Crib Sheet: Trent Lott Rises Again
Some quick facts on the Senator now that he’s back in the leadership.
By Christy Harvey
Wednesday November 15, 2006
At first, it didn’t look like a big news day: The Senate GOP tapped Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to be the new Senate Minority Leader (a position previously held by Bill Frist.) Yawn. But then…
- In a total 25-24 squeaker vote, Sen. Trent Lott squeezed by Sen. Lamar Alexander to become the new Senate Minority whip. Now that’s what we call news. [MSNBC]
- Sen. Lott was forced to step down as Senate leader four years ago after getting a little too in touch with his inner racist at a tribute dinner for Strom Thurmond. [CNN]
- At the Thurmond dinner, Lott said the U.S. could have avoided “all these problems” if Strom Thurmond had won his quest for the presidency back in 1948. You know, when he ran on the pro-segregation ticket. [Audio, :10]
- People were not amused. Some said it was a slip of the tongue: more pointed to the remarks in the context of his past actions. [Time Magazine]
- 1979: Supports constitutional amendment to ban school busing (it failed).
- 1981: Files a brief with the Supreme Court supporting religious Bob Jones University, charging “racial discrimination does not always violate public policy.”
- 1982: Votes against Voting Rights Act (it passed).
- 1983: Votes against making MLK Day a national holiday. (It passed.)
- 1992: Addresses the white-supremacy group the Council of Conservative Citizens, saying, “The people in this room stand for the right principles and right philosophy. Let’s take it in the right direction and our children will be the beneficiaries.”
- 1998: “Sometimes I feel closer to Jefferson Davis [leader of the Confederacy] than any other man in America.”
Audio:
McConnell: It is my great pleasure to present to you our newly elected assistant majority leader, Trent Lott.
Lott: Thank you leader, congratulations to you, I know you’re going to make an outstanding Republican leader for us all and I’m honored to be a part of this leadership team to support Mitch McConnell and all my colleagues to do a job I’ve always really loved the most, count the votes. [Audio, :27]
Christy Harvey is the Editor of Mic Check.
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Trent Lott is a racist and shouldn’t even be in our government. He hasn’t changed any from the way he was before. Thank God the Democrats are in and can keep him in check.
— Mavis Malloy - Nov 16, 02:51 PM - #This is the problem with our country today. And we have the nerve to accuse other countries of inhuman behavior which in most cases are true, but our politicians are the epitomy of hypocrisy, and continue without remorse to show their true racist colors and ideology. God help us all. Let us pray.
— Mike Adkins - Nov 16, 02:55 PM - #TRENT LOTT IS GOING TO SPELL TROUBLE AND I’M NOT KIDDING!
— ernest kight - Nov 16, 02:58 PM - #I think it’s great that he’s back. He’ll further disgrace himself and the Repubs and probably be lynched by the end of the year. Just goes to show how dispicable the GOP really is!
— Soli Mourice - Nov 16, 02:58 PM - #“True colors are shown, when people are down.”
— Derrick Petit - Nov 16, 03:01 PM - #The Republicans lost the House and the Senate, and are now showing just how they feel about the issue of race in this country.
The republicans seem to have shot themselves in the foot.
— Robin Spock - Nov 16, 04:25 PM - #I’m ok with Lott’s return to the leadership. The CCC is racist, but that wasn’t widely-known until recently, and pols don’t always do full background checks of the groups they’re invited to speak to. Not wanting to create another federal holiday (for MLK) was silly and stupid, but not racist. It’s not like he said “Let’s give David Duke a holiday INSTEAD of MLK!” And to folks from the South, Jeff Davis and the CSA stands for a lot more than racism. Lott’s comments at Thurmond’s birthday party were insensitive and not well-thought out, but I think he was trying to make a 100-year-old man feel good at his birthday party. Lott has always been a bipartisan old bull, and his hand in the leadership team will help calm a lot of the bitterness in DC down, I think. We shall see.
— Nathan E. - Nov 16, 05:03 PM - #And btw, Ernest – I’M NOT KIDDING EITHER!
:-p
— Nathan E. - Nov 16, 05:03 PM - #Well, he was voted in by his State, furthermore he was voted to this position by members who do not hail from deep south, is there a message? Aside from the five or six foul sounding comments thst quite a few people are bemoaning here; he must have done one or two things correctly to get where he is now. Furthermore; I wish I could count on one habd all my slips of the tounge, truth be told,you probably feel the same way. If you are honest.
— quicktocy - Nov 16, 08:26 PM - #Nathan E. is quite correct. Robert Byrd was a clan recruiter and given a birthday party in the Fredrick Douglas house by Hillary. That is hypcrisy. The way Democrats handled Stubbs vs. the way Republicans handled Foley brings the word hypocrisy to new heights for Democrats. Pelosi’s support of Murtha, is incredible while hammering on the “culture of corrruption”. If Hastings is made the head of the house intell committee we are doomed. Where did the integrity go?
— helorat - Nov 17, 03:27 AM - #Trent Lott is and always will be a bagman for the Republicans—big money got him where he is today and he will fight to the death to protect those interests—he’s just a racist on the weekends!
— Jane Penwell - Nov 17, 01:10 PM - #In response to the Nathan E.‘s assertion that the CCC’s racism was not widely known until recently, I beg to differ. The CCC, which used to be the White Citizens Council—which is known for being the “uptown klan” during the 1960s, has only changed by name, not by actions and beliefs. This has and will continue to be evident by Lotts success in politics.
— hendersonaw - Nov 18, 11:12 AM - #DO5B0C
— there - May 9, 10:25 AM - #