Everyone (well, at least many in the blogosphere) is demanding that Trent Lott step down after his stupid remarks about how much better off we’d be if Strom and the Dixiecrats had won in 1948.

I agree that he should step down, but not for the reason that many are putting forth–that he’s apparently an unreconstructed racist and segregationist. I don’t think that he is. I suspect that what he meant was that because Thurmond later changed his stripes, the turmoil of the sixties might have been avoided, though of course this makes no sense at all, since no one knows what Thurmond would have done later had he actually won in 1948 and had his segregationist world-view confirmed and rewarded.

There’s nothing new here. I believe that he should resign for the same reason that I’ve thought that he should resign ever since he took the post six years ago–he’s a politically tone-deaf idiot, a gutless wonder who presided over and enabled the sham trial in impeachment, and let the Democrats roll him time and time again. If he stays in power, he’s quite likely to continue to do and say stupid things that will lose him the Senate, or at least more likely than most of his probable replacements.

The reason for him to resign is that that’s exactly what Tom Daschle & Co. don’t want him to do (whatever feigned outrage they may express over the latest incident). He’s been far too useful an idiot for them.