'I'm not Trent' Mike Lott wants to make clear

Interesting article at OneNewsNow.

"I just want people to understand that Mike Lott is the guy in Mississippi fighting against illegal immigration and I'm quite baffled at what is going on up in Washington, D.C."

So, the Mississippi Secretary of State candidate says he doesn't want to be confused with one of the most powerful men in the U.S. Senate. Little wonder when these comments sputter forth from Senator Lott's office:

"If the answer is 'build a fence' I've got two goats on my place in Mississippi. There ain't no fence big enough, high enough, strong enough, that you can keep those goats in that fence."

"Now people are at least as smart as goats," Lott continued. "Maybe not as agile. Build a fence. We should have a virtual fence. Now one of the ways I keep those goats in the fence is I electrified them. Once they got popped a couple of times they quit trying to jump it."

"I'm not proposing an electrified goat fence," Lott added quickly, "I'm just trying, there's an analogy there."

These comments from Sec. of State Republican candidate Mike Lott on the Mississippi Connection with Matt Friedeman on 6/21/07:

Mike Lott: If you know me, you know where I stand on illegal immigration; but there are a lot of people across the state, of course, voters, and not every voter knows me. And when they see the last name “Lott,” that’s what they’re going to think of, possibly: “Is this the guy that wants illegal immigration or doesn’t want illegal immigration? I’m confused!” And I just don’t want voters to be confused; I want them to know.

Matt Friedeman: Has Trent handled this illegal immigration issue poorly?

ML: I’m just disappointed across the board with what’s going on in Washington, D.C. with all of the leadership – Republicans, Democrats, from the President on down, And quite frankly, I think I have a pretty good thermostat, as a legislator not only in a small district but as someone who’s been running a statewide campaign for the last four months. I have a pretty good thermometer about what people think on this issue of illegal immigration, and the path citizenship and all the small, minute details of what’s important to people and the overall topic of illegal immigration. You know, from the president on down I don’t understand what’s going on in D.C. per se. The voice of Mississippians just doesn’t seem to be heard loudly enough.

MF: It’s interesting; the Gallup poll out today says just 14% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in Congress right now. The previous low point apparently was 18% somewhere between 1991 and 1994. Do you feel this discontent out there as you’re going around from place to place making speeches.

ML: …The voters in general are just very disgusted and frustrated. They sometimes say that they don’t think they have anyone listening to them.

MF: What does any of this have to do – whether it’s Trent Lott or illegal immigration or general discontent out there – what does any of it have to do with the office of Secretary of State?

ML: I’m glad you asked that question, because some of my opponents are out there saying I’m beating this drum too loudly, that it has nothing to do with the office of Secretary of State. It’s very simple. If they knew anything about the issue of illegal immigration, they wouldn’t even have to ask the question. But here’s what it has to do with the office: right now in Mississippi, we do not have a law that mandates that we prove citizenship before your name goes on the voter roll. And as secretary of state I’ll be the chief elections officer in the state.

I do not want names going on our voter roll to register voters in this state if they’re not citizens of the state. So as secretary of state, I’m going to push for legislation not only to ask for voter identification, to prove yourself at the polls so you can’t steal my vote. But also before that process gets to the voting day, I want people who register as voters to have to prove that they are U.S. citizens. Circuit clerks tell me that we’ve got people on our voting rolls who have been put there, and they are not citizens of our country. But there’s no law that mandates that the circuit clerks verify citizenship.