Whole Lott o' Trouble, Part

Whole Lott o' Trouble, Part III - the Thurmond Years - There are some very articulate and persuasive Trent Lott fans reading this blog, and I'll post some of their comments later.

But Powerline made a great observation today:

To listen to Trent Lott (and others), it would appear that Thurmond's career was, from beginning to end, a credit to himself and his native state. This simply isn't true. Thurmond's early career, viewed from the perspective shared by nearly all twenty-first century Americans, was a disgrace. His political rehabilitation coincides more or less with his leaving the Democratic Party and becoming a Republican. For the Republicans to be seen as unqualifiedly embracing Thurmond is a needless tactical blunder. It exposes the Republicans to the slander that, as the party now supported by the majority of Southern whites, they have merely inherited the racist mantle once worn by the Democrats--thus leaving the Republicans holding the bag for the Democrats' embarrassing past. The truth is the opposite: the ascendancy of the Republican Party in the South has largely coincided with white Southerners' rejection of their region's segregationist past, and their desire to create a "New South" unsullied by the unsavory aspects of the region's history. For Republicans to give up this moral high ground by failing to take the opportunity to distinguish between Thurmond's inglorious past as a Democrat and his mainstream present as a Republican was unforgivably stupid.

So the GOPers bobbled the ball on that one. Doesn't change any facts - but it doesn't help the spin war, either.

Posted by Mitch at December 9, 2002 01:34 PM