Free Republic

The media continue to have Obama's back after his ridiculous claim tire inflation could be a substitute for oil drilling in a speech at a rally in Missouri on July 30. MSNBC anchor Alex Witt is the latest in a long line of media personalities expressing irritation that McCain is using the presumptive Democratic nominee's tire inflation comment in his campaign against Obama. Witt interviewed former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott on August 7 about McCain's strategy. "But sir, when John McCain picks up this tire-gauge issue and you know - throws it about back and forth, doesn't he just...

The Talk Shows Sunday, May 18th, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Chris Dodd, D-Conn.; Rick Dutrow Jr., trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.; former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark.; Republican strategist Mike Murphy; Democratic strategist Bob Shrum. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Gov. Charlie Crist, R-Fla.; Republican strategist Ed Rollins; former Govs. Mario Cuomo, D-N.Y., and Roy Romer, D-Colo.THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., and Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio. LATE EDITION (CNN) : Commerce Secretary Carlos...

Northrop Grumman Corp. hired the lobbying firm of former U.S. Senator Trent Lott to help protect its newly won $35 billion Air Force tanker contract from challenges by losing bidder Boeing Co. and some lawmakers. Los Angeles-based Northrop and partner European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co., the owner of Airbus SAS, won the contract on Feb. 29. Boeing, which has built aerial refueling tankers for the U.S. Air Force since 1956, appealed the decision last week and the leader of the U.S. House panel that controls military spending has threatened to cut funds for the program. Boeing's March 11 protest...

The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gov. Haley R. Barbour that the special election for former Sen. Trent Lott's seat should be held on Nov. 4. In doing so the court denied an appeal by Attorney General Jim Hood of an earlier Circuit Court ruling by Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Bobby DeLaughter that the special election should be held on or before March 19. The court ruled in an 8-1 vote that while state statute clearly required a special election to be set, the law was unclear as to when the election date must be. In such...

OXFORD, Miss. -- Former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove confirmed to The Associated Press on Friday that he will run for the U.S. Senate. Musgrove plans to hold a series of news conferences Monday in Tupelo, Jackson, Hattiesburg and Gulfport. "I'll be announcing, yes," Musgrove told the AP in a telephone interview from his law office in Madison County. Musgrove, a Democrat, will run in a special election against Republican Roger Wicker, who was appointed this week to fill the job left vacant by the retirement of the GOP's Trent Lott. The date of the special election is in dispute. Republican...

Former senators John Breaux (D-La.) and Trent Lott (R-Miss.) are opening a new, all-in-the-family lobbying firm, saying the capital and its corporate suitors are "yearning" for bipartisan solutions to gridlock. Revealing what had been one of the worst-kept secrets in town, the senators said in an interview that they would officially launch the Breaux-Lott Leadership Group next week, with both their sons and Lott's former top aide joining them. Breaux and Lott, who together have more than 70 years of experience in the House and Senate, first talked about such a partnership decades ago when they lived across the street...

Gov. Haley Barbour said he'll have 60 days from Monday to call a special election to fill Sen. Roger Wicker's vacated House seat. The candidates will have another 60 days to campaign before the election. Southaven Mayor Greg Davis said he filed papers Monday to run for the seat Wicker has vacated. He served in the state House of Representatives before becoming mayor of Southaven. "I've been wanting to get back to the legislative arena and this seems like a good opportunity," Davis said. Former Tupelo Mayor Glenn McCullough, also a member of the GOP, has also been named as...

JACKSON, Miss. -- The dispute over an election to fill the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Republican Trent Lott is now headed to court. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood on Wednesday filed a complaint in Hinds County Circuit Court against the Nov. 4 election date set by Gov. Haley Barbour. The two have been at odds over when the election should be held. "We also filed a motion for preliminary injunction in hopes of expediting the matter. We have asked the court for a hearing next week," Hood said in statement on Wednesday. Barbour, a Republican, said he has...

JACKSON, Miss, - Gov. Haley Barbour on Monday announced his choice for Trent Lott's replacement in the Senate: Rep. Roger Wicker, a conservative congressman. Barbour said it was important to select a person with Lott's "conservative values" and who would be able to work with Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran, also a Republican. "I am a mainstream conservative in the mold of Trent Lott, Thad Cochran, Haley Barbour and (U.S. Rep.) Chip Pickering and I believe the vast majority of Mississipians share this philosophy," Wicker said at a news conference. "At the same time, I hope my constituents and colleagues view...

