I am so old that I can remember a saying we once could use in the Republican Party:
“Character Matters.
I had to remove that bumper sticker from my SUV.
The good ole days.
"You didn't have to say it twice."
"I didn't."
Senator Lott’s apology on Sean Hannity’s radio show was nicely said. Three days ago, it would have killed the whole controversy. Now I fear it will not. And I fear something else too: That Lott will try to save himself by jettisoning the conservative agenda in the Senate.
Democrats are only too willing to offer Lott just such a deal. Here is what Senator Joe Lieberman had to say yesterday:
Lott “needs to speak from his moral center and make clear his commitment to racial equality. One way to do that would be to go beyond issuing another apology and meet directly with the members of the Congressional Black Caucus and show that he understands the hurt his comments have caused.”
And how best to salve that hurt? Another Democrat, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi proposed (as the New Republic noted) that Lott buy forgiveness by backing an increase in the minimum wage and federal housing programs, and by backing an expansive prescription drug benefit.
Some leading Republicans are getting ready to pay up. Marc Racicot, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, has agreed to meet with Al Sharpton, to hear the thuggish reverend’s “concerns” about Lott’s insensitivity.
Suddenly the future looks dismally predictable, doesn’t it? Over the next two years, Congress must deal with a number of racially charged issues. Welfare reform must be reauthorized. Congress will probably be called to respond to a Supreme Court decision severely limiting racial preferences in higher education. There will be contentious judicial nominations, very likely a Supreme Court nomination. And through it all, the Republican party will be led in the Senate by a leader who owes his survival to the sufferance of his political opponents.
Can Lott be replaced? It’s hard to see how. No Republican Senator will challenge him for leadership when the Congress meets in January – the Senate just doesn’t work that way. Nor will Lott resign, unless the White House tells him he must, which is again extremely hard to envision. The likeliest result is that Lott will keep his job, but will do it in an even more half-hearted way than he did in 1995-2001. All those bold, unapologetic conservatives who believe that Republicans should rally around Lott and not yield the Democrats an inch should understand: The party will probably be able to save him – but only by selling you out.