The Tennessean got Lamar Alexander's office on the record in today's paper about why he's one of the few holdouts on cosponsoring the anti-lynching apology resolution.
His reason? "There is no resolution of apology that we can pass today that will teach one more child to read, prevent one more case of AIDS, or stop one more violent crime."
"He said he preferred a resolution he introduced called 'celebrating Black History Month,' which condemned lynching and pledged to address racial disparities in education and health care. His version made no mention of the Senate's failure to ban lynching."
Well, sure, but is there any reason you can't do BOTH, Senator? And if his complaint is that the anti-lynching apology is too symbolic, what is "celebrating Black History month"?
And even though he refused to co-sponsor the resolution and debated against it, "Alexander spokeswoman Alexia Poe said the senator would have voted for the apology if it had come up as a roll call."
Talk about having it both ways - Sen. Alexander didn't agree with it and wouldn't sponsor it, but if there'd been a recorded vote, he would have done the more politically expedient thing and voted for it.