Well this will be the end of Lott

[Kilmer17]

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,399310,00.html

Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott helped lead a successful battle to prevent his college fraternity from admitting blacks to any of its chapters, in a little-known incident now four decades old. At a time when racial issues were roiling campuses across the South, some chapters of Sigma Nu fraternity in the Northeast were considering admitting African-American members, a move that would have sent a powerful statement through the tradition-bound world of sororities and fraternities. At the time, Lott was president of the intra-fraternity council at the University of Mississippi. When the issue came to a head at Sigma Nu's national convention — known as a "Grand Chapter" — in the early 1960s, "Trent was one of the strongest leaders in resisting the integration of the national fraternity in any of the chapters," recalls former CNN President Tom Johnson, then a Sigma Nu member at the University of Georgia.

The bitter debate over the issue took place at the convention in a New Orleans hotel, as Johnson recalls. Sigma Nu's executive secretary Richard Fletcher, a legendary figure in the fraternity, pleaded with the Sigma Nus to find some common ground between those who wanted to integrate and those who didn't, Johnson says. But the southerners were unbending about permitting no exceptions to the all-white policy. With their chapters threatening a walkout, the fraternity voted overwhelmingly to remain all-white.

Johnson, who voted on Lott's side, now calls that vote "one of the biggest mistakes of my life." Over the years, as Johnson became a media executive, word would get back to him from time to time that Lott was repeating the tale to mutual acquaintances — to embarrass him, Johnson believes. (Lott did not make himself available for comment to TIME today for this story.)

It was Lott himself who first told me this story, back in the mid 1980s. He was a Republican Congressman and I was a reporter freshly assigned to cover Capitol Hill for the Los Angeles Times, where Johnson was then the publisher. "In later life, it seemed that Trent felt he 'had something on me,' when he would share the fact that he and I had been on the same side in the national fraternity debate," says Johnson, who later went to work as an aide in Lyndon Johnson's White House and more recently helped lead the battle to have the confederate battle flag removed in Georgia. Johnson recalls of Lott back then: "He was against integration. I was against splitting the fraternity. Yet my vote had the same impact and is subject to the same interpretation — that I also opposed integration. I am very disappointed in myself. I hope my record for the past 40 years speaks louder than that."

Lott has been under fire since last week, when he declared that his state was proud to have voted for Strom Thurmond's segregationist ticket in 1948. "And if the rest of the country had followed our lead," Lott added in remarks at Thurmond's 100th birthday party, "we wouldn't have had all these problems over the years either." Lott has since apologized, and on Thursday, President Bush said the apology was deserved. "Any suggestion that the segregated past was acceptable or positive is offensive and it is wrong," Bush declared.

Lott was a witness to one of the pivotal episodes in that past. During his senior year at Ole Miss, violence erupted there when U.S. marshals moved to install Air Force veteran James Meredith as its first African-American student. Lott was not among the students advocating integration, but did succeed in persuading his fraternity brothers not to join in the rioting. In 1997, Lott told TIME: "Yes, you could say I favored segregation then. I don't now. … The main thing was, I felt the federal government had no business sending in troops to tell the state what to do."

[redman]

My father, who used to work on Capital Hill way back when as an aid, had some interesting observations to me about this in an email that I thought was worth posting:

Everyone not on Mars has heard of the inexcusable, stupid and actually vile remark that REPUBLICAN Senator and Senate party leader Trent Lott made regarding retiring Senator Strom Thurmond.

The media have dutifully reported that Lott has apologized.

I have an ambivalence at the moment regarding whether he should resign party leadership. He deserves a severe punishment, which his constituents may decide to exact in the next election. He has potentially produced a mindless polarity that can only hurt his party in the Senate, and maybe in larger frames of reference as well. But, having known him personally, I suspect he was actually though inartfully referring to Thurmond's personal strength, courage and commitment to what he believes - - the values of the man's spirit - - which he genuinely admires. I don't, I repeat, know this, but I suspect it. For that, crucifixion may not be necessary or merited.

It is the press and media's handling of this event, and this uncontrolled instant punishment I want to address.

