VRWC

Newsletter #9

Senator Trent Lott will receive weekly racial counseling to hold him accountable for his behavior and resist temptations to speak about his segregationist past when he was a Democrat, these temptations  have conquered him in the past. 

The announcement Friday follows Bill Clinton's soul-baring confession before a group of religious leaders at the White House in 1998, at which he repented for his affair with Monica Lewinsky and vowed to better himself and had weekly counseling with the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Tony Campolo.

We want him to understand what went wrong with him personally that led to the tragic behavior  that have so marred his life and the office of the Majority Leader of the Senate,'' said Senator Robert "Sheets "Byrd, an Senator from West Virginia (D) a past member of the KKK will lead the counseling sessions.

``We want to provide all the help that we can to  strengthen him against yielding to the temptations that have conquered him in the past,'' Byrd said in a statement.

The counseling comes as Lott  tries to steer a two-track strategy of public contrition and begging his fellow Senators  to let remain in office.

Several prominent  critics of Lott , including Beatrice Black, head of the Daughters of the Confederacy  have called on the Senator to resign.

Rev. Jesse Jackson a liberal social activist and conman, said he and Senator Robert "Sheets "Byrd had been asked by Lott to provide counseling.

Jackson said Lott had called him on  December 8 -- before CNN reported his remarks at the birthday party for Senator Strom Thrumond who turn 100 years old. Lott said he had  asked that Jesse Jackson and Senator Byrd counsel him and hold him accountable for his behavior.

Lott  spokesman Billy Bob Banks confirmed the arrangement and said other counselors, who have not been publicly identified, also will take part.

Senator Byrd said Lott had twice read his book ``Rebuilding From A  Segregationist World,'' about Byrd's quest for redemption. ''I am in a position to talk the language of repentance,'' Byrd said.

Rev. Jackson  said that after accepting the counseling role, he had been struck by Lott's public expression of contrition on BET, which he accepted as genuine.

''No one could have been present and retained a disbelieving, a cynical, a hardened attitude toward this man who opened his heart and acknowledged his realization of his sin,'' he said.

He said he would not take any political stand on Lott, but said people of faith had an obligation to ''treat seriously any attempt by a self-proclaimed sinner who asks for forgiveness.''

Have I worried about being used? Of course,'' he said.

If the Senator's repentance is false or short-termed, that will show in time, and we will have to swallow hard and admit that we were taken in,'' he said.

Jackson and Byrd said at least one of them would meet with Lott weekly. Jackson  said funding for the sessions would come from ``private sources'' and the Senator's office said no taxpayer funds would be involved.

It has been easy for some to say that God's judgment will be upon this Senator,'' he said. But will God's judgment not be upon a group of people who call themselves righteous but who permit such rancor in their hearts?''

Remember, the conspiracy you save MAY be your OWN!