Democrats dismiss Republican call for Reid to step down
Washington (CNN) -- The Congressional Black Caucus said Sunday that it had accepted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's apology for a remark he made about Barack Obama during the 2008 campaign and dismissed calls for the Nevada Democrat to step down.
Earlier in the day, the chairman of the Republican Party and a leading GOP senator had called on Reid to give up his post.
Trent Lott Resigns as Senate Majority Leader
December 20, 2002
Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) resigned Friday as Senate Republican leader following two weeks of controversy over racially divisive remarks. Lott was poised to serve as majority leader in a Senate newly controlled by Republicans. Now that job is likely to go to Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN). The abrupt leadership change could have profound effects on relations with the White House, the legislative agenda, judicial appointments and the perception of the major political parties.
I won't go into the many different political figures - on both sides of the aisle - that have changed their tune on this sort of behavior.
Except one:
Reid After Trent Lott's Resignation In 2002: 'He Had No Alternative'
Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in 2002 agreed with former Sen. Trent Lott's (R-Miss.) decision to resign his leadership role after Lott made what some felt were racist remarks at former Sen. Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party.
"He had no alternative," said Reid at the time claiming, "If you tell ethnic jokes in the backroom, it's that much easier to say ethnic things publicly. I've always practiced how I play."
Boy, a lot can change in a short eight years. Vague hints of racism at a retired Senator's 100th birthday party are unforgivable and must be accompanied by the offending party falling on one's sword - if that one is a Republican. If that one is a Democrat, than all is forgiven and let's get back to important business and please don't anyone look at the archives at what we said just eight years ago.
The game has changed, folks. New media is proof-positive of that. Twenty years ago they could have gotten away with this - eight years is a political lifetime, and without the instant search capability of the WWW, only the most diehard of political hacks could be bothered to go to the library and scan through microfiche for a news story or magazine article. Today, one simply plugs "Trent Lott resigns" into Google and is rewarded with tens of thousands of hits about an eight-year old event.
That memory hole got a lot smaller thanks to Al Gore's internets, didn't it?
That is all.
4 comments:
Silly Jay. Only Conservatives can be racist!
First of all, it's no surprise that the outrage expressed (or lack thereof) over an incident like this has nothing real to do with racial politics and has everything to do with partisan politics.
With that said, the reason that the disparity in reactions is possible is because of differences in constituency.
Republicans in general flat out expect better of their candidates and won't re-elect a politician who has shown himself to fail to live up to the standards that the constituents expect.
Democrats on the other hand, see nothing particularly wrong with their representatives being bigoted, corrupt, immoral blackguards. That's what they EXPECT. They know what they're electing, why would they be outraged and surprised when the bigoted, corrupt, immoral blackguards prove to be exactly that?
This is why, when a Republican gets caught in a scandal, even a fairly minor one, (See Senator Larry Craig, Senator George Allen, Senator Ted Stevens etc.) they can count on being invited by their constituency, at the earliest opportunity, to go home, whereas Democrat politicians, caught red handed accepting bribes (Representative William Jefferson), committing vehicular manslaughter (Senator Ted Kennedy), harboring prostitution rings in their apartments (Representative Barney Frank) etc, are reelected handily.
Trent Lott stepped down because his constituents and the national Republican base really did give him no other choice just as Reid said.
Reid gets a pass because he knows as well as anyone that his constituents will not hold him, or his party, responsible.
He may lose his re-election bid coming up, but it won't be because of some measly racist slur.
And of course Robb sums up in 14 words what it took me 8 paragraphs to say:
Racism is an ugly thing. But not so ugly it trumps being a Democrat
Initially I felt that Reid should go the way of Trent Lott...upon further consideration I've come to the conclusion that there are many more reasons that Reid should go away, and soon.
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