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 Jabari Asim: Same Old PartyPosted on Nov 21, 2006By Jabari Asim WASHINGTON—Defenders of Republican piety have in recent years pointed to the emergence of a handful of African-Americans in the Bush administration and in statewide races as evidence that the GOP of recent decades was dead and gone. Now here comes a ghost of Dixie’s past to remind us that, contrary to all that vigorous spinning, the old Republican Party is still alive and kicking. Just days after a group of prominent black politicians in Maryland endorsed Republican Michael Steele in that state’s Senate race to “send a message” to the Democrats, the Republicans turned right around and sent their own unmistakable signal to blacks who may have been considering similar overtures: No thanks. They did so by electing Trent Lott as minority whip, the party’s No. 2 post in the Senate. It’s hard to see how that move relates to outgoing Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman’s talk about expanding the party’s traditional base. It’s also hard to see how the resurgence of Lott fits with John McCain’s call for a return to common-sense conservatism which, in his view, requires “recovering our principles first.” McCain should have fun explaining that one as he explores his presidential possibilities, along with his recent praise of Lott as “the most effective leader I know.” Nothing the Democrats have been accused of in their relationship with black voters—including arrogance, cluelessness and callous indifference—measures up to the egregious return of the gleeful Jim Crow nostalgist from Pascagoula. Lott’s ascendance will clear up any ambivalence among blacks who may have been impressed by the party’s recent backing of Steele, Lynn Swann and J. Kenneth Blackwell in high-profile races. Instead, that support will be regarded as a passing phase, an anomaly amid a group that also inflamed racial resentment with a commercial attacking black candidate Harold Ford Jr. during his campaign for a U.S. Senate seat from Tennessee. Which is the real Republican Party? Lott’s re-emergence seems to make that a moot point. Democrats, who already have much to cheer about these days, have to be ecstatic about having Lott back in the spotlight. His visibility allows them to dredge up all those things about his party that have made African-Americans wary—if not disgusted—in the past. They get to repeat, for example, that before he broke away from the Democrats and became a Republican patriarch, Strom Thurmond ran for president in 1948 on a platform promising that “all the laws of Washington and all the bayonets of the Army cannot force the Negro into our homes, our schools, our churches.” Then they get to remind voters that Lott sang a song of praise to such states’ rights defiance at Thurmond’s birthday party in 2002: “I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn’t have had all these problems over all these years, either.” After Lott’s initial attempt to dismiss his remarks as a poor choice of words only heaped more scorn upon him, he went on to apologize for “opening old wounds.” Part of the problem, obviously, was that he didn’t realize how long those wounds fester. All the emotion on display at the recent dedication ceremony for the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on the Mall in Washington demonstrated that the recovery process is still going on. Lott’s former No. 2, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, will be minority leader. Lott conceded center stage—for the moment—at a news conference while McConnell spoke of being “a robust minority, a vigorous minority, and hopefully a minority that is only in that condition for a couple of years.” And that’s probably about as close as Republicans on the Hill are going to get to expressing concern for minority interests. In his memoir published last year, Lott described winning 13 percent of the black vote in his 1988 Senate victory over Democrat Wayne Dowdy as “the start of a slow march of African-Americans into the Republican ranks.” He should not be surprised if that “march,” as he optimistically put it, slows to a dead halt by 2008. “The past is not dead,” observed another Mississippian, William Faulkner. “… It’s not even past.”
We can’t escape history, a quite different Republican named Abraham Lincoln once noted. Trent Lott won’t be able to elude its clutches either. Nor should we let him.
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Jump to Comments
By bubbins, December 29, 2006 at 9:58 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Can I assume that, to be perfectly consistent, you will also condemn any sort of power that Sen. Robert Byrd, who actually WAS a leader of the Ku Klux Klan (as opposed to Lott’s admittedly dumb remarks at a gathering honoring a racist senator) holds? You wouldn’t want to be hypocritical, would you? After all, we all know that only conservatives and Republicans can be hypocritical and dishonest, right? Your fingers must be getting numb holding your noses while you look the other way concerning Byrd’s history at the same time you condemn Lott.
Report thisBy Emil Lawton, November 28, 2006 at 10:14 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
In repeating or replaying the infamous Lott paean to Thurman, what struck me most was that it was a party for the Republican caucus or at least part of it. They cheered Lott’s comments loud and long. So they used Lott to cover their butts when it became public, but the GOP made amends as soon as they thought it was safe.
