Better Late or Never
Almost 140 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, the US Senate has finally passed a Resolution apologizing for its failure to enact anti-lyching legislation. When I heard the Resolution was passed by a voice vote, I immediately understood there were some Senators who actually did not want to be on record as having voted for the apology. I figured these would be people like Trent Lott of Mississippi, who wanted to be free to say to their white racist cronies that they did not vote for the Resolution and remain "true" to their race, like when Lott praised Strom Thurmond and lamented the end of segregation.
The "better late" club eventually included 89 Senators, of whom 39 originally sponsored the Resolution and the others later signed it at various stages, right up to the time of its passage. Some Senators prevailed on Senate Majority Leader Frist to deny the Resolution one of those "up or down" recorded votes he is always calling for. Frist even postponed the voice vote until very late in the day to allow some of the "nevers" time to disappear from the Senate floor. The "nevers" at one time included both Senators from four of the five States where most of the lynchings occurred. The Northest Mississippi Daily Journal carried an interesting opinion piece condemning the two Mississippi Senators for their no-show.
Trying to track down the final "never" votes is like trying to determine who was in a lynch mob. Some who started as "nevers" have gradually dropped by the wayside and signed the Resolution. Here is a list of the 88 co-sponsors, with the date of their signing. Senator Landrieu of Louisiana was the initial sponsor, which should leave 11 "nevers", though I have only been able to come up with these 10 [if you can help with the one that got away, let us know]:
Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Robert Bennett (R-UT)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Michael Enzi (R-WY)
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Trent Lott (R-MS)
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
John Sununu (R-NH)
Craig Thomas (R-WY)
I doubt there were many lynchings in New Hampshire, yet its two Senators are "nevers". Must have something to do with the State motto: "Live Free or Die". I suspect the Senate vote may reflect how Americans in general feel about the apology, with a similar percentage of Americans unwilling to recognize the wrong that was done by the United States Senate in failing to enact anti-lynching legislation.
The "better late" club eventually included 89 Senators, of whom 39 originally sponsored the Resolution and the others later signed it at various stages, right up to the time of its passage. Some Senators prevailed on Senate Majority Leader Frist to deny the Resolution one of those "up or down" recorded votes he is always calling for. Frist even postponed the voice vote until very late in the day to allow some of the "nevers" time to disappear from the Senate floor. The "nevers" at one time included both Senators from four of the five States where most of the lynchings occurred. The Northest Mississippi Daily Journal carried an interesting opinion piece condemning the two Mississippi Senators for their no-show.
Trying to track down the final "never" votes is like trying to determine who was in a lynch mob. Some who started as "nevers" have gradually dropped by the wayside and signed the Resolution. Here is a list of the 88 co-sponsors, with the date of their signing. Senator Landrieu of Louisiana was the initial sponsor, which should leave 11 "nevers", though I have only been able to come up with these 10 [if you can help with the one that got away, let us know]:
Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Robert Bennett (R-UT)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Michael Enzi (R-WY)
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Trent Lott (R-MS)
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
John Sununu (R-NH)
Craig Thomas (R-WY)
I doubt there were many lynchings in New Hampshire, yet its two Senators are "nevers". Must have something to do with the State motto: "Live Free or Die". I suspect the Senate vote may reflect how Americans in general feel about the apology, with a similar percentage of Americans unwilling to recognize the wrong that was done by the United States Senate in failing to enact anti-lynching legislation.
posted by Tom Blake | 5:22 PM
3 Comments:
Tom,
I understand the 140 year waiting period, but don't you find it remarkable that after all that time a resolution was passed by a Senate controlled by social conservative Republicans? Why wasn't it passed during the Clinton or Carter administrations? What am I missing?
John from Phoenix
The conservative leadership of the Senate did not promote this Resolution. It was introduced initially by Senator Landrieu, a Lousiana Democrat, joined by Republican Allen of Virginia. Cynically, we might say they may have been interested in appeasing or increasing the black voters in their constituencies. The Resolution went to the Judiciary Committee, headed by Republican moderate Specter. Once the Committee sent it to the floor there was not much the conservatives could do to delay or disregard it, without getting a black eye [pun intended] in the process. The best they could do was relegate it to a voice vote, late in the day, to allow time to hide for those conservatives who wanted to avoid it.
The Democrats last had the Senate in 1992-1994, and were interested in "meatier" items than Resolutions. This anti-lynching resolution would have been "meatier" if it had included at least some symbolic reparation money, perhaps in the form of a permanent memorial or an educational endowment.
Tom,
Apparently Senator John Kyl (Rep AZ) apparently also believes in "Better Late than Never". He did not vote for the resolution and has been suffering press attacks because of that. He said it was his principle not to vote for resolutions that are essentially meaningless. Nevertheless he quietly changed his vote and now is listed as a supporter. He must have found the resolution meaningful for his next Senate run. I'm afraid it would be too much to hope that this one mistake would affect the outcome of that election. He represents the hard right of the Republican Party, and this country needs less of that type.
John from Phoenix
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