Sen. Trent Lott: ‘Iraqis Look Like Iraqis And Americans Look Like Americans’
Sen. Trent Lott: ‘Iraqis Look Like Iraqis And Americans Look Like Americans’
Appearing on the Daily Show last night, Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) was asked about his recent comments expressing confusion over the ongoing sectarian violence in Iraq. “Why do Sunnis kill Shiites? How do they tell the difference? They all look the same to me,” he said previously.
Last night, Lott explained, “Iraqis look like Iraqis and Americans look like Americans.” In Sen. Lott’s view, all Americans apparently look like him. Lott added, “Methodist, Baptists, and Catholics live in my hometown. They all look the same to me, they all look like Americans.” Watch it:
Full transcript:
STEWART: There was one other thing that you mentioned after your meeting with President Bush that I wanted you to have a chance to address. You mentioned Sunnis and Shiites are fighting each other and we don’t know why they are doing that. And why should they fight each other, and who the hell knows the difference, or something along those lines. Do you want to address that quote in some way. I was trying to be delicate about this.
LOTT: I certainly didn’t mean to offend Muslims, but one of the points that I’ve made –
STEWART: You better not.
LOTT: I never have understood why people kill each other over religion, number one.
STEWART: Nice, I appreciate that, that’s nice.
LOTT: I always had trouble understanding — Iraqis look like Iraqis, and Americans look like Americans. Now I can’t tell –
STEWART: You mean that as unity, not as what the hell, they all look alike to me.
LOTT: Methodist, Baptists, and Catholics live in my hometown. They all look the same to me, they all look like Americans.
STEWART: Methodists have a little mole here.
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What an asshole. Americans can’t look middle-eastern? Since when do you have to look like an old white man with a road-kill toupee in order to look American?
October 3rd, 2006 at 12:56 pmThe wisdom of Trent Lott, gleaned from growing up in the segregated South and from his Dixiecrat pal Strom Thurmond- if people look alike, they shouldn’t have any problems. Fantastic.
October 3rd, 2006 at 12:56 pmDidn’t have a big enough shovel yet? Just doesn’t know when to quit.
October 3rd, 2006 at 12:56 pmI saw the interview last night, and I think I accept his explanation. I don’t think that was his original statement, but I think he clarified his position. i.e. changed his position.
October 3rd, 2006 at 12:56 pmTrent Lott is a vile bigot, but he has always been that way, and he will never change!
October 3rd, 2006 at 12:57 pmWhat was Trent thinking, going on the Daily Show? Was he going to endear himeself to that viewer demographic. Nothing good was going to come of this.
October 3rd, 2006 at 12:58 pmIt’s a COMEDY show.
Sheesh.
Who would give anything uttered on this program the credibility of a regular news interview?
Sorry, progressives better not get caught up in citing the ‘Daily Show’ as a news source or we’re going to be lookinng pretty foolish.
October 3rd, 2006 at 12:58 pmI guess they don’t have African-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Asian-Americans, or Arab-Americans in his hometown. Gee, wonder why… Hmmm…
October 3rd, 2006 at 12:59 pmregular joe, so you find Trent’s comments funny?
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:01 pmSorry, progressives better not get caught up in citing the ‘Daily Show’ as a news source or we’re going to be lookinng pretty foolish.
Comment by Regular Joe — October 3, 2006 @ 12:58 pm
Sadly, we get more truth from the Daily Show than our standard “news sources”.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:01 pmThe point that he’s trying to make is that he can’t understand why people with a shared heritage would kill each other over ideological differences. Stewart understood what he was getting at, I don’t know why you’re still making a stink about it.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:02 pmObviously, Trent has been drinking from the George Allen koolaid — “macacas look like macacas to me”.
Welcome to the REAL America, Trent…
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:02 pmI’m sure some of his best friends are Sunni’s and Shiite’s.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:03 pm11….Hi Jane….To defend Lott here (And I am not a huge Lott-fan), I don’t think his use of “Methodists, Baptists, and Catholics…†is that outrageous at all. Each is a denomination of Christianity, just as Sunni and Shiites are sects of Islam….So, I think his analogy is understandable.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:05 pmSo what Lott is saying is that conflict should be reserved for groups that are ethnically different? Sounds like a Lott of bullshit.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:06 pmI don’t really like Trent Lott, but c’mon guys, you people dumping all over Lott over this one are being unfair and, frankly, intellectually lazy. All Trent Lott was saying is something to the effect of we are all human beings and killing each other over petty ideological, ethnic, or religious differences is pretty stupid. Perhaps he should have been more tactful, and perhaps Lott’s history with racial gaffes precedes him, but over this statement, you guys are blowing it out of proportion.
Of course, it goes without mention, I wish Lott would come out squarely against warring with other nations (and hence, killing lots of people) over lies and thinly-veiled imperialist aims.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:06 pm“The Daily Show” supplies more intellectual honesty towards our political culture than any other broadcast I’ve seen. Stewart, et al., recognize the contradictions inherent in the febrile network efforts to appear “fair and balanced,” preferring instead incisive commentary that both informs and entertains. Republican or Democrat, when pols do or say something stupid, Jon Stewart calls it stupid. That inclination, regrettably, is in dangerously short supply among the MSM.
Long live Stewart and Colbert!
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:07 pmTrent Lott:
Just ONE of the MANY reasons why I’m embarrassed to tell people that I’m from Mississippi!
I wish he and the rest of his Mississippi Hee Haw ilk would just go away.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:08 pmI agree with Exley and Danin…I think TP is grasping at straws on this one. I think he made valid points…do I believe that is exactly what he meant when he initially said it, I don’t.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:09 pmAdamo,
Actually, the point that Lott is making is that its stupid to kill eachother over religion… so long as it’s sects of the same religion. By saying “they all look the same to me”, he’s making the arguement that “those that look different” should be the ones fighting eachother (such as christians and muslims instead of muslims and other muslims). See the difference?
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:10 pmDanin’s right. Lott’s main point is this:
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:12 pm“I never have understood why people kill each other over religion, number one.”
How is that not progressive thinking? While we should respect the Muslim faith and its different sects, this is borders on using political correctness as a blunt instrument to bash Republicans. Besides, Stewart cut him off several times; Lott’s heart is in the right place. ThinkProgress, I’m appalled that you’d sink to this level by taking this wildly out of context.
#12, Danin, you’re right, we all understand what Lott meant, but it just sounds bad, given his history of racial verbal miscues. Especially when his continuing explanation makes it obvious just how insulated (and insular) he is.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:13 pmExley
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:14 pmLott’s problem here is that his reasonable position (people of faith should not be killing each other) is overshadow by his outrageous pronouncements (Americans have common distinguishing features). He should have connected the dots reasonably by comparing and condemning the Protestant/Catholic fighting in Ireland, the Muslim/Christian Crusades, etc with the sectarian violence in Iraq. Then, he would have sounded like a statesman instead of a baffoon.
Yeah, and Irishpeople look like Irish people but that didn’t stop Irish Catholics from killing Irish Protestants and vice versa for generations.
So what EXACTLY is his point?
And yes, I know that the situation in Ireland was/is as much, if not more, political than religious, but so, in many ways, is the sectarian violence in Iraq.
That is why you don’t invade a country and try to rebuild it in your image when you are totally ignorant of the people, religion, ethnicity and other issues that lie under the surface.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:15 pmNeopro:
Lott said point blank in that interview that “killing each other over religion is wrong” (or something like that). That would encompass Christians and Moslems fighting each other. I saw the interview last night and it was the only applause line he got.
As has been mentioned earlier on, people criticizing Lott over this statement are really grasping at straws. There is a lot to not like about Lott, but his “Sunni-Shia” statement is not one of them.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:15 pmLott already had one of the GOP Quotes of the Week.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:16 pmAnd the GOP does congress damage control by putting Trent Lott back on the mainstream media with his usual (but updated) racial remaks ??
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:19 pmHe is correct, but why is this news? Americans are always easy to spot. It isn’t a skin color thing at all. The Senetor didn’t say it was either. You could be White, Black, Asian, MIddle Eastern, or HIspanic, but you can still tell if they are Americans and can easily tell them apart from an Iraqi.
Anyways, why are you even posting this? Seems like a waste of your time. Maybe I just don’t understand the point of the post. What were you trying to infer?
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:20 pmStop digging Trent. You are only making the hole deeper.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:20 pmGood ‘Ol Fog Horn Leg Horn strikes again.
Are all Republicans this, well, mentally “challenged”?
What a great team ReichWingNuts have: Rice, Rove, Cheney, Fog Horn Leg Horn, Foley, Hassert, Emperor Bush… NOT!!!
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:20 pmTrent Lott: Americans are white assholes.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:22 pmA republican mindset cast on concrete and it’s called bigotry.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:23 pmThink Progress - it’s now five days since Congress voted to suspend habeas corpus, which is, as you now, an 800 year old common law which Winston Churchill called the foundation of liberal democracy and guarantees the right of an individual to not be detained indefinitely without charge or access to counsel. Why is that not important? Why is the fact that a man in cave in Pakistan/Afghanistan can nearly single-handledly overturn 800 years of liberal democratic law not interesting?
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:24 pmLott could have stopped all the criticism himself with one simple comment: “Boy, I sure didn’t say that very well, did I!”
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:25 pm#25: Lott’s point is that your typical republican can’t comprehend how people can identify their enemies if they don’t look *swarthy*, a tacit admission that our military, as run by old republicans from afar, no longer has a clearly defined mission or goals over there because they don’t recognize what vectors might be used for attacks.
No, it’s not deep or insightful or even genuinely useful, much less the sort of thing we want to hear from a national leader, but it’s infinitely more honest and candid than anything that’s come out of the White(wash) House lately.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:25 pmYou have to give the guy credit for appearing on the “Daily Show” (many Democrats have turned Stewart down). Then again, that just shows how well rehearsed he is at his G.O.P. talking points. The man knows his lines.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:25 pmObviously Lott has never seen a picture of a red haired light eyed Iraqi child.
Even their dark children, look just like my dark children. They are beautiful.
Maybe had Lott ever bother to look at them he would not have directly enabled the deaths of so many.
God help us.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:25 pm#33 - My girlfriend is Iraqi and Methodist. So, I guess Trent Lott would look at her and his head would explode.
Please don’t tease me. It seems to simple a solution!
BTW, when is your appointment to meet Fog Horn Leg Horn? I want video tape of his head self detonating!
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:26 pmHi, Ex! I was referring more to the lack of diversity in his hometown (which is pretty astounding for Mississippi), rather than Lott using Methodists/Baptists/Catholics as an analogy for Sunnis/Shiites.
Again, if it weren’t for Lott’s background, this ‘issue’ would be a non-starter. Unfortunately, it’s just so easy to make fun of Trent Lott.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:26 pmLadies and Gentlemen, I see nothing wrong with Sen. Lott’s percerption about the human race. We’re all considered as one race within god’s eyes.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:26 pmSort of like the MAD TV version of Survivor:
The 4 teams:
Mexican American,
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:27 pmAfrican Americans,
Asian Americans, and
REAL Americans
Okay guys, come on. I know we don’t like Lott and all, but this is FAR from anything terrible.
His point was that religion isn’t a valid reason to kill each other because that’s a superficial difference, that you should just be Iraqis, or just be Americans, or hell just be PEOPLE and not get so worked up over differences in belief.
You’re all trying a little too hard to read the worst possible interpretation here. The man’s response was well-worded and conveyed an INCREDIBLY level-headed message for someone who tends to seem pretty right-wing.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:27 pmThis all about political correctness and those who are just looking and waiting to be offended.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:27 pmI’m pretty sure I can spot an Evangelical.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:28 pmHow come when Lott said “Methodist, Baptists, and Catholics live in my hometown. They all look the same to me, they all look like Americans.” he only mentioned sects of Christiantity? This country has a large Muslim population and they are just as bit American as the Christians from Lott’s hometown. This is not grasping at straws at all. This is Lott clearly making the point that only White Christians look like Americans, which is bigoted and offensive! he’s making the arguement that you have to “look the part of an American” before attacking someone. what about white Christians who are on the side of the terrorists? What about Muslim Americans that have been born and raised in the United States? Based on what Lott is saying, national offiliation is irrelivant so long as people look the same. This is how racial profiling starts.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:28 pm#41 I understand, Jane…
Off-topic — You leaving work early tomorrow? I am!
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:28 pmI’m sorry, but you people who are defending Lott from your reasonable perspectives are fooling yourselves.
You are making the mistake of interjecting your opinions into his statements and you are doing it from a viewpoint, history and tradition that is WAY different from Lott’s.
Let me, a native Mississippian, let you in on a little secret, Lott meant it EXACTLY the way it sounded the first time! “They all look alike to me” is simply a part of the Mississippi culture and it is NEVER meant in a thoughtful or tolerant way.
I just got back from a weeklong visit with my family in Mississippi. TRUST ME folks, the only thing that has changed is the fact that they are now more aware of what they say and how they say it in public and how some people outside the state will react negatively to bigoted statements.
If I heard the “N” word one time, I heard it a thousand over the last week. When I protested I got the inevitable, “Oh, but I’m not a racist” meme.
Don’t bend over backwards to make Lott’s statements sound fuzzy and sweet. They weren’t.
If you doubt what I’m saying, take a little trip to Lott’s hometown and spend A DAY away from the casinos. It will be an eye opening experience I’ll assure you!
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:30 pm…of all lott’s comments i thought the MOST RELEVANT was his repeating the stupid observation that FOLEY’s emails to young boys were
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:31 pm“OVERLY FRIENDLY”… i thought jon was too easy on him…
As much as I don’t like Trent Lott, I don’t see what the big deal is here… I actually agree with his statement (although I think it was bit of back paddling). There is enough good info out there for progressives to use to get the point across, without looking desparate by attacking statements like this.
Just my 2 cents, first time posting here.
PS - There are a lot of “Progressive Christians” out there… I’ll never understand much of the “anti-Christian” rhetoric I see here and on other similar sites.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:35 pmClams+Casino
> My girlfriend is Iraqi and Methodist. So, I guess Trent Lott would look at
> her and his head would explode.
That gives “suicide bomber” a whole new meaning!
Trent may be like Churchill in a somewhat embarrassing way. In William Polk’s “Understanding Iraq”, we read:
As he got ready to report to Parliament on the results of his grand settlement of the Middle East, Churchill made an astonishing request to his Colonial Office aide (on June 14, 1921) that showed the profound ignorance of Iraqi affairs that has marked high-level discussion of them ever since. “Let me have a note in about three lines,” Churchill asked, “as to [King] Feisal’s religious character. Is he a Sunni with Shaih [sic for Shia] sympathies, or a Shaih [Shii] with Sunni sympathies, or how does he square it? What his [his father] Hussein? Which is the aristocratic high church and which is the low church? What are the religious people at Kerbela? I always get mixed up between the two”
…whereupon to Brits moved to do some heavy ’sploiting of the area, but that is another story.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:35 pmWe are not citing the Daily show, we are quoting Trent Lott. Better not say something stupid or people will know you are foolish, dummy.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:35 pmKaty, I actually thought Lott was referring to the “overly friendly” statement in a sarcastic/humorous manner, as if he knew that it was a ridiculous term. As many here have said, I’m no fan of Trent Lott’s, but I don’t think he was putting that out as a serious description.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:36 pm#24 Come on PLC, You talk of Protestant/Catholic violence in Ireland, and the Muslim/Christian crusades, I assume your etc., means other wars including the illegal invasion of a country by a stronger one. Oh, that’d be Germany against Poland in 1939, and also the USA’s invasion of Iraq. Reflect a moment, there is NO way Trent Lott could have sounded like a statesman.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:36 pm#24 Come on PLC, You talk of Protestant/Catholic violence in Ireland, and the Muslim/Christian crusades, I assume your etc., means other wars including the illegal invasion of a country by a stronger one. Oh, that’d be Germany against Poland in 1939, and also the USA’s invasion of Iraq. Reflect a moment, there is NO way Trent Lott could have sounded like a statesman.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:36 pm#35, well I can only suppose that exposing Stupid White Men and catching peodophiles is the last hope for democracy…. maybe if Foley had locked up the page and denied him counsel, we’d get some coverage of the habeas corpus issue.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:38 pmZeke ,
I am in Louisiana and you have my sympathies.
I have a defense for that whole ‘But I’m not a racist’ crap.
Look them dead in the eyes and say, ‘Yes you are because people who are not racist never say such things.’
And, if your momma is like mine, you will probably get slapped…hard. But your point will undoubtedly be unretractable.
And it is totally worth getting slapped for.
Good luck.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:38 pmLott would have melded-in perfectly in the movie “Dumb and Dumber”. That the imbecile was majority leader of the US Senate is astounding, a national disgrace, perfectly suited for republican-style rule.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:40 pm.
Another infamous contriversial quote from Lott:
“I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn’t have had all these problems over all these years, either.”
Remember this controversy beack in 2002? When Thurmond ran for president back in 1948, one of his major political platform was RACIAL SEGREGATION!
Let’s see what else…
As a congressman, Lott voted AGAINST the Voting rights act!
Lott also voted AGAINST making Martin Luther King Jr. day a national holiday (along with Dick Cheney, by the way).
Lott is also a member of the Conservative Citizen Council which has been labelled a hate group by the NAACP, ADL, and SPC.
Anyone who thinks that Lott’s above comments were “meant to be friendly” is completely retarded
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:41 pmTo the commenters who found this post trivial:
Speaking from the perspective of an American who is non-white and does not belong to a branch of Christianity, I found Lott’s conception of America to be pretty exclusive. That’s the point the post was trying to make — maybe it could have been clearer.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:42 pmLott, like the leopard, never changes his spots.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:43 pm#61…thank you. Lott is the most divisive, hate-filled government employee in America. These people who are defending him should take a look at themselves. I’ll bet not one of them is anything other than white.
*crickets chirping*
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:45 pmFaiz, the point you are making was evident.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:45 pmLott and people who think like him are an exclusive group, although they deny it. It’s so much a part of their make-up that they are blind.
Another racist bigoted republican.
It’s great to see the regular trolls flail and struggle to protect these lying scumbags.
Every word increases their own disgrace.
DO YOU HEAR THAT MIGHTY? HOW ABOUT YOU EXLEY?
Here are your Republicans leaders and there are none lower.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:46 pmI could care less what Trent Lott was trying to say…
…Lott is now, always has been and will forever remain…
…a racist, bigoted, al Cracker inbred…
…those defending him know this, yet defend him anyway… because?
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:49 pmRegular Joe: So, referencing quotes from Trent Lott spoken during a taped interview is foolish as a source of news? You are a moron.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:50 pmRednecks and skinheads, who call themselves christian, haven’t tried to kill Jews and Catholics?
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:51 pmArguments which deny that people of the same land who hate each other because of religious differenes are not opening their own eyes.
Conservative Citizen Council — is that the group photo where Allen was pictured?
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:54 pmYou could use this stuff as a source of news, but this clip isn’t news. This guy says that you can tell an American from an Iraqi and you think it is news? Can’t you tell an American from an Iraqi?
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:54 pm#72….that is the most stupid comment I have seen so far. Congratulations.
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:56 pm#71, Maria, yep, that’s the one!
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:57 pmthanks, jane… i’ll check it out again… i could be mistaken - would be fine with me if i was…
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:00 pmKaty, it could just be me, too, but check it again if you can. I thought that Lott said it more in a “overly-friendly: yeah, right”-type voice.
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:22 pmBTW, yes, Exley, I’m leaving early so as not to miss a minute of the fun!
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:23 pmOops, just realized, in my post #74, I referred to Marie in #71 as Maria - sorry, Marie!
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:27 pm#79….Jane,
BTW, How’s Wayne feeling? Any better? Hope he is better by tomorrow at 4:00….
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:27 pmThere is good a reason for this to be on TP.
He certainly is trying to say that religion is no reason to have a war. But he says it as if race would be. (After all, races don’t look the same) As though the reasons we went to war with Japan, Korea, or Vietnam are better simply because “we” don’t look “them”. (Where the “we” here is what Trent thinks of –> Anglo)
Lott’s record with race is not a pretty one (see many posts above that are better researched than I could be). This is further evidence of his warped perception.
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:27 pmYou can tell an American of Iraqi descent from an Iraqi living in Iraq very easily. It isn’t a color or religous thing. Mannerism’s, American Culture, and even Langauge could tell you if they are Americans. Being Muslim doesn’t mean anything as you could still be an American.
I am guessing that this was an attempt to somehow make this comment from Lott look like he was talking about White people. While this man has said some dumb things, this really doesn’t qualify as it was a simple statement that was basically correct.
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:29 pmWhen the hell did everyone in New York look all alike?
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:30 pmWhen I saw this on CNN I saw red. Lott should be ashamed of himself and leave public office.
I would bet he brought up the fact he needed help in MS when Katrina hit. He was mad as hell because things weren’t moving fast enough. This comment “You’re the only ones who obsess on that. We don’t and the real people out in the real world don’t for the most part.” is beyond words.
What about those who have loved ones in the Military there in harms way every second of every day? What about the ones who buried their loved ones because of this war? What about the loved ones who are watching their soldier lay in a bed not knowing what his/her future will be because of serious injuries because of this war?
I WILL BET THEY AS WELL AS MOST AMERICANS WHO CARE ABOUT OUR COUNTRYMEN THINK ABOUT IT EVERY DAY!
This whole statement is way over the top and we are told to look up to our leaders and let them trudge on, stay the course? I think NOT!
Lott should be ashamed of making that statement and he and the whole Administration needs to be blasted seeing they obviously all think on the same wave length.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Lott: Bush barely mentioned Iraq in meeting with Senate Republicans
From CNN’s Ted Barrett
WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush barely mentioned the war in Iraq when he met with Republican senators behind closed doors in the Capitol Thursday morning and was not asked about the course of the war, Sen. Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, said.
“No, none of that,” Lott told reporters after the session when asked if the Iraq war was discussed. “You’re the only ones who obsess on that. We don’t and the real people out in the real world don’t for the most part.”
Lott went on to say he has difficulty understanding the motivations behind the violence in Iraq.
“It’s hard for Americans, all of us, including me, to understand what’s wrong with these people,” he said. “Why do they kill people of other religions because of religion? Why do they hate the Israeli’s and despise their right to exist? Why do they hate each other? Why do Sunnis kill Shiites? How do they tell the difference? They all look the same to me.”
Link is below where this is posted.
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:32 pm
Exley, thanks for asking, yeah Wayne’s fine. I’m sure he’ll be hitting TP later on today. And yes, we’ll both be ready for 4:00 tomorrow!.
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:34 pm#49
“You guys are ALWAYS looking for a reason to be offended…”
You guys? Examples? You wouldn’t be one of those tightwad athiets that is offended by “In God We Trust” being printing on U.S. currency or the fact that the Supreme Court is laden with biblical quotes on the walls would you?
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:39 pmIt’s amazing what a simpleton Trent Lott is.
As long as someone looks like you there is no cause for alarm. But if they look different, then whoa baby, put up the drawbridge!
How that man ended up as Senate Majority leader is beyond imagining.
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:43 pmI guess you could explain to Lott it is like telling the difference between someone from Minnesota and someone from Mississippi. We speak differently, our culture is a little different, and our mannerisms are different. Same with Shiites and Sunnis I bet. Either way, what are you guys up in arms about? This statement he made may be ignorant of Sunni and Shiite history, but that really doesn’t mean anything as most Americans and most of the World is ignormant of Sunni and Shiite history.
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:44 pm#65
“thank you. Lott is the most divisive, hate-filled government employee in America.”
Then you haven’t heard Charlie Rangel.
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:48 pmHey, Charlie Rangel’s not my favorite politician, but he’s infinitely more tolerant than Trent Lott! You can’t defend Lott, so you’re trying to find a Democrat to pick on? Sorry, intolerance is the Republicans’ specialty.
October 3rd, 2006 at 3:02 pmDon’t get me wrong, I think the man’s an idiot. However, when you look at the full quote, the comment of “they all look the same to me” looks a lot less bad.
His point is horribly stated, grossly misunderstanding of their culture, and yes, I’m sure he’s racist. However, road to hell paved with them and all, I think he had the intention of saying that he didn’t understand why people kill eachother over small differences in religion (as stated in post #90).
The irony of this is that I’m pretty sure he voted for a war in which we killed a lot of people to implement our brand of religious based ideology.
October 3rd, 2006 at 3:26 pm100% ridiculous. Lott is a walking joke, and without regard to what TV show he appeared on what he had to say was ignorant and pathetic, just like attempts by prevaricator/dissembler troll-pussies to defend/deflect the very just critiques now lodged against him.
October 3rd, 2006 at 3:29 pmSo Stewart asked a tough question of Lott and he should have. But where was the toughness on McGreevy? Where was some toughness with Clinton?
October 3rd, 2006 at 3:38 pmI’m afraid I’m going to have to agree with Lott on this issue, though I think “They all look alike to me” is quite possibly the worst way he could have worded his point.
I know the difference between Sunnis and Shiites, but I don’t understand why those differences are worth getting so angry that they kill each other over it. But I’m an atheist, so both sides of any sectarian violence look foolish to me.
October 3rd, 2006 at 4:03 pmLet’s see, we send 140,000 plus troops half way around the world, spend over 500 billion, continually hear reports back on sectarian violence and one of the more senior ranking policital figures in Congress doesn’t understand the differences. They have studys and reports made on some of the most inane shit on the planet and nobody in this republican dominated congress ever once suggested they should try to understand the differences that have been at odds with each other for over 2,000 years?
This little detail would have been very helpful BEFORE we jumped blindly into Iraq. He just admitted “I don’t know shit about the people we’re going to whip some democracy on”
Just add it to the list of WTF.
October 3rd, 2006 at 4:48 pmCan someone please explain to me what the hell it means to “look Iraqi” ? What a douchebag.
October 3rd, 2006 at 5:25 pmIt’s good thing it’s a comedy show. Stewart really didn’t challenge him on his lame-ass statement that all Americans look the same to him. Sean Combs looks like Sean Hannity? Marilyn Musgrave looks like Marilyn Manson?
October 3rd, 2006 at 6:24 pm#92
“Hey, Charlie Rangel’s not my favorite politician, but he’s infinitely more tolerant than Trent Lott!”
Then you haven’t heard him speak. He isn’t tolerant at all of those who don’t have the same political slant.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1489852/posts
October 3rd, 2006 at 6:49 pm#94
“How about you TIGHTWAD CRAZY CHRISTIANS that are offended that someone doesn’t want it there!!!”
I am not offended at all…it’s just that you are in a very SMALL minority that doesn’t have the right to trump what 99% of the American people want. Also please don’t try and expand the seperation of church and state argument…it doesn’t work in this case.
October 3rd, 2006 at 6:54 pmTracy, 99% of the people really care that “In God we Trust” is on our MONEY?
And I have heard Charlie Rangel speak. He’s not eloquent, he is rather a jerk, but he’s still no Trent Lott!
October 3rd, 2006 at 7:14 pm#17 -
I can’t stand Trent Lott either. I understand what he is saying although he’s not saying it very tactful - if tactful is even the correct word here. Because he has said some incredibly bigoted or dumber than shit thing in the past doesn’t necessarily mean this is one of those things.
I don’t think this is something to latch onto and not release the hold.
Of more import is the bullshit spewing from Bush’s mouth that the Democrats aren’t fit to govern. Throw back in his face about being a uniter, not a divider. Americans who don’t agree with him and didn’t vote for him make up at least 50% of this country and are still Americans. His job as president is to serve as president to all Americans.
Ah - what am I saying….
October 3rd, 2006 at 8:22 pmI didn’t get a chance to read all of the responses but I wonder if anyone has dissected his statement and explanation.
From where I sit, the implication is (or the logical inference could be) that it is MORE reasonable to fight (kill each other) when you do NOT look alike. Truthfully speaking, I’d say he meant that more than the innocuous clarification he gave to Jon Stewart.
October 3rd, 2006 at 9:06 pmIn your rush to condemn Lott, you’re missing his point.
He’s saying that all American’s look like American’s to him. He sees them as his countrymen and couldn’t imagine wanting to kill them.
He doesn’t understand how Iraqis see themselves as Kurds, Shiites & Sunni’s instead of Iraqis.
October 4th, 2006 at 1:35 amI’m a bit naive? That’s cute. Really, it’s a nice defense mechanism for not being able to construct anything thought provoking or well read on here. Just curious, have you ever lived outside of the country and seen or heard what other people think of America? Please answer that.
People fight for power, and people use a religion as an excuse for fighting. Religion has barely ever been about God, it’s been about clout, influence, and directing the sheep in the direction the shepherd wants to go. If you look at world history, religion is the the root of almost every major conflict the world has seen. The Crusades, northern ireland, the middle east… nothing doesn’t have a “‘religious” reason. The Church has some political figurehead it teams with (Henry VIII, George Bush, Constantine), and it becomes a war over religion, which turns into a war for land.
I’m sure you completely missed or skipped over the part where I said initially that Trent Lott is an idiot and most certainly racist and completely misunderstanding of the culture he is speaking of. His point, despite being horrendously phrased, was that if the war is over religion, he doesn’t see a point in fighting over religion. I don’t think he was as malintentioned as everyone is making him out to be. I’m not calling him a saint, I’m not saying I would vote for him if I lived in his state (or even in the country, for that matter), but I don’t think he meant this remark as one of bigotry and hatred. If you watch the Daily Show clip, it’s obvious even to this flaming liberal that he didn’t mean that the way it’s being construed.
Maybe it’s because I’m CO. War is always about a politician who wants power and is willing to valliantly… send other peoples’ children to die for it. Regardless of the question, I don’t think war is a valid answer.
October 4th, 2006 at 3:54 amThese republicans are all obscene racists,sexists F*CKING NAZIS,even the non-white ones,oh are there any non-white republicans? NAZIS NAZIS NAZIS WILL GET KARMA KARMA KARMA
October 4th, 2006 at 4:12 amAmericans like this are what the world really hates about the usa,f*cking bullies with power. What a nightmare america has become.
Sadly, we get more truth from the Daily Show than our standard “news sourcesâ€.
Comment by SuperEdo — October 3, 2006 @ 1:01 pm
Sadly, you still fail to understand it when you do see it.
Lott said that he cannot understand why Sunnis and Shiia kill each other and that he cannot tell them apart. His view is shared by the Iraqis doing the killing who use ID documents to check names to determine religion. He was criticised for this.
He has now said that he cannot tell the difference between methodists, catholics and evangelicals just be looking at them. His view is shared by every reader here who again, criticise him for this.
You don’t get news or facts from the Daily Show or this place. You just get talking points and overt nudges in the direction of who to howl and bemoan today.
October 4th, 2006 at 7:22 amWell, Americans look like Europeans who look like Australians who look like Canadians who look like…..see the point?
I mean how would Lott feel if i told him he looked like a Frenchman?
And he wonders what the fuss is about.
October 4th, 2006 at 8:24 am#114, Tank “You don’t get news or facts from the Daily Show or this place. You just get talking points and overt nudges in the direction of who to howl and bemoan today.”
Just change that to “You don’t get news or facts from Fux News or Rush Limbaugh or Bill O’Reilly. You just get talking points and overt nudges in the direction of who to howl and bemoan today.”
See? It works perfectly!
October 4th, 2006 at 10:36 am@ #35,
I agree, the fact that the greatest threat to our rights and liberties in America’s history passed through Congress without so much as a peep from TP is outrageous. I’m not going to pretend this site isn’t biased in the extreme against Republicans but I honestly never thought this site would be so caught up in its superficial smear campaign as to ignore the TRUE threat to the American people.
October 4th, 2006 at 11:54 am#107
“Tracy, 99% of the people really care that “In God we Trust†is on our MONEY?
I would say so or it wouldn’t be on all of our currency.
October 4th, 2006 at 4:05 pm