Joe Conason tries to steer the national conversation to John Ashcroft's neo-Confederate ties.

Will the mainstream press ever take this story seriously?

And what about the conversatives who are now patting themselves on the back for their racial broad-mindedness as they suddenly proclaim how awful they think Trent Lott is? If they're as non-racist as they claim, which of them will be the first to denounce Ashcroft? Shouldn't they want a thorough housecleaning of "the party of Lincoln"? Or do they care about Republican racists only when they become embarrassing? And why aren't they able to summon up articles from their past about the vileness of the neo-Confederates, as Conason does?