So Jillian...do you see a difference between Lott stating what he did about Strom Thurman...and the Democratic senators who have stated that Robert Byrd has been the right man for the job at any point in his career?
As I see it...Lott was complimenting Thurman on his birthday...you may be willing to believe that his comment was racist...but as he did not specifically mention race in any way, stretch, or form...it seems a bit unfair, closeminded, attack-dog-esque, etc. to demand the man step down from his position because he MAY have said something that some MAY have interpreted as racist rather than just a guy saying - "I think this man would have made a good president..." during his birthday party...
I completely understand where you are coming from at heart, Jilli...supporting segregationism is wrong...but truthfully - do you not find it a bit ridiculous to expect someone to compliment someone by saying, "I think you've been a great senator, sir...and on your birthday I'd just like to say that aside from your views on segregationism - which you now state you no longer agree with, the way you voted on the last legislation regarding (fill in the blank) and your support of (fill in some random thing)...I think you'd be a great president." ???
Do we have to list everyone's faults when complimenting them for fear that some attack dog is going to insinuate to the media that we really AGREE with those faults because we didn't state it upfront?
I love you, husband - but I do need to say for sake of full disclosure that I don't like the way you didn't pay your credit card bill in college because you were paying your own way and didn't have any money - which resulted in you having a bad credit rating that you had to work off in the first few years of our marriage...and you once got into a fight at a bar because some guy spilled a drink on me and didn't apologize...I thought that was a bit boorish and embarassing...I feel I should tell everyone these things up front so they know that even though I love you - I DO NOT support not paying your bills OR getting into dumb fights when drunk. Good night!!!
Sorry...but I can't see the Lott debacle as anything more than the left-wing desperately throwing out the race card to destroy a republican who they felt had too much power. Note that I'm not saying that Republicans haven't done or tried to do the same thing....but to string up a man for saying that someone was a good senator and would have been a good president at his b-day party seems a bit ludicrous.
If we are to change the tone in Washington, in political debate...etc...we HAVE HAVE HAVE to accept that sometimes people say things that are inappropriate...sometimes people say things that aren't appropriate, but come across that way...and sometimes people say things that aren't inappropriate at all...but coniving, desperate losers really really want to make it out to be... (I'm not calling you that...I think you and many others are falling into the "taking it the wrong way and getting your panties all in a bunch about it" category - I respect where you are coming from - a desire to not encourage segregationists, racists, etc...but really feel that you've taken this one too far.) and just take a deep breath and get over it.
Kerry said something which sounded an awful lot like "the people in the military are stupid," to me - as a military spouse. But I thought what the media and right-wingers tried to do to him was ridiculous...give it a rest...
Hillary Clinton once joked that Ghandi was the guy who worked in the 7-11 down the street....interestingly enough, Democrats didn't demand she step down from her position or not run for president because her comment OBVIOUSLY indicated that she had racist tendencies.
We all need to chill the f*ck out about stupid statements like these - or we could just continue snipping and bickering about them....which will get us absolutely nowhere....