DANIEL DREZNER weighs in on Trent Lott:
If Senate Republicans allow him to . . . stay as Majority Leader, they will deserve whatever political misfortunes befall them as a result. It’s up to voters in Mississippi to decide whether they want Lott to continue to represent them in Washington. However, the Majority Leader position is a national one, and Senate Republicans need to think long and hard – oh hell, what am I saying, this takes ten seconds – about whether they want this man to be the visible face of Republican authority.
Beyond the moral reprehensibility of the comments, it’s also clear that Lott’s lack of political acumen is growing, not shrinking. That he made this comment in front of a C-SPAN camera is idiotic. His press spokesman’s statement – “Senator Lott’s remarks were intended to pay tribute to a remarkable man who led a remarkable life. To read anything more into these comments is wrong.” – is delusional. This wasn’t something stripped of its context or twisted beyond its original meaning. This was just wrong, and Lott seems to be exerting no effort to make it right.
Senator, I say this as a Republican — do all of us a favor and get off the national stage.
And scroll down for what Mickey Kaus calls a “sophisticated exegesis of Paul Krugman.
UPDATE: Josh Chafetz says that Lott is “stupid, stupid” and should resign as Majority Leader.
Lott’s a liability for the GOP anyway, and this gives them a chance to get rid of him while looking good and doing right. But will they be smart enough?
ANOTHER UPDATE: Matthew Yglesias agrees that Lott should go: “Meanwhile, it appears that most conservatives actually do appreciate how massively inappropriate Lott’s comments were. . . . Still, gasping in disapproval while letting the man continue on as majority leader of the US Senate is a pretty sorry effort. I’d like to think that both political parties could abide by a rule stating that folks expressing nostalgia for Jim Crow shouldn’t be elevated to the highest ranks of power and influence.”
Seems kind of hard to argue with that.