Report thisBy Quy Tran, November 22, 2006 at 1:44 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Trying to re-polish Lott means that the Republican Party is in need of real talent members. On the floor of Senate there’re lots of wodden cranes who only know to bow head down and say “YES” loudly.
This was the results from vote stupid !
Report thisBy Chaseme, November 22, 2006 at 3:02 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Well done, Jabari! I love this piece. You have come a long way my dear...friend?
Well, you get the point I’m trying to make. If I were in the country, I’d come to Washington to give you a hug for this one. Very well done.
As for rabblerowzer, you deserve a hug to my...friend? Your comment nailed it.
When this administration went as far as killing white people in the WTC atrocities, it was time for this person of color to pack and head for safety. It was freighting enough having police target black men, now the government gets involved to sway more of those simple minded, in some cases, through no fault of their own, white folks.
Unions have been wiped out because low income whites, most union members voted republican. Trailer park whites vote republican because their belief is the democrats support social programs which “helps those blacks.” And, you can’t live with yourself knowing your taxes may support some black person, huh?
When you think of who the republicans consistantly target for support (racist whites with little or no financial stability, most of whom live in Mississippi) you have to give credit to the master mind behind all that has happened during the past six years--The Devil Himself--Karl Rove.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Northwoods
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:NorthwoodsMemorandum.jpg
Report thisBy indePundit, November 21, 2006 at 8:06 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Time to WAKE up!!!
Of course you are correct in all that you have stated, but the focus should not be on Mr Lott. There’s a MUCH bigger picture that needs to be recognized. There is a “class” war going on right now, right here in the good ol’ US of A. This needs to be addressed ASAP!
The Republican Elite knows that the American demographics is changing. At some point, the WASP will be in the minority. Fear and panic has settled in among this group. Before the demographic shift can work it’s course, a wicked tactical campaign to nullify the possible ramifications will have muted all positive effects. Yes my friends, a full scale offensive is under way RIGHT NOW to consolidate the economic and political power base in favor of the WASP.
All issues presented now are really smoke and mirrors. A distraction from the true plan…
* Disenfranchise minorities
* Erode constitutional protections
* Permanently repeal tax laws to favor the rich
* Eliminate access to higher education for poor
* De-regulate big business to encourage monopolies
* etc, etc, etc…
Basically, we will soon see a country where power and wealth will be in the exclusive hands of a relative few- the OLD money conservatives. The system will be rigged so that EVERYONE else is effectively SHUT-OUT… permanently!!!!!
Does anyone really think that the OLD GUARD is simply going out with-out a FIGHT???
get REAL
Watch…
We’re going to see a form of south-african APARTHEID right here in AMERICA- and it’s going to occur right under our noses.
WAKE UP!!!
Report thisBy Quy Tran, November 21, 2006 at 12:18 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Lott better keeps his mouth shut with Scott tape when he’s present on the floor.
One more time going to “storage” he’ll become an earthen statue.
Report thisBy Amigo, November 21, 2006 at 9:10 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
It is really ‘heart warming’ to see Rpublicans embrace their roots again!
Report thisI fully agree with rabblerowzer; when will poor folks and blue-collar workers finally realise that the GOP,has been, is and will always be working for BIG BUISNESS and PRIVATE INTERESTS. Their only motto is to diminsh the role of the Fed Govt. ( if possible, eliminate it all together) and give all the work to private companies like Haliburton,Diebolt,Betchel etc,etc so that they can exploit and cheat to make billions more; and once they are “full and bloated” they might throw a few crumbs at the rest of us [99.9%] to live on!
“Trickle-Down-Ecnomics” is nothing more than an euphemism for ‘mass exploitation’.
By rabblerowzer, November 21, 2006 at 3:01 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Racism is the backbone of the Republican party. The not very subtle racist Southern Strategy employed by Republicans has enabled them to win election after election and to shred the Democrats social safety net to pieces. Dixieland is the heart of the Republican party and their divide and conquer racist policies have enabled them to win the hearts and minds of low income whites who are more concerned with keeping African-Americans down, rather than minding their own self-interest. Blue-collar whites consistently vote for politicians and policies that harm their own circumstances and opportunities to maintain their white superiority cultural heritage.
Republicans have focused blue-collar whites attention on race issues to divert them from noticing that their job opportunities and living standards are declining right along with African-Americans.
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