Miss. congressman to replace Sen. Lott By JACK ELLIOTT JR., Associated Press Writer 8 minutes ago Republican Haley Barbour's choice to succeed Sen. Trent Lott is Rep. Roger Wicker, a conservative congressman, congressional officials with knowledge of the selection process said Monday. Wicker, 56, will serve until a special election is held, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made. Wicker is expected to be a candidate in the special election, which Barbour has scheduled for Nov. 4. Wicker had been mentioned as a possible successor since Lott's resignation this month...

There will be a New Year’s Eve Senate name-dropping in Mississippi, when Republican Gov. Haley Barbour is scheduled to announce his appointee as the interim replacement to resigned Republican Sen. Trent Lott. Republican Rep. Roger Wicker of the 1st District is widely regarded as a leading candidate to be Barbour’s choice, and other GOP figures are thought to be under consideration. While Barbour has not tipped his hand, one prominent Mississippi Republican — retiring 3rd District Rep. Charles W. “Chip” Pickering Jr. — took it upon himself Friday afternoon to remove himself from the running for the seat that Lott...

JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi Republican Trent Lott officially resigned from the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, ending a 35-year career in which he reached the of height of power before falling from grace and climbing his way back to the top, a spokesman said. Lott, 66, had announced in his home state Nov. 26 that he would step down by year's end, saying he wants to pursue other opportunities. He submitted the paper work Tuesday to make it official, his spokesman, Lee Youngblood, told The Associated Press. "U.S. Sen. Trent Lott has informed Vice President Dick Chaney, the president of the...

Sen. Trent Lott retired from Congress late Tuesday with characteristic flair, making public with 16 minutes' notice that he would relinquish his seat when the Senate closed for business. A press release issued by his office at 11:49 p.m. said Lott would not return to work Wednesday. The Senate turned out the lights at 12:05 a.m. Lott spokesman Lee Youngblood said the formal announcement came so late because Lott had to resign at least a day before the Senate recesses, which could be as early as Wednesday, but wanted to vote on important bills that were being considered well into...

The latest word out of the Magnolia State is that Gov. Haley Barbour (R) is likely to pick either US Rep. Chip Pickering (R) or US Rep. Roger Wicker (R) to succeed Minority Whip Trent Lott (R) as the next US Senator from Mississippi. On the Democratic side, the scuttlebutt is that former Attorney General Mike Moore, probably the most electable politico among the state’s beleaguered Democrats, has decided that he will run, setting up what is likely to be a fierce, well-funded competition that is sure to receive national attention. Whether Barbour will choose Pickering or Wicker is still...

Surveys are already underway in Mississippi to find out who Mississippians think is the "hot" name to serve in Sen. Trent Lott's seat until a special election is held in November 2008. The list is a virtual who's who of Mississippi politics, past and present. From former governors to a former attorney general to present office holders, both in Washington and Jackson. The political consulting firm, Zata 3, polled voters in all four congressional districts. Zata 3 works for Democrats and the survey was not weighted for age, race or gender. The firm polled almost 1,400 voters and found Cong....

In a longshot campaign to use Sen. Trent Lott's retirement as a slap to Democrats, Bush allies are pushing for Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour to choose retired federal Judge Charles Pickering, rejected by Democrats for higher office, as Lott's replacement in the Senate. "It would be the biggest in-your-face move if it happened," said one proponent of the move. Pickering was nominated for a federal appeals court post in 2002 but was blocked, in part because of his antiabortion position as well as charges of racial insensitivity. He was renominated and given a recess appointment but eventually withdrew his name....

LOTT: Tricia and I have had wonderful experiences. It's been such a pleasure to serve the good people in this state and to work on things that are important to our country and even issues that involve the world. And for a boy from Pascagoula, Mississippi, it's been quite a wild ride, but a very enjoyable one, and one that I'm proud of. I want to also say to my colleagues in the House and the Senate that I thank them, too, for allowing me to serve in leadership positions in the House and the Senate and being able to...

The news that Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) will resign his seat creates a vacancy that aspiring pols have been waiting for. The rules of succession remain somewhat blurry, although the most likely outcome is that Gov. Barbour will appoint Lott's' replacement with a special election held next November to fill the four years on Lott's'term. For Republicans, the most oft-mentioned names are Reps. Roger Wicker and Chip Pickering. Both once served as staffers for Lott and have deep ties in the state's Republican politics. Pickering is leaving his House seat at the end of this term. On the Democratic side,...

