Wow, I heard great excuses but this one tops it. He was racist, plain and simple. I dare you to say something racist like but not in an insulting manner to a group of Black people to see if they would see it as either being racist or just clumsily phrasing it.

Interesting take on it, given the disconnect between his words & deeds.  I assume you mean deaf 'Democrat' ears.

I am surprised at your bigotry of southerners!  Indeed, it was in the 60s when the south was desegregated, but only 1978 when the Mormon church was.  If anyone "longs" for the old times, by your definition, it would be Reid, not Lott.

I will not see the day when the stereotypes of the ancient south are long forgotten as the purveyors of them have all passed to dust (I was born in that time).  But it does not take a historian to see that the worst race problems in the last 40 years have been outside the south (Boston, Detroit, LA).  That is not to say the south is edenic, only that there is no longer a "bastion" of racism by region.  Pockets still exist over this country (and with time will hopefully become fewer and fewer).  But to automatically label one a racist simply because of their birthplace is pure bigotry.

I agree with what you say about Lott. Even if its as his defenders claim, that he was only trying to cheer up an old man on his birthday, it still looked awful.  With Harry Reid, I disagree. We should all be able to recognize his words as plain spoken bigotry. Its not necessarily racist, but its definitely bigoted and a Republican would be run out of the country for saying anything like it.

Gotta love it when they do that. They complain about racism but have no problems basically doing the same thing themselves, but it's OK because it's not against Black people.

Lott was was raising the spirits of Thurmond at his 102 birthday. You'd think Strom was getting ready to run for president in 2004, and Lott was announcing his campaign. What's really funny is many blacks voted for Thurmond over the years, probably because he helped the people of his state. I'm sure the Democrats were frustrated they couldn't take that mans seat away with promises of entitlements to the po folk. JMO I don't have your mind reading capabilities Richard as demonstrated in your article. 

I like how everyone knows that Mr. Lott is a southern conservative but no one remembers that he was a Southern Democrat for years. Perhaps that is where his racism came from. but he was not a racist when he was a southern democrat only after he became a republican did the democrats notice that he was a racist. the same can be said of senator thurman since he was a southern democrat before he became a dixiecrat. both had to renounce racism before they got republican support. why is that? why is that not the case when a republican becomes a democrat?

And notice that democrats dont have to renounce it or stop practicing it.

Nope, they simply need to excuse it. Kinda funny though, I spend a lot of time trying to teach my kids that you can't just say I'm sorry every time you do something you weren't suppose to as an excuse not to get punish and yet when it comes to Democrats, if you are a Democrat sorry can heal the deepest wounds but if your a Republican sorry does not excuse you from punishment.

Sounds like some members here, too.

1. Perhaps, or perhaps he isn't. Also perhaps reid is a racist who secretly wishes for the good old days.

2. It seems to me that your "perhaps" doesn't mean what it says in the dictionary.

3. Clumsily phrasing? thats a nice way of putting things

4. The democratic liberals were the ones who pushed for slavery, then for segregation, and today again for slavery (communism is a form of slavery).

The republican conservatives always opposed slavery, the republican party has always, from its roots to modern times, stood against slavery and segregation, and for equal rights for all races. (equal rights/opportunity is not the same as equal results)

Don't be silly, they don't need an excuse. They just pretend it never happened, or at most say I am sorry, and let their slavering worshippers make up excuses for them.

Case in point, the original poster here invented the excuse of

Reid himself did not make such an excuse, he didn't have to.

The fact is Reid's still around. And his dumb comment can't compete with the racial undertones of the Tea Party.

Good to see you again stevendedalus, even when you're being snarky with the talking points.

Racist my ass.

Now I know you are just being facetious.  The only loons who believe that BS are the race baiters and then it is only because they cannot debate the Tea party on the basis of their arguments..