Don Nickles Calls for New Senate Leadership Election to Challenge Lott

Fox News | 12-15-02

[cyncooper]

I agree with your entire post. You have articulated exactly what I think about it.

When this first started I fully expected Lott to set the record straight much in the fashion you outlined--horrified, etc. President Bush acted as you said. But Lott's ineptness did start a drumbeat from the left to paint the party as supporting the thought that Lott did leave hanging out there--he had not repudiated what was being said of him.

I respect rintense, too, and I am sorry to disagree with her about this issue. I believe Rove is an advisor, not a puppetmaster.

[Mia T]

Wonderful letter. Mine wasn't so kind.

Dear Pres. Bush,

 

Clearly, Trent Lott must go.

 

Two weeks ago Lott was merely feckless and vaguely racially retrograde. Today, thanks to his own stupidity and/or latent racism, he is the Republican white male bigot poster boy for the democrats to whip out at will.

 

BTW, Sean Hannity misses the point when he attempts to justify retaining Lott by pointing to the racial double standard, i.e., clinton honoring the racist, segregationist Democrat, Senator Fulbright...or the leadership role granted by the Democrats to the racist, segregationist, former KKK member, Democrat, Senator Byrd.

 

The racial double standard is relevant only insofar as retaining Lott reinforces it. The double standard is rooted in entrenched perception...and in politics, perception is reality.

 

The immediate problem facing the GOP is that Lott is a liability, not that it is unfair that he is a liability.

 

For the good of the party, for the good of the country, please ask the Senate to replace Trent Lott.

 

Thank you.

 

Sincerely,

 

Mia T

[rintense]

Well you know how I feel about power sharing...

[marajade]

I thought Title 1 was education?

[rwfromkansas]

Not if somebody that will actually fight against Tiny Tom wins.

[Torie]

Could be. You are really showing me up now. :)

[habs4ever]

How do you know all this stuff about Rove? There is so much we DON'T know right now ;-)

[marajade]

Pickering will be okay... The Dems won't want to filibuster with Bush offering unemployment benefit extensions at play...

[marajade]

Chaffee has come out in support of Lott...

[Jhoffa_]

The problem see here is a bunch of complacent Republicans.

The future did not look very rosy for us prior to 9/11.

A bunch of people here have gotten used to the astronomical approval ratings and general lack of criticism. The rat's were largely muzzled and thrown into complete disarray when the WTC was attacked it drown out the petty bickering over issues like this.

Thus, due to the focus on national security related issues, we got a rest from this kind of thing till now.

Think about it, if the WTC attack hadn't taken place this kind of thing would have been dominate in the media. The petty sniping over non-issues like this would have been present every day.

I suppose your answer in ever case would have been to simply roll over and give the rats what they want? To join them in picking the party apart when we finally have to power to do something good and advance our agenda?

The reason conservatives are so hyper-sensitive is largely because they are used to the media saying good things about them. They got used to the focus being elsewhere and now that the focus is back on race allot of people are willing to sacrifice anything just to make it go away. Trent Lott, the Senate, the SC, anything to just make them shut up and stop saying that word.

And they won't. The democrats are going to return to this well till it runs dry.

Appeasing them, sacrificing to them or damaging ourselves is just counter productive.

[rwfromkansas]

They already had elections.

[sinkspur]

I think the Specter's and Chaffee's of the Senate are the most worried over this. Lott is their champion compromiser, and under Nickles or Frist, they are going to be ignored. I don't think they will leave the party, but they are going to lose a great deal of influence.

Not in a 50-49-1 Senate, or even the Senate as it's constituted today.

Moderate Republicans vote with Democrats ALL THE TIME.

Nickles won't compromise with them, you're right, which is why he will never be elected Majority Leader.

Frist will have to be more moderate than you think.

The idea that a Republican-controlled Senate is going to operate like a Republican-controlled House is a fairy tale. It never has, and it never will, no matter who the Leader is.

[steveegg]

The "Republican" Senate old guard, along with the Senate RINOs, constituted a majority of Republicans in the Senate for as long as I can remember. They were, as far as I could tell by looking at the results, nearly as unhappy with the 1994 Revolution as Peter "Temper Tantrum" Jennings, and were quite happy when Jim Jeffords returned them to the obscurity (for the old guard)/impotence (for the RINOs) of the minority. Considering that, I doubt that any Senate Pubbie putsch would have even reached the one held against Newt Gingrich several years back, much less have been successful.

Whether that dynamic has changed with the 2002 elections in which President Bush invested so much personal political capital is anyone's guess. What I do know is that, along with the other tenents of Congressional power (oustide of the House Democrats), they didn't bother to wait for certified results and the possibility of a membership putsch before annointing themselves back to their leadership posts.

[marajade]

I think you're right... Maybe I was thinking of how Title 1 was tied together in relation to education by school construction funds?

[rwfromkansas]

Nickles has an 88 ACU rating.......100 in 2001 and 92 in 2002. He sounds center-right, not moderate.

[rwfromkansas]

Oops....I meant Frist.

[TLBSHOW]

Appeasing them, sacrificing to them or damaging ourselves is just counter productive.

BUMP

[ImphClinton]

Nickles is also the first Senator to go against Lott publically and will pay the price for that.

Makes me wonder if the Leadership met and told Lott he either fixes it by Monday or First will take over.

Bush bombed three sites in Iraq and Sadam complained a lott about it, didn't help Lott though (sorry for the pun).

[Balata]

Pickering will be okay...

We'll see. I hope you're right, but I have my doubts.

[marajade]

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/4851/IDEA.html

Its special education.... Doh... Which title one issue was Specter talking about?