Lott's Praise for Thurmond Echoed His Words of 1980 nytimes.com
Personally, I'm somewhat confused by this little episode. What, exactly, is new here? A random story from two years ago:
Lott, and Shadow of a Pro-White Group query.nytimes.com
If, as the Senate majority leader Trent Lott has insisted for a month, he has ''no firsthand knowledge'' of the views of the Council of Conservative Citizens, which calls itself pro-white, it comes as news to a lot of people back home, including his Uncle Arnie.
''Trent is an honorary member,'' said Arnie Watson, a former state senator, tax assessor and now a member of the council's executive board.
''He's spoken at meetings,'' added Mr. Watson, whom Mr. Lott once fondly recalled as his ''favorite uncle,'' when, as a youth, his grandfather and uncles gathered to talk politics on the porch.
It would be difficult for any conservative politician here -- Democrat or Republican -- to remain ignorant of the Council of Conservative Citizens.
There are 34 members of the Mississippi Legislature among its roughly 5,000 members in the state, said William D. Lord, the state coordinator, and prominent politicians, including Gov. Kirk Fordice, a fellow Republican, regularly speak at its meetings and rallies, which are festooned with the Confederate flag.
But after a month of questioning and scrutiny about his relationship with the group, Senator Lott issued a statement tonight, saying: ''I have made my condemnation of the white supremacist and racist view of this group, or any group, clear. Any use of my name to publicize their view is not only unauthorized -- it's wrong.''
Then there's Andrew Sullivan, always good for a laugh, who manages to grind his NYT axe on this one somehow:
THE BLOGOSPHERE AND LOTT: Howie Kurtz notices how much quicker on the draw the blogosphere was on the matter of Trent Lott's declared regrets for the passing of Jim Crow. I'm still stunned at how little the New York Times made of it (although Krugman seems to have drawn from lots of blogosphere arguments for his column today). Why this discrepancy? I don't really know. One thought I have is that the media bigwigs really do operate socially in Washington and find it hard to pounce on people they know, like, respect or need as a source. That's one reason I try hard to remain pretty socially reclusive in DC; and why I think occasional periods away from town actually helps you be a better journalist. The way in which people like David Broder or Bob Novak simply brushed this one aside is a sign, I think, less of their craven politics than of their DC socialization. Another advantage for the blogosphere. We don't give a damn. And by and large, we say what we believe. ( andrewsullivan.com , direct link supposedly andrewsullivan.com )
Peope read what they want to read, and believe what they want to believe. The "news" on Lott is hardly that. Amusing, yes. News? Yeah, right. I'm shocked, shocked! to read that Trent Lott is a little antediluvian in his views on race. Round up the usual suspects. |
