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Random commentary and senseless acts of blogging.
The first Republican president once said, "While the people retain their virtue and their vigilance, no administration by any extreme of wickedness or folly can seriously injure the government in the short space of four years." If Mr. Lincoln could see what's happened in these last three-and-a-half years, he might hedge a little on that statement. Blog critics Gryffindor House Slytherin House Ravenclaw House House Elves Beth Jacob Prisoners of Azkaban Muggles
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Wednesday, December 18, 2002
Flogging a Dying Horse Some passages in Trent Lott's bizarre apology from BET deserve notice. I am for affirmative action. And I practice it. I have had African-Americans on my staff, and other minorities, but particularly African-Americans, since the mid-1970s.
In other words, the fact that he actually hires black people demonstrates that he practices affirmative action. These are, in Lott's mind, the same thing. Apparently Mr Lott thinks that if he hired by merit, his staff would be entirely white. Lott is not far from admitting that the charge Democrats have been making for years, that the blacks prominent in conservative circles are tokens, is true. So it's appropriate that at this moment J C Watts, the only black Republican in Congress and recently largely invisible should be reappearing in Lott's defense. Watts is leaving Congress largely because his inability to move up in the leadership after Armey retired suggested that criticisms he had been put in the leadership as a gesture were accurate.
Look, I have a lot of good friends, young African-Americans, business men and women, people in my state that I have reached out to and helped and going to continue to help, and a number of them are speaking up about it.
No, really, some of my best friends...
Well, yes, that's what I'm saying, my actions, I think, don't reflect my voting record.
I am not what I am. - Iago
Really, it's gotten bad when even I'm feeling sorry for the guy. Somebody should get a sharp knife and put this poor jackass out of its misery. Watching it writhe around is just painful.
Punditry note: My feeling is that Nickles wouldn't have made a potential challenge unless he knew he had support - either from within the Senate or, quite likely, a commitment from the White House to back his challenge behind closed doors. Lott will agree to stay on until the next election, in return for a cushy sinecure after his retirement. Nickles will be the new Majority Leader and will push an aggressive right wing agenda.
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