott, he's Strom Thurmond.  He began as a racist, segregationist Democrat who later changed his views (he says opposing the Civil Rights Act was the low point of his political career), as did Strom Thurmond.  Dole, incidently, pointed out how Thurmond had changed his views in his comments just before Lott and praised him for this.

Imagine this:  Byrd's encroaching senility (there have been signs, including a racial slur he used recently) finally forces him to do the sensible thing and retire.  At a dinner in his honor, Tom Daschle stands up and says this whole country would have been better off if Byrd had been more successful recruiting for the KKK.

Can you imagine what Rush Limbaugh would say!  Well, this is what Lott did.  He said the country would be better off if Strom Thurmond, who ran on a Dixiecrat segregationist platform--segregation was the reason he opposed Truman--would have become president!  And he said this on top of a number of borderline statements he has made over the years that seemed to be almost-but-not-so-you-could-pin-him-down-racist.  

Second, Lott was not brought down by Jesse Jackson or the Democrats; he was brought down by his own party. Bush condemned his statements.  The conscience of the party, William Bennett, called for his resignation.  After a record-low number of black votes being cast for Bush in the last election, he had made great strides in making the Republican Party inclusive.  He understood that the party cannot survive statements such as Lott's.

Republicans are the ones who lose when this is made a Republican/Democrat issue.  Bush understood that, and was reportedly relieved when Lott stepped aside.

Kari, I also appreciate what you say and especially pointing out the, shall I say "hypocrisy"?, that exists in our perceptions of what promotes OUR Christianity. If you speak out loudly against abortion, or homosexuality, then you are a good guy, defender of the faith...and yet what is it that you harbor within? If love is our law, and you shout about all the evil that exists and campaign against it and yet are somewhat racist, or openly racist...is that loving your neighbor, the only rule for believers? Then do you truly love God?

Thank you for your perspectives, Kari

Maurine

I am gonna have to get going soon.  wrasslin' is gonna be on at 9.

Holler if you hear me.

[!--QuoteBegin--][/span][table border=\"0\" align=\"center\" width=\"95%\" cellpadding=\"3\" cellspacing=\"1\"][tr][td]Quote (marc @ Dec. 25 2002,7:35)[/td][/tr][tr][td id=\"QUOTE\"][!--QuoteEBegin--]Let me guess:  you voted for a Democrat. :alien:[/quote]
I admit I have voted for a Democrat or two in the past.  I have also voted for a few Republicans.  The party I am a member of has too few supporters  to win any election.