Lott Should Go-A bad Majority Leader gets worse.

The National Review ^ | December 13, 2002 | By National Review Editors

[Kay Soze]

Time magazine reported on its Web site that Lott led a battle in the early 1960s that kept blacks out of his college fraternity, Sigma Nu.

"The Congressional Black Caucus urged the Senate to censure Lott. The group called it "astounding" that Bush did not want him to step down.- USA Today 12/13/02

""If Senator Lott can provide a satisfactory explanation for his statement, this entire episode should be forgotten," Bennett said in a statement released Thursday. "If he cannot, he needs to step down as the Senate majority leader." William Bennet

The president's strong statement suggests that Lott has failed to quell the controversy over his comments, which some conservatives complain have opened the GOP to charges of racial bigotry. On Thursday, the Congressional Black Caucus -- comprised of black Democratic lawmakers -- released a statement calling for a "formal censure of Sen. Lott's racist remarks." CNN 12/13/02

"Considering Bush directly addressed the controversy--in strong tones to a multiracial crowd--underscores how serious Republicans are taking the incident. Bush received only 9 percent of the black vote in the 2000 campaign, despite his strong attempts to court African-Americans, and administration officials feared that the flap could set back GOP attempts to woo minority voters."- Chicago tribune 12/13/02

[ewing]

Is this Bill F. Buckley talking, he is still 'editor at large..'

[brbethke]

Stay focused on the game, people. This isn't about Trent Lott, it's about which party controls the U.S. Senate when it reconvenes in January. Right now the split is 51-49; if the Democrats can force Lott to resign as majority leader, and do it in a way so humiliating that he resigns his Senate seat as well, then Lott's replacement will be appointed by Ron Musgrave, the 4-term Democrat governor of Mississippi.

And if you believe Musgrave will appoint a Republican to fill Lott's seat, I've got some DNR-protected wetlands I'd like to sell you.

The sudden appearance of stories about Lott's racist activities as a college frat boy has as much credibility as the sudden appearance of Linda Tripp's shoplifting arrest record. This whole sorry mess is a political hit job, pure and simple, and the fingerprints of Terry McAuliffe, James Carville, and Hillary Clinton are all over this one.

[goodnesswins]

YUP.....the dem mob has been busy.....

[ewing]

Haley Barbour for Mississippi Governor 2003!

[Zack Nguyen]

Right now the split is 51-49..."

Are you sure? I thought is was 51-48-1 Republican.

[GraniteStateConservative]

It's Musgrove. Musgrave is our new congresschick from Colorado.

[AM2000]

This whole sorry mess is a political hit job, pure and simple, and the fingerprints of Terry McAuliffe, James Carville, and Hillary Clinton are all over this one.

Perhaps, but don't forget who started it. Trent Lott himself, with his comments - a clip of which I saw last night, by the way, on MSNBC, and he sure didn't look like he was kidding to me. He said it somberly and seriously. It's damning, is what it is.. I'm surprised the media isn't running that clip a whole lot more. And what's worse, he's said the same thing before. The man is a loose cannon, and he's most likely in denial of how reprehensible the segregationist past really was. Sure, the Democrats may be piling on him now to utterly humiliate him, but none of this would have happened had Lott not given them the material they need to do so.

[TLBSHOW]

WAKE UP GOP THE ATTACK ON LOTT IS ALL ABOUT THE BANNING OF PB ABORTION ITS COMING FROM NOW
Now has had it in for Lott since the second week of November and are using african americans to stop Lott from banning PB abortion. Fact! .....more to come

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/805860/posts

[dirtboy]

if the Democrats can force Lott to resign as majority leader, and do it in a way so humiliating that he resigns his Senate seat as well,

That's a big, big if. I don't live in Mississippi, so I have no say in who they choose to be their senator, but I imagine Lott would win re-election handily if he chose to run again. But Lott is also the Majority Leader, and therefore a signficant leader in the political party I belong to, and I don't think someone with his repeated poor judgement, both from racial issues and political ones, belongs in this post. He simply causes far too much damage to the conservative movement, something you expect from your enemies, not your leaders.

[Austin Willard Wright]

Even more likely than Lott's resignation from the Senate (which ain't gonna happen because it would rule out any lobbying jobs for him), is that, if Lott stays, the firestorm will become so terrible that Chafee and McCain will walk and the Senate will be lost anyway.

[dirtboy]

Sure, the Democrats may be piling on him now to utterly humiliate him, but none of this would have happened had Lott not given them the material they need to do so.

Yep. As Clarence Thomas once said, don't give your enemies the hammer to hit you with.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Candygram... Landshark.

[Wphile]

You are right. It's a total political hit job. They are going after Lott like they did Gingrich. It's the politics of personal destruction, a la Clinton and gang, and it's disgusting. However, Lott teed up this mess with his stupid comments. I've never liked Lott and really hate to see him beaten and bloodied by the press and the Congressional Black Caucus but if we can replace him - as Majority Leader - with Rick Santorum or Mitch McConnell or Nickles, then I say go for it.

He better stay in his seat though!

[meenie]

One question that should be asked is if Strom Thurmond only ran for President on a single issue of segregation. It seems unlikely that he didn't have other issues to discuss. On segregation issues, he is probably no different than Senator Byrd. Through the years, he has been conservative whereas Byrd took the liberal route. Although I don't like Vacant's leadership, the man deserves consideration for the one-issue attack on his statements. I think that a goodly part of the criticism stems from his conservative tendency.

[dirtboy]

if Lott stays, the firestorm will become so terrible that Chafee and McCain will walk and the Senate will be lost anyway.

I think that the GOP will quietly tell the Dems that Byrd and Hollings will be in play if they try to go further than call for Lott to resign as Majority Leader. And the Dems ain't stupid - they know that Byrd is far more vulnerable to the bigot charge, and they don't control the flow of political information any more, so the GOP can inflict some damage with this particular stick as well.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Usually when people say things somberly and seriously (on multiple occassions) we take those words at face value. Many here at FR just don't want to admit the awful truth that Lott is an unreconstructed bigot.

[Austin Willard Wright]

Exactly right! If Lott resigns as majority leader, the GOP will be in an excellent position to play the Robert Byrd card. Unfortunately, it can't play that card now effectively.

[CatoRenasci]

I remember a song sung by Sigma Nu frats in the 1960s which started "There'll never be a [N-word] Sigma Nu...."

[Norman Conquest]

The sudden appearance of stories about Lott's racist activities as a college frat boy has as much credibility as the sudden appearance of Linda Tripp's shoplifting arrest record. This whole sorry mess is a political hit job, pure and simple, and the fingerprints of Terry McAuliffe, James Carville, and Hillary Clinton are all over this one.

Not unlike the stories of Hillary!'s Black Panther-sympathiser past. Sauce for the goose...