Trent Lott’s recent comments aren’t really that shocking, are they? It’s not as if anyone needed further proof that the senator from Mississippi is a reactionary toad.
“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.”
Nothing new there.
The real news here comes from Al Gore’s reaction, which is just the latest embarrassment from the desperately over-eager former Vice-President.
“To say that the problems that we have in America today, some of them, stem from not electing a segregationist candidate for president … is fundamentally racist,” Gore said.
Asked if he believes Lott is a racist, Gore said, “Trent Lott made a statement that I think is a racist statement, yes. That’s why I think he should withdraw those comments or I think the United States Senate should undertake a censure of those comments.
Racist? Censure? Come on. Lott is an idiot. And his politics are despicable and destructive. But is it really so bad that he says what he feels? Isn’t this the way we find out who a person really is? His words speak for themselves, and are rightfully being publicized and derided. Do we really need Gore rushing to be the first to scream “racist” at the top of his lungs? Talk about zealous overkill.
It’s way past time to put Gore out to pasture. He means well, but he’s not leadership material. And he’s never going to be President.