In Defense of Lott
Dick Morris in the NY Post:
He took the lead in doubling funding for historically black colleges in Mississippi, sponsored the bill to make racially motivated arson a federal crime, broke the filibuster to get the Africa Free Trade bill passed and brokered the deal that led to a vast increase in federal Title I education aid and earmarked it for poor schools.I honestly don't believe Trent Lott supports racism or racist ideals. These things, combined with the 35% of black Mississippians who vote for him every six years, seem to indicate that he isn't (or at least is no longer) a racist or a segregationist. But the evidence that he's burdened by at least a moderate case of prejudice is mounting, and I'm prone to believe it since I've known too many good Christian gentlemen who bury a kind of subtle bigotry where it isn't often seen.And he helped get the Congressional Gold Medal voted for Rosa Parks.
The central problem today is that much of that subtle bigotry feeds off its counterpart in the black community, and is knowingly perpetuated by evil opportunists on both sides fanning the flames for personal gain.
Damnit, it's been more than 145 years since Kansas started bleeding. When are we going to finish fighting the central issue of the Civil War and finally - irrevocably - denounce racism in all its forms?!