The sheer volume and repetition is astonishing in a critical sense. It is imbalanced to a grotesque degree, which can by its own volume and motion mischaracterize the seriousness of the transgression, its actual cause, and in the consequence manipulate the public unethically and harmfully. It can make us inappropriately merciless.

Lott did a stupid, harmful, vile thing. Fine that he is getting a comeuppance for it in public. You had better believe he has heard from his colleagues. And, will again. But, the treatment is profoundly slanted, and I believe intentionally so.

Three points of comparison. Mrs. Clinton was heard to call her husband's campaign manager, and I quote, ..."that Jew *******..." immediately following a gubernatorial election loss. By all accounts, it was not reported in any of the significant state, regional or national media, even though there were several "ear" witnesses including the man's wife. When it was, it was trivialized or charatibly labled abberant. She has railed forth on occasions since, in identical tone and slander and bigotry, with even less press attention and coverage. The Least Reverend Jackson's verbal transgressions regarding Jews, opponents, natal and parental responsibilities, public accountability and disclosure, etc. were reported in some instances but without the searing focus and castigating of national repetition, and some of his more disgraceful utterances have simply been ignored. The same is true for Kwame Nfume, the newly elected head of the NAACP, and his reputed half dozen illegitimate children. In his case, the media have generally trivialized any connection to impact on fitness for moral or ethical example and leadership.

The point is not to be flippant, snide or slyly reverse racist, or even partisan.

The point is, media judgementalism and crucifixion for violative behavior should either apply to all or to none. Clearly it does not. And, clearly it has in its application a resulting partisan bias or forgiveness or automatic coddling or blind spot that is patently harmful to our society. What ever else it is, it is professionally, morally and ethically wrong.

Why it is happening is fairly straightforward. Americans are starting to act like the Europeans. Americans are increasingly captive to the idea of group consensus is the analytical, valuative and judgmental starting point for anything and everything. Americans are replacing justice with situational, group derrived fairness. Americans are abandoning the belief that there are objective truths and values and morals and ethics that transcend interest, moment, time and circumstance. Americans are abandoning the idea that it is possible, desirable and necessary to live by them. Americans are abandoning the idea that living that way is essential to the strength and preservation of our democratic republic, and its essentiality as an ingredient of liberty. Americans are abandoning the idea that it is absolutely essential to judge behaviors (as opposed to persons), and to reject unhealthy, immoral, and unethical ones, and if necessary castigate or shun the perps if they persist. Americans have totally lost the essential idea that in a republic, the servants of the public and those who form or influence public opinion must be held to a higher standard of capability, thought, behavior and service.

The press and the media (they are not the same), relish this brave new way because it allows them to fully participate in our societal definition and governance without regard for constitutional provision, process, merit or selection. They are then free to nominate, advocate, castigate, castrate, adulate and pontificate without genuine concern for the public conscience, memory or accountability. Their completely imaginary Fourth Estate, a creation of the not wholly reliable French, is consequently a free floating selector, propagator and arbiter of fact, and self-appointed judge of all. As hackneyed as it is to say it, Orwell would recognize the situation instantly, and despair. So would Plato, Augustine, Locke and many, many more.

I suspect old Nancy Whiskey got a hold of Senator Lott, just like she did Jimmy The Greek, Senator John Tower, Representative Wilbur Mills, Howard Cosell and literally hundreds of other public figures. Booze is the enemy in Washington. More people have staggered out of that town than have been voted or thrown out of it. The press knows this. At the Thurmond event know it should be a strong suspect. It should not be an excuse, frankly, because in the revised order of Presidential succession Lott is either 3rd or 4th in line and has to be held to a higher personal behavioral standard. On the other hand, we are witnessing by its repition and stridency the electronic and print version of the 1,000 agony filled, crucified bodies hanging from crosses along the Apian Way.

In this Lott's case, he has to look back and could well be turned to political salt. Such is the undeniable risk of politics. But, hey, folks, we have to get a hold of ourselves and take charge. If the press and media are not brought to heel, we are doomed for they have no loyalties except to deadline, profit and bragging rights. We are the pig in this meal, not the chicken. And, tomorrow it could well be you or yours being edified up on that screen, spread across that front page or blasted into the ether for all to receive and feed on.