Lott to Christian Americans: “This Is Our Country And It’s Time We Take It Back”
Listed in: Separation of Church and State, NJDC News, Press Releases
Washington, DC: According to a November 24, 1987 Washington Post article, then-Representative Trent Lott (R-MS) - just before announcing his 1988 candidacy for the U.S. Senate - uttered more memorable words while speaking to the Mississippi Right to Life convention. According to the Post, "Lott likened his campaign to a crusade, telling his audience, 'Conservative, G-d-fearing, hard-working Christian people make a mistake by not being more aggressive. This is our country and it's time we take it back."
"Trent Lott and the 'tin-ear wing' of the Republican Party strike again," said National Jewish Democratic Council Executive Director Ira N. Forman. "The deeper we dig into Trent Lott's past, the more disturbing statements we find. Now we learn that the incoming Senate Majority Leader - then the House Minority Whip - proclaimed that America is for Christians, and it's apparently past time for them to 'take it back.'
"Trent Lott's chronic problem of giving voice to his exclusivist worldview is not just Trent Lott's problem - it's the problem of many in the G.O.P., and especially its leadership. As recently as October, incoming House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) exhorted a Christian Coalition rally in support of Israel to 'put people in office who...stand unashamedly with Jesus Christ.' And in September, outgoing House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) referred to the 80-90 percent of American Jews who vote Democratic as engaging in 'shallow, superficial intellect.'
"The real problem with these Republican leaders is not the occasional slip of the tongue; it's that they speak honestly about their beliefs. And until their exclusionist views change, it's going to be increasingly hard for large numbers of Americans to vote with the Republican Party."
