Saul Cornell on Lott

The Federalist Society is sending Lott on a speaking tour. They asked Saul Cornell to debate Lott. This is what he sent them:

Lott has been accused of research fraud and has lied on a host of other topics related to his research, including his participation in Internet discussions under a false female identity (cyber-cross dressing---very un-Federalist Society if you ask me---can you imagine Publius in drag?) I would gladly debate with any serious academic on this or other topics, but I have a general rule about not sharing the stage with frauds. In fact no serious scholar would even bother with Lott at this moment. He is only being kept afloat because he has never passed a serious tenure review and has jumped around on a series of ideologically funded fellowships. If he were in a regular academic job, he would certainly be the subject of an independent investigation. I would urge you to reconsider the invitation. I could easily suggest a host of more congenial and interesting persons to defend either the individual rights view or concealed carry laws. If Lott comes to town you are apt to make the issue seem silly---just imagine all of the Mary Rosh (Lott's twisted cyber-sister) street antics you would encourage. Do you really want to make the cause of gun rights look just silly? I certainly would not want to encourage this. The decision is up to you, but I think you are making a mistake.