| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 13, 2002 |
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America Cannot Forbear National Republican Leadership With One Foot in the Past In his fourth apology since declaring that America would have been a better place if Strom Thurmond, with his segregationist platform, had been elected President in 1948, Senator Trent Lott asked the American people for forgiveness and forbearance. In their generosity, American workers, I'm sure, can find it in their hearts to forgive the Senator. But America cannot tolerate one minute more of a National Republican Leadership that insists on keeping one foot in the past. Despite his protestations, Senator Lott is unable to free himself from a shamefully divisive and morally bankrupt American past. He voted against renewal of the Voting Rights Act in 1980, opposed the establishment of a national holiday in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., and told members of the racist Council of Conservative Americans they stood for the "right principles and right philosophy." Not surprisingly, the Senator's recent endorsement of Thurmond's presidential bid was not his first. The National Republican leadership has long used code words and doublespeak in efforts to divide Americans. Whether operating under the guise of State's Rights, Nixon's Secret Southern strategy, or the image of Willie Horton, the National Republican leadership has sought to separate and fuel racial tensions among Americans. In a candid, "lighthearted" moment, Trent Lott provided the American people with a glimpse of how the past is prologue for the Republican leadership's vision of America. Senator Lott has no choice but to resign his U.S. Senate seat. |
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