Lott-eriorata
Ken Masugi of the Claremont Institute has this interesting perspective on the Trent Lott affair:
The Founders' purpose in establishing the United States Senate was to elevate the characters of its members so that, following deliberation, it could act on behalf of the whole nation. This is the real, constitutional issue in the furor concerning would-be Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. At a celebration for his centenarian colleague Strom Thurmond, he stupidly praised his segregationist Dixiecrat party presidential run in 1948. Besides being hectored by the expected liberal chorus, many conservatives, some of whom have regarded Lott as a timid leader for conservative principles, have berated him. His demotion to the backbenches would not only shore up conservative policies but affirm constitutional principles as well.
Lott, as stupid as he was, at least didn't sound hateful; you can't say that about the holier-than-thou folks who are still piling on him.
On the subject of liabilities, Democratic Party boosters imagine that this whole situation is an unequivocal plus for the Democrats, and some have even gone so far as to say, half-seriously, that they'd prefer that Lott stay on as a permanent punching bag. They're kidding themselves. The TV talking heads on the "Democratic side" haven't exactly covered themselves with glory on this, and I believe it may set a precedent for future race issues-based character assassination-- no matter how warranted in this case-- that will come back haunt them. Steve Sailer makes this point about "every Republican with a blogger account":
Let me try to make this clear to everybody on the right: You aren't winning any Anti-Racist Brownie Points for leading this witch burning. You are just making it easier for them to come after you the next time you slip up in some utterly frivolous social occasion.
As for Trent, I doubt he's going to stay on. And pace Sailer, the most likely immediate outcome is a net gain in prestige and credibility for the Republicans on a difficult issue: all Bush has to do is keep talking this way, all the Republicans have to do is select a new leader, and they easily claim the high ground in this sorry affair. They lose their least appealing, most damaging national leader and get credit for doing the right thing at the same time. If he remains, everybody loses. So off he goes.
Posted by Dr. Frank at December 13, 2002 12:56 PM | TrackBack