More details at FoxNews Channel as they come in...

p>The Talk Shows Sunday, September 30th, 2007 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Trent Lott, R-Miss. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Former President Bill Clinton. FACE THE NATION (CBS): New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Democratic presidential candidate. THIS WEEK (ABC): Former President Bill Clinton; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus. LATE EDITION (CNN) : Sens. Kit Bond, R-Mo., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari; Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol; John Prendergast, co-founder of Enough, a project to abolish genocide;...

Hillary Clinton has been in politics long enough to know the value of the word "change." In 1992, her husband's political guru, James Carville, hung a white sign in the Clinton campaign war room that read CHANGE VS. MORE OF THE SAME. Bill Clinton won the presidency that year with 370 electoral votes. Over the course of the summer, she watched her rivals for the Democratic nomination try again and again to define themselves as change and Clinton as the status quo. ("We're more interested in looking forward, not backward," Barack Obama told reporters. "And the American people feel the...

Former Sen. Fred Thompson has begun his unannounced quest for the Republican presidential nomination by telling audiences in New Hampshire that Washington is badly out of touch with the country. As a senior campaign adviser put it to The Washington Post's Michael Shear, Thompson believes that "the politicians have lost their connection with what people really want and what they really expect." Few if any of the other 17 men and one woman vying for the presidency would be bold enough to challenge Thompson's claim. The belief that official Washington is deaf to the people's wishes is a staple of...

On the eve of Independence Day, the people of this great republic declared their independence from the United States Senate under the stirring battle-cry, "No legislation without explanation." The geniuses who cooked up the "comprehensive" immigration bill's "grand bargain" behind the scenes in the pork-filled rooms originally planned to ram it through in 48 hours before Memorial Day. And, right to the end, the bipartisan Emirs-for-life of Incumbistan gave the strong impression they regarded it as an affront to be required by the impertinent whippersnappers of the citizenry to address the actual content of the legislation. Sen. Lindsey Graham, South...

June 28th was a very fine day, indeed. For one thing, under pressure from my fellow Americans, the boobs in the Beltway caved in, and stopped trying to shove the amnesty bill down our collective throats. It was also the day that the Supreme Court finally got around to deciding that in a society that keeps insisting that it’s colorblind, race can no longer be used as a means to determine the makeup of student bodies. I’d like to think that Martin Luther King, Jr., would have approved, just as I take comfort in knowing that Jesse Jackson doesn’t. My...

With his caucus bitterly divided and the Senate descending into procedural warfare, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) stayed away from the Senate floor as the most sweeping overhaul of immigration laws in 21 years hung in the balance. Facing the biggest challenge of his leadership tenure, McConnell has largely chosen to work behind the scenes and instead allow a bloc of conservatives to spar with Republican supporters of the bill. Conservatives also railed all day on the process used by Senate leaders to bring the bill to the floor. But Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and other Democrats wasted no...

http://www.streamaudio.com/stations/asx/wzzk_fm.asx

On Fox News Sunday night we were distressed to hear Senator Feinstein aver that she "would be looking into the 'Fairness Doctrine'", the most misnamed of the all the liberal, thought-control ideas we have to fend off constantly. Unfortunately, at her side was the normally conservative, but not always perceptive, Senator Lott.

Background Information on Major Enforcement Provisions of the Graham-Kyl-Martinez Amendment ‘TOUCHBACK’ Z-VISA APPLICANTS MUST LEAVE THE UNITED STATES TO BECOME A Z-VISA HOLDER The legislation has been criticized for allowing z-visa applicants to stay in the United States indefinitely in z-visa status. Others have claimed said z-visa holders will never have to leave the United States. * The illegal alien head of household – currently residing in the United States -- will have to leave our country within 3 years and return to their home country. * Once in their home country, they can complete their z-visa application. * After...

A Republican senator from Kentucky says the so-called "comprehensive immigration reform" bill is completely unnecessary because there are already laws on the books the government has yet to enforce that will stop illegal aliens at the border. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) is reportedly unsure whether he will support the immigration bill that would grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. McConnell tells Associated Press, "the bill on the merits is a mixed bag," and he won't decide how to vote on the measure until a series of amendments have been considered. But fellow Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning is...

With his buffoonish complaints about talk radio and its role in educating the American public about the flaws in the Senate immigration bill, Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott has done much to energize the conservative Republican base and jeopardize the chances of its passage. Earlier this month, open-borders advocates came up 15 votes short when they attempted to shut off debate on the immigration bill, and nothing that has taken place since that time leads us to believe that the Bipartisan Alien Amnesty Caucus will fare much better on tomorrow's cloture vote — the most critical one on illegal immigration...

