"So here's a simple test for Republicans and conservative pundits. Will they call Lott on this excrescence? Or are they exactly what some on the Left accuse them of?"

Andrew Sullivan wrote that early this morning.

Right now, Matt Drudge is providing his answer, with two headlines:

Jesse Jackson calls for Lott's resignation in wake of remarks on Thurmond...

SHARPTON JUMPS IN...

To Drudge's core audience, Jackson and Sharpton are race-baiting buffoons, not to be taken seriously, ever. Drudge is telling his audience that this is a big joke.

If this is genuinely a surprise to Sullivan, he's even more naive than I thought he was.