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| '''Trent Lott''' ( |
'''Chester Trent Lott''' (born ], ]) is a ] from ]. He was Senate ] from ], ] through ], ]. On June 5, 2001, when ] Senator ] became an Independent, the ] lost control of the Senate, and Lott became ]. With the Republicans' victory in the ] Senate elections, Lott was once again slated to become Majority Leader when the 108th Senate convenes on ], ]; however, comments made by Lott that appear to be nostalgic for segregation made his leadership position untenable, and he resigned from leadership on ], 2002. | ||
| ==Political Biography== | ==Political Biography== | ||
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| Senator ] from the Senate to pursue the ]. | Senator ] from the Senate to pursue the ]. | ||
| == Lott's resignation from majority leader == | |||
| ==Current Events== | |||
| Tremendous political controversy ensued following remarks Lott made on ], ] at the 100th birthday party of Senator ]. Thurmond ran for ] in ] on the ] ticket, whose primary campaign issue was the perpetuation of ] in the ]. Lott said, "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." | Tremendous political controversy ensued following remarks Lott made on ], ] at the 100th birthday party of Senator ]. Thurmond ran for ] in ] on the ] ticket, whose primary campaign issue was the perpetuation of ] in the ]. Lott said, "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." | ||
| The comment, broadcast on ], was largely ignored by the mainstream media but was widely discussed on political ]s such as ]'s ], which also uncovered Lott's history of actively supporting segregation during college and making similar statements at various points throughout his career. Five days later the story was picked up by the mainstream media. | |||
| The comment gained national attention five days later when the story hit the New York Times and the network evening news. Despite Lott's repeated apologies for the remark, it rapidly developed into an intense firestorm of calls for his resignation as Majority Leader from both ends of the political spectrum when the media uncovered several incidences of Lott making similar statements at various points throughout his career. Liberal Democrats claim the remark is unconscionable, or as ] put it, "fundamentally ]", and many conservative groups and media outlets attempting to create an image for the Republican Party as inclusive of minorities were quick to distance themselves from Lott and criticize the incident. Centrist Democrats and Republicans tended to defend Lott and insist the remarks had been blown out of proportion. President ] voiced his own harsh criticism of Lott's remarks, "Any suggestion that the segregated past was acceptable or positive is offensive, and it is wrong. Recent comments by Senator Lott do not reflect the spirit of our country," Bush said to loud applause. "He has apologized and rightly so. Every day that our nation was segregated was a day our nation was unfaithful to our founding ideals." | |||
| Lott |
Lott comments on the remark grew from a mild dismissal as an off-the-cuff remark supporting Thurmond's national defense platform to an explicit repudiation of his racist past and assertions of support for affirmative action in a BET interview, by which time his political fate was sealed. | ||
| Once reported in newspapers and television, calls for his resignation as Majority Leader from both ends of the political spectrum grew. | |||
| Some Democrats and Republicans considered the remark unconscionable, or as ] put it, "fundamentally ]", and many conservative groups and media outlets attempting to create an image for the Republican Party as inclusive of minorities were quick to distance themselves from Lott and criticize the incident. Centrist Democrats and Republicans at first defended Lott insisted the remarks had been blown out of proportion. | |||
| After President ] voiced his own harsh criticism of Lott's remarks: "Any suggestion that the segregated past was acceptable or positive is offensive, and it is wrong. Recent comments by Senator Lott do not reflect the spirit of our country. He has apologized and rightly so. Every day that our nation was segregated was a day our nation was unfaithful to our founding ideals," it was evident that it would be difficult for Lott to remain majority leader, although the official White House line was that Lott did not need to resign. | |||
| Lott later agreed with the President's speech. In the aforementioned BET interview, he said, "Segregation is a stain on our nation’s soul.... Segregation and racism are immoral." | |||
| Under pressure from Senate colleagues, and without the backing of the ], Lott resigned as Senate Republican Leader on ], ]. | Under pressure from Senate colleagues, and without the backing of the ], Lott resigned as Senate Republican Leader on ], ]. | ||
Revision as of 06:17, 21 December 2002
Chester Trent Lott (born October 9, 1941) is a United States Senator from Mississippi. He was Senate Majority Leader from June 12, 1996 through June 5, 2001. On June 5, 2001, when Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords became an Independent, the Republicans lost control of the Senate, and Lott became Minority Leader. With the Republicans' victory in the 2002 Senate elections, Lott was once again slated to become Majority Leader when the 108th Senate convenes on January 7, 2003; however, comments made by Lott that appear to be nostalgic for segregation made his leadership position untenable, and he resigned from leadership on December 20, 2002.
Political Biography
Trent Lott entered public office in 1972, when he was elected to the House of Representatives from Mississippi. He served eight terms, then successfully ran for Senate in 1988. He was re-elected in 1994 and 2000. He became majority leader in 1996, following the resignation of Senator Bob Dole from the Senate to pursue the Presidency.
Lott's resignation from majority leader
Tremendous political controversy ensued following remarks Lott made on December 5, 2002 at the 100th birthday party of Senator Strom Thurmond. Thurmond ran for President of the United States in 1948 on the Dixiecrat ticket, whose primary campaign issue was the perpetuation of racial segregation in the United States. Lott said, "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."
The comment, broadcast on CSPAN, was largely ignored by the mainstream media but was widely discussed on political blogs such as Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo, which also uncovered Lott's history of actively supporting segregation during college and making similar statements at various points throughout his career. Five days later the story was picked up by the mainstream media.
Lott comments on the remark grew from a mild dismissal as an off-the-cuff remark supporting Thurmond's national defense platform to an explicit repudiation of his racist past and assertions of support for affirmative action in a BET interview, by which time his political fate was sealed.
Once reported in newspapers and television, calls for his resignation as Majority Leader from both ends of the political spectrum grew.
Some Democrats and Republicans considered the remark unconscionable, or as Al Gore put it, "fundamentally racist", and many conservative groups and media outlets attempting to create an image for the Republican Party as inclusive of minorities were quick to distance themselves from Lott and criticize the incident. Centrist Democrats and Republicans at first defended Lott insisted the remarks had been blown out of proportion.
After President George W. Bush voiced his own harsh criticism of Lott's remarks: "Any suggestion that the segregated past was acceptable or positive is offensive, and it is wrong. Recent comments by Senator Lott do not reflect the spirit of our country. He has apologized and rightly so. Every day that our nation was segregated was a day our nation was unfaithful to our founding ideals," it was evident that it would be difficult for Lott to remain majority leader, although the official White House line was that Lott did not need to resign.
Lott later agreed with the President's speech. In the aforementioned BET interview, he said, "Segregation is a stain on our nation’s soul.... Segregation and racism are immoral."
Under pressure from Senate colleagues, and without the backing of the White House, Lott resigned as Senate Republican Leader on December 20, 2002.
External Links
- Lott Decried for Part of Salute to Thurmond, The Washington Post, Saturday, December 7, 2002; Page A06.
- Sen. Lott Fights to Save Post as Leader, The Washington Post, Saturday, December 14, 2002; Page A01
- Lott Remarks on Thurmond Echoed 1980 Words, The Washington Post, Wednesday, December 11, 2002; Page A06
- Sen. Lott's New Spin The Washington Post, Saturday, December 14, 2002; Page A24
- Talking Points Memo, a political weblog, has posted Lott's racially-inflected Fall 1984 interview with the Southern Partisan and discusses his long-standing association with a white supremacist group, the Council of Conservative Citizens
- Joe Conason's Journal: Lott's involvement with the neo-Confederate movement, racists and extreme rightists goes way back, Salon.com, December 12, 2002.