When Kim Wade pulled up in front of the Jackson, Miss., offices of Republican Sen. Trent Lott, a crowd was already waiting. They were students, professionals and homemakers, all members of the immigration-restriction advocacy group NumbersUSA. And they were all there to blast Lott for his support of the Senate immigration bill. They delivered petitions bearing nearly 3,000 signatures, part of a multipronged campaign, imploring Lott not to "sell out Mississippi to illegal aliens." The office secretary "could barely receive them because the phones were ringing off the hook" with calls protesting Lott's immigration stance, said Wade, a local talk-radio...

Procedural snares and ``killer'' amendments threaten to disrupt the fragile coalition in the Senate that's holding together the most sweeping overhaul of U.S. immigration policy since 1986. Supporters are scrambling to address the legislative obstacles before debate resumes next week. Opponents plan to try to derail the legislation by using procedural delays and offering poison-pill amendments that may split the coalition that sustains the measure. Passage of the legislation would give 12 million undocumented immigrants a chance at legal status while handing President George W. Bush a victory on his top domestic priority. ``This is a delicate balance. The wheels...

The Senate's Republican leader says he is unsure whether he will vote for the immigration bill President Bush strongly supports, underscoring the measure's precarious status. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has long called for an immigration overhaul, saying the current situation is deeply flawed. And as the Senate minority leader, McConnell is central to shepherding legislation the president wants. But in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, McConnell said he would not decide how to vote on the measure until a long series of amendments are disposed of next week. "The bill on the merits is a mixed bag,"...

What does a fence on the United State-Mexico border have to do with goats? Sen. Minority Whip Trent Lott, R-Miss., was talking to reporters Wednesday about the immigration bill, when he said, "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...

Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) gets that talk radio hosts are angry with him, but he wants to set a couple of things straight: He’s not hiding, and he still doesn’t like that fence. Lott told a scrum of reporters on June 14 that “talk radio is running America — we have to deal with that problem,” adding that the troublemakers who are overwhelmingly opposed to the immigration legislation “don’t even know what’s in the bill.” Now they’re really mad. “The people that he’s actually complaining and whining about now are the ones that tried to defend him when everybody else...

<p>It was a casual shot across the bow, a comment last week from Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott: Advocates of an immigration overhaul would have to "deal" with talk-radio hosts who he said don't know what is in the legislation but want to kill it nonetheless.</p>

On his Wednesday night radio show, Mark Levin announced that Senator Trent Lott [Minority Whip of the US Senate] "must go". He wants the senator OUT. Former member of the Reagan Administration and founder of the Legal Landmark Foundation [also a friend and advisor for Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity], Mister Levin ran a Lexus Nexus search and discovered that Senator Lott had opposed President Ronald Reagan's opposition to the 'Fairness Doctrine'. In other words, Trent Lott's earlier statement about 'dealing with' talk radio may be no harmless statement. According to Mark Levin, Senator Lott's feud with talk radio seems...

WASHINGTON - Sen. Minority Whip Trent Lott, R-Miss., has managed to rile up some of his core supporters - conservative talk radio shows nationwide from Rush Limbaugh to Neil Boortz as well as local Mississippi stations - with remarks last Thursday blaming talk radio for the collapse of the immigration bill. "Talk radio is running America," Lott said last week. "We have to deal with that problem." Although the bill has since been revived, it faces stiff opposition during this week's Senate debate and talk radio is in high gear over Lott, his support for the bill and his seeming...

Sen. Trent Lott has seen the enemy, and he is us. Well, actually: me. “Talk radio is running America,” Lott thundered from the floor of the Senate last week. “We have to deal with that problem.” “That problem” is that the Bush/Kennedy/McCain/Calderon amnesty bill got beaten like a cheap rug on the floor of the Senate last week. “That problem” is that prospects for its revival are dim, at best. And Lott is blaming what he might have once called “outside agitators” in his Mississippi days, but are better known currently as “voters.”

This is a links and activism-central thread to collect the information on the status and effort to defeat the Senate Immigration bill, especially the egregious Z visa amnesty program, in its second attempt at passage. The Vampire Strikes Back The nefarious back-room dealers in the US Senate announced on Thursday night that they were bringing the Senate Immigration bill, killed on a previous cloture vote, back from the dead. Senators are trolling for votes. The future of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA hangs in the balance as they try to drum up support for the sellout of the century. WILL...

