Trent Lott

Former US Senator Trent Lott ended up resigning from his post as Senate Republican Leader in 2002, largely thanks to numerous blogs. This is what happened:

1. December 5th - Lott attends 100th birthday celebration for former Presidential candidate Strom Thurmond, who is basically a good, old fashioned redneck/racist/typical southern American. He essentially based his campaign on a racial segregation platform.
   
2. Lott then says that the US would have been better off if Thurmond had become President back when he ran for election in 1948.
3. December 6th - American press coverage makes no real mention of Thurmond's comments, despite fairly obvious racist connotations
4. December 6th - 9th - Bloggers worldwide discuss Lott's comments, causing the New York Times to take another look and discover that it isn't the first time he's said something similar
5. December 10th - New York Times picks up the story, revealing Lott's previous comments
6. December 20th - Lott resigns as Senate Republican Leader