Sadly for the Republicans, there is no double standard at work here. Trent Lott didn't merely lavish praise on the legendary racist and segregation stalwart Strom Thurmond. Lott's 2002 reminder that the old times there are not forgotten capped a career of neo-Confederate nostalgia.

Still, as Michael Steele himself would probably suggest, you can't blame a brother for trying. As the AP reported:

GOP Chairman Michael Steele, in appearances on two Sunday news programs, compared Reid's predicament with the circumstances that led Senate Republican leader Trent Lott to step down from that post in 2002. Lott had spoken favorably of the 1948 segregationist presidential campaign of Strom Thurmond, and in spite of apologies for those remarks at Thurmond's 100th birthday, Lott was forced out as leader.

"There is this standard where the Democrats feel that they can say these things and they can apologize when it comes from the mouths of their own. But if it comes from anyone else, it's racism," said Steele, who is black. "It's either racist or it's not. And it's inappropriate, absolutely."

Arizona Republican Jon Kyl concurred with Steele's assessment that "The reality of it is this, there is this standard where Democrats feel they can say these things and apologize as long as it comes from one of their own, and if it comes from somebody else, it's racism." As Politico reported in a hyperbolic story titled, "Reid fights for political life":

Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) , the second ranking Republican in Senate, also pointed to a "double standard" in how Democrats have treated Reid as compared to Lott.

"If he should resign, then Harry Reid should," Kyl said on Fox. "If they apologize and you know what is in their heart, my feeling is they shouldn't but in this case he should."

For their part, Democrats including Jack Reed (D-RI), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), James Clyburn (D-DC), Thurmond's distant relative Al Sharpton and the President rushed to Reid's defense, with Obama noting, "I accepted Harry's apology without question because I've known him for years, I've seen the passionate leadership he's shown on issues of social justice and I know what's in his heart."

In contrast, Trent Lott's passion apparently was a fondness for the ante bellum South.

Pressured by the Bush White House, Lott in December 2002 resigned his Senate Majority Leadership post following his public hagiography of Dixiecrat and staunch segregationist Strom Thurmond:

"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."

But as I noted in "A Confederacy of Dunces," Lott has been very clear in myriad other ways that "the old times there are not forgotten."

Lott was a speaker in 1992 at an event of the Council of Conservative Citizens, a successor to the White Citizens' Councils of Jim Crow days. Among its offerings in seething racial hatred is a "Wanted" poster of Abraham Lincoln. Lott's also offered his rebel yell in the virulently neo-Confederate Southern Partisan, where in 1984 he called the Civil War "the war of aggression."

Which brings us back to today's laughable Republican claim of a "double standard" for Trent Lott. As Lott and a host of other Republican neo-Confederates like George Allen, Matt Blunt, Haley Barbour, Jim Demint, John Ashcroft and (more recently) Mike Huckabee show, the GOP is credible on issues of race and social justice in much the same way that bricks float.

Nevertheless, the embattled Michael Steele will doubtless keep up his campaign against Harry Reid. As Steele might put it, "Well, the brother is still here, kicking, you know?'

—Perrspective 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) |

10 Comments

The GOP has exactly zero black senators and zero black representatives. Oh, yes, they have Oreo Steele, but that don't count.

Posted by Alfie on January 10, 2010 8:49 PM

MBT Shoes Sale offer powerful training shoes

Posted by cheap Mbt Shoes on March 31, 2010 6:22 PM

Was it set in Margate, perhaps?

Posted by BMW Parts on May 1, 2010 10:48 AM

Calling the Senate's majority leader "a good man," President Barack Obama said he accepted Sen. Harry Reid's apology for comments he made about race during the 2008 campaign.

Posted by puppy training on May 4, 2010 8:50 AM

A very good article, thanks for share.

Posted by replica handbags on May 29, 2010 4:25 AM

I agree with what Arizona Republican Jon Kyl had to say. Democrats always feel they can say something and later apologize if it was from one of its own. I never understood why they don't look at it the same way when other's do so.

HID Lights

Posted by Harry on May 31, 2010 1:17 AM

Thanks for your great work.
really really good stuff men !!! thanks !!!
Interesting Article. Hoping that you will continue posting an article having a useful information. Thanks a lot! http://www.five-fingers-vibram.org/

Posted by five fingers shoes on May 31, 2010 6:58 PM

Looking forward to your next post! http://www.fivefingersrunning.com/

Posted by vibram shoes on May 31, 2010 6:59 PM

Significant correlation and a high ratio of votes for Republicans to the percentage of unenrolled voters does give credence to the declaration that the hi-tech corridor (cities with the most unenrolled voters) is the state's political "center of gravity". Democratic field efforts should, accordingly, reflect this shift.

Posted by key west transportation on June 5, 2010 5:03 AM

hey buddy,this is one of the best posts that I’ve ever seen; you may include some more ideas in the same theme. I’m still waiting for some interesting thoughts from your side in your next post.

Posted by Wholesale NFL Jerseys on September 2, 2010 7:45 PM

Post a comment

Name:

Email Address:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comments (You may use HTML tags for style)

Enter these characters into the text field below: