Opinion Lott to be thankful for

It's not often that a monumental blunder is actually a potential blessing in disguise; and, of course, it remains to be seen whether the opportunity will come to fruition.

Regardless, we have a "Lott" to be thankful for.

When former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott put his foot in his mouth by publicly pining for the days of racial segregation, he gave the Republican Party -- and the nation -- a chance to make some real progress in the awkward arena of race relations.

Privately, a few walking anachronisms have clung to a constituency of petty and insecure lowbrows who try to make themselves look better by looking down on someone else.

To most everyone's embarrassment, this shadow has always been there, hiding behind code words and innuendo.

Just as privately, other folks in the GOP have been aimlessly fumbling in the dark, trying to figure out a way to root out this disturbing bastion of racial prejudice without setting off an intramural war of recrimination.

Thanks to Lott the problem has been solved. Well, maybe not The Problem, but at least the problem of how to address The Problem.

Thanks to Lott, every figure in the GOP, bigot and equal-opportunist alike, is publicly denouncing racism with commendable vigor.

So, the political party that has lately captured about 8 percent of the nation's African-American vote has a chance to address black issues in the light of day.

Now, the questions is, will it?

The lack of black enthusiasm for the GOP does not mean that Republicans have nothing to offer black Americans. There is an ample supply of black voters who possess conservative views on economics, advocate a strong military, support GOP initiatives, believe in the importance of the individual, and want a smaller federal government.

Do these people vote Republican? Of course not. Why should they? The GOP has been so careful to avoid offending the Trent Lotts of the world that it has clearly ignored black America; and blacks are understandably suspicious of a party that appears to harbor racists.

The ensuing political polarization has only exacerbated the nation's racial polarization.

Thanks, however, to Sen. Lott, that festering scab of lingering racism is finally out in the open where it has a better chance to heal.

In fact, the GOP has already launched initiatives with black leaders to address the very issues the party has long been so reluctant to deal with.

The toppling of Trent Lott is an opportunity beyond anyone's wildest dreams.

Republicans, however, will not be able to get by with mere lip service as the Democrats have done so successfully.

While Republicans have traditionally pretended that the problem doesn't exist, Democrats have relied on gestures of Political Correctness and fanning fears of Republican racism.

In the economic arena, Democrats curry favor with white racist and liberal voters alike by advocating meager government handouts sufficient only to ensure that the recipients will not be tempted to succeed -- a strategy that ensures a strong contingent of government-dependent black voters who will continue to rely on Democrats as their erstwhile saviors.

We can only hope that progress will be made before the issue is swept back under the rug.

Critics argue that the voting record of the new majority leader, Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee, is not that different from Lott's; but that's not really the point. All indications are that the new majority leader is light years away from the provincial mentality of a Senator Lott.

There is, at least, the possibility of meaningful change. Yes, we do have a "Lott" to be thankful for.