Edgewise

Tip of the iceberg

I've been wondering when the Lott flap would lead to a more comprehensive investigation of how the old Dixiecrat movement became the Goldwater/Nixon "southern strategy." To quote Lyndon Johnson when he signed the 1964 Voting Rights Act, "I think we've just delivered the south to the Republicans for a long time to come." The Republicans have been willing to accept the votes and support of white racists in the south and have thus far had to accept very few consequences for this deal with the devil and betrayal of the bedrock principles of the party of Lincoln. As George III tries to reach out to minorities and embiggen the tent, perhaps finally the chickens are coming home to roost. Robert Scheer has one take on all of this.

Well, sure

In Lott to hold news conference - Dec. 13, 2002, CNN.com reports, "Lott said Wednesday night that he hoped he could be judged in the full context of his career, which he said has included support of historically black colleges and universities."

Well, sure. He can support historically black colleges and universities while still winking about "separate but equal" to his unreconstructed supporters.

Lott is toast

Salon.com Politics | Lott's amnesia

On Tuesday, on the racist Web site Nationalist.org, past Lott supporter Richard Barrett expressed offense that Lott would retract his remarks and try to portray Thurmond's candidacy as anything other than what it was.

"The reason that you have been elected is because you have been a segregationist, pitted against integrationists in your various elections," Barrett wrote. "Now is not the time to sound a wavering trumpet." Lott owed an apology "to the memory of William L. Colmer, once Dean of the Congress, who placed you in public life, and who was as staunch a segregationist as ever could be," Barrett went on. "I still have the photo of you, me and Congressman Colmer, when we all were together in Pascagoula, here on my wall and would like to say that I have been proud of it."

Barrett schooled Lott, saying, "You owe your loyalty to Mississippi, not the NAACP, to Bill Lord of Carrollton, a segregationist and one of your most-ardent supporters, not Jesse Jackson of Chicago, an integrationist and one of your more-vocal critics." After all, Barrett was the one "shaking your hand at your victory celebration, not Al Gore.

"Your original statement of solidarity with Senator Thurmond and Mississippi was from the heart and honest," Barrett wrote. "Isn't 'honesty the best policy'?"

Lott shows his true colors

As reported in Slate (Blurted Out Conviction of the Week: Trent Lott - What's a little segregationism among friends? By Timothy Noah):

"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." —Trent Lott at Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party, as reported Dec. 6 in ABC News' political Weblog, The Note.

Posted by xian at 6:36 PM

Bush names bin Laden to head terror probe

Sometimes satire gets at a deeper truth than "objective journalism" ever manages:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 — President Bush today named Osama Bin Laden, a polarizing figure who is viewed with suspicion by some in the West but enjoys great cred in the Arab street, to lead an independent investigation into the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.