IN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN community, discussion, debate and uneasiness continue over how much the tide of new immigration impacts job opportunities. T. Willard Fair, president of the Greater Miami Urban League, criticized Senate Democrats for supporting the immigration bill while ignoring the concerns of African-Americans shut out of restaurant and other low-paying jobs because of immigrant labor. For that he was labeled a tool of right-wing anti-immigrant conservatives. The Congressional Black Caucus, which is on record as supporting access to citizenship, job training and fair wages for immigrants, is now finally getting around to forming a task force to address some...

Call it by its right name. It's not the "immigration bill" or the "attempted immigration bill" or the "failed immigration bill" or the "immigration bill in need of amendment." The American government tried to pull a coup against its people. It failed. It did, however, succeed in giving me a feeling I'd completely forgotten. I was 5 years old. My mother gave her younger sister Margie enough money to take me, Margie, and her friend Harvey to a special kids' show which was five cartoons end to end; no feature film which 5-year-olds find boring. On the way to the...

***update: Rush on Lott--"You've got Republicans talking about talk radio like liberals talk about talk radio. That tells you something." Yes, it does. It tells you that the Republican Party is in deep, deep doo-doo. Speaking of doo-doo, the literal kind apparently turned up in the Capitol today. How fitting.*** Reader Jerry e-mailed me this morning after seeing Trent Lott's bashing of conservative talk radio: I was going to write Trent Lott and let him know how I felt, so I typed in TrentLott.com and it took me to, are you ready for this, Moveon.Org. No joke. Indeed, it looks...

RUSH: What are we going to do about Mississippi Senator Trent Lott? What are we going to do about Senator Lott? You remember when he got into trouble with the Strom Thurmond comment? We're out there defending the guy. The White House threw him overboard. All kinds of Republicans were throwing him overboard. Talk radio came to his defense. Trent Lott is now one of the engineers of the Senate immigration bill, the amnesty bill, and they're trying to bring this thing back. The amendments are being kept under wraps. By the way, I understand Lindsey Grahamnesty, senator from South...

Majority Whip (or should I say 'whipped') Trent Lott sent me a letter today on behalf of the NRSC, asking me to send in MONEY! bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha haha. HE EVEN USED TED KENNEDY'S NAME THREE TIMES IN THE LETTER, trying to convince me to support the NRSC. Hey look, I'll support CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS...but I'm not giving to an organization supporting Chuck "Bash the War" Hagel, Arlen "Let Santorum Sink" Sphincter, or the rest of the linguini-spined Republicans.

Geez, Senator Lott is really unhappy with "talk radio" and some of his colleagues: The Republican whip, Trent Lott of Mississippi, who supports the bill, said: “Talk radio is running America. We have to deal with that problem.” At some point, Mr. Lott said, Senate Republican leaders may try to rein in “younger guys who are huffing and puffing against the bill.” I think that this is a complaint that the old days were more fun for senators, and that the senators especially don't like the new media's ability to inform, inspire and direct public opinion. The end result of...

We are supposed to believe that the failure of Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform is a sign of how the process does not work, of political gridlock and of how our elected representatives care more about partisanship than the people. Maybe. Or maybe it was a good thing. The urgent need for a sweeping, grandiose immigration "solution" came from where? I don't remember hearing about it much before last year, which was an election year. Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean has his own theory. As he told me in an interview in March, "For the short-term purpose of winning...

 The immigration "grand bargain" imploded in the Senate last night under a Republican filibuster as both parties dug in on matters of procedure and amendments.     The key test vote came last night on a motion to end debate and go to a vote on the merits of the bill. It couldn't even get a majority of senators, losing a 50-45 vote, 15 votes short of the 60 needed to break the filibuster.     Sources said Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, will leave open the possibility of bringing the bill back up later this year, but for now it is a...

Trent Lott, Unplugged: "Are We Men Or Mice?" Thursday, June 07, 2007From Hugh Hewitt's website (click on top link for the actual audio) Trent Lott's floor remarks in the Senate this morning were not certainly designed to asssure Republicans that their concerns on border security and illegal immigrants from countries with jihadist networks were being addressed in a serious fashion. There is also an unfortunate, and probably unintentional tone of condescension which just doesn't play with the voters that GOP senators seeking re-election need to help them in that effort. The backdrop to the current debate is not only the...

From the WaPo, word of the continuing GOP meltdown: Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said he has told the most virulent Republican opponents that he will not tolerate a raft of amendment votes designed simply to filibuster the measure, and he castigated his own party's senators for their vote switches. "We're going to do this damned thing, and if we don't, I think we should dissolve the Congress and just go home," Lott fumed. The sooner the Republican Senate caucus can find 41 votes to declare the bill beyond repair, the better of the GOP will be. The presidential...