What do u guys think?

[IvySpice]

True, people change. But the NYTimes article gave me the impression that we aren't just talking about choices Lott made when he was a kid in college. It's the things he said and did as an adult -- like make a near-identical statement in 1980, like hire ONE black staffer out of 65 in a city that's two-thirds black to minister to a state that's one-third black, like tie himself to segregationist candidates well into his career -- that make me wonder what was really behind his statement about Thurmond.

We all stick our feet in our mouths sometimes. Lord knows I've made a habit of it in my life! But taking this statement in the context of an entire career, it's hard for me to feel confident that it does not reflect a very serious historical blind spot on Lott's part.

A lot of conservatives have mentioned the general acceptance of Senator Byrd, a "reformed" member of the Ku Klux Klan and Democratic senator. I'm a Democrat, and I think it was an embarrassment to the nation to have someone like that in the Senate. If I lived in West Virginia, I'd have voted for almost any Republican rather than for him.

I think of it this way. If you commit a felony after the age of 18, you are not allowed to vote in national elections -- you are not allowed to become a lawyer -- you are not allowed to adopt children -- EVER. You steal a TV or pass a bad check at 18, and you are branded with a scarlet F for the rest of your life. You know Trent Lott, a born law'n'order man, would never try to change that law. Why then should promoting white supremacy well into your career as a public official be forgiven? At what point do we say, you were an adult, and you're accountable for the choices you made? I'd be a hundred times happier to have a reformed burglar creating national policy than a reformed KKK member (or White Citizens' Council supporter, in this case).

As for whether he should step down -- it's up to the Republicans to decide whether they want him to be their figurehead. If he were a Democrat (as he easily could be), I'd be calling for his figurehead on a platter.

Ivy