Posted on 11/15/2006 9:14:13 AM PST by Al Gator
Sen. Trent Lott, ousted from the top Senate Republican leadership job four years ago because of remarks considered racially insensitive, won election to the No. 2 post Wednesday for the minority GOP in the next Congress.
Lott returned to the center of power by getting the position of vote- counting GOP whip, nosing out Sen. Lamar Alexander. Sen. Rick Santorum told reporters that Lott beat Alexander by a 25-24 vote.
After an intense evening in which both men lobbied colleagues during floor votes, the Republican caucus elected Lott, a one-time whip and majority leader, by secret ballot. Lott will be the GOP's second-in- command to Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who was elected unanimously to be the Senate minority leader in the new Congress.
With the midterm elections finished and Santorum, another candidate for the post, failing to win re-election, Lott cast himself as the more experienced candidate and the better choice for a job.
The Tennessee senator was not new to the art of counting votes among finicky colleagues, any one of whom can use Senate procedure to hold up business or kill legislation. A former Cabinet secretary and governor and now a deputy Republican whip, Alexander cast himself as a morale-booster for a demoralized Republican caucus.
Remaining neutral was McConnell, who was uncontested to be the Republican minority leader. He'll replace Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., who is retiring from the Senate under a self-imposed term limit and is a potential contender for the GOP presidential nomination in two years.
Lott's victory over Alexander showcases his lobbying and vote-counting skills. Alexander had campaigned for the position for 18 months and the night before was predicting that he would win by as many as 30 votes. But Lott's last-minute lobbying -- by telephone, on the Senate floor, in the hallways -- turned the secret balloting into a comeback.
The win reinstates one of the Senate's best dealmakers, a skill certain to come in handy in a chamber split by one vote _ at a time when both parties want legislative accomplishments to tout on the campaign trail in 2008.
Lott, R-Miss., relished his duties as majority leader but stepped down in 2002 under pressure over remarks that were interpreted as racially insensitive. He has long hinted at making a comeback bid.
The GOP whip's race was but one source of suspense in the wake of the midterm balloting, in which war-weary voters stripped President Bush's party of its majority. Congress returned to a lame-duck session to pass a budget, and the Senate was considering Bush's nomination of a new defense secretary.
This is stupid. This is why we lose.
The belly crawler isn't done with us yet.
* = VACANT!!!
Oh, crap.
Lott is not qualified to lead ANYTHING!
Lott should never have "stepped down" in the first place. Hopefully his "experience" has grown him a spine.
"Hopefully his "experience" has grown him a spine."
No, it gave him callouses on his belly so he can crawl better.
Momma always said if you can't say anything nice to not say anything at all. Balance of comments below:
Considering the alternative was Lamar Alexander, I'm not sure why this is cause for so much consternation.
Until or unless Republicans begin acting like conservatives, we will remain in the political desert (as we were for 40 years when RINOs like these two men were in leadership).
Just my opinion....
Someone let the imbecile know it's the Senate and not his home country club. SHEESH!
Sigh.
He didn't win back anything. First of all, he isn't Majority Leader, and he isn't even going to be the Minority Leader either. He's the #2 guy. Misleading headline.
Lott is NO leader. However, he's one of the best PORK DEALERS in the world.
The GOP is not concerned about cleaning up their mess. K-Street still runs this party. Lott was and still is a LOSER.
Great choice ! Lamar Alexander is a good man but not the one needed for this job at this time.
Can't anybody here play this game?
We are truly the stupid party. The answer to our recent setback is a retread? Good Gawd.
I think that the problem is that all the good republicans/conservatives aren't in politics. We need to start drafting people and weed out these career ninnies. Lott is exact wrong direction but he fits in with Bush's new "new" tone of totally caving in to the libs. Why not just go all out a put Chaffe of Spectre in there.
I agree, Lott is so much better than Lamar. Compared to most of the spineless RINOs who populate the Senate, Lott is about as good as we could have hoped for. Lamar would have been a total disaster.
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