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Commentary: Lott Throws In The Towel (Conservative base will be gone)
crosswalk ^ | 12/20/2002 | Gary Bauer

Posted on 12/20/2002 6:19:45 PM PST by TLBSHOW

Commentary: Lott Throws In The Towel Gary Bauer President, American Values

After days of endless apologizing, Trent Lott has thrown in the towel and resigned as Senate Majority Leader. Late last night he began making phone calls to GOP colleagues to let them know his decision.

Also over night the White House began a more concerted push to replace Lott with Senator Bill Frist, who will now emerge as the "frontrunner."

Frist is a savvy media personality, but he angered many conservatives by interfering in Republican primaries around the country, virtually always in favor of the moderate candidate over the conservative. And he was a staunch supporter of former Surgeon General Satcher, who was pro-abortion. I hope a more reliable conservative-- either Nickles or Santorum-- will throw their hat in the ring.

Now comes the hard part. This mess doesn't end with Lott's resignation. The GOP needs to find its backbone. One example: There are reports that the Administration is now afraid to go into court against the University of Michigan's offensive racial quota system that selects students from certain minority groups regardless of grades while rejecting white students with much higher grades.

For 30 years the Republicans have opposed these quasi-quota schemes. Are we now going to throw in the towel because of the smear campaign against Republicans of the last two weeks?

Some insiders are suggesting there will be reluctance at the White House to nominate conservative judges. Such reports better be inaccurate or the conservative base of the party will be gone.

Let me bring up again one easy way for the White House to signal that it knows how to play hardball and help Americans of all races. Many Washington D.C. schools are abysmal and the children, mostly black, trapped in them are ill served. The White House should send a school voucher program to Capitol Hill on the first day of the new Congress just for the District of Columbia. Ted Kennedy will scream. Hillary Clinton will pull her hair out. Daschle will reach for the Maalox. And they will line up and vote "no" against those black families and in favor of the teacher unions.

Last year Bush dropped his voucher plan because Kennedy refused to let it out of Committee, but there should be no cave in this time.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: alertidiotposter; antichrist; barfalert; buchananbuttboy; buckedtooth; bush; conservatives; coulterhatestodd; dork; dweeb; getoverit; girlyman; limpwrist; lott; lottisgonedeal; mammasboy; midget; nancyboy; nerd; pancake; pansy; pleasekissmeann; quitwhiningtodd; smallfeet; sourgrapes; stopbabblingtodd; tlbfeebleminded; toddneedsadate; votebuchanan
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To: All
The Right whimped out, and the Left won again. We can't even get rid of someone who demostratably broke Federal laws; (B.C.). But THEY can get rid of someone by twisting words, sticking together no matter how outrageous their position is, and by screaming to their boot licking media.
101 posted on 12/20/2002 7:46:17 PM PST by OldFashionedAmerican
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To: okie01
Inadvertently, the libs have given us one victory -- stronger leadership in the Senate -- and an opportunity for another, even greater one. To dispell this whole evil notion that the GOP is composed of racists.

There is a reason why the Democrats backed off on their attacks and didn't want Lott removed...

Excellent point. They realized they showed their hand too soon...when it was too late.
This will turn out to be a positive opportunity for the GOP.

102 posted on 12/20/2002 7:48:16 PM PST by Jorge
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To: dogbyte12
TLB stated that those who asked Lott to resign should be banned from Free Republic.

So Gary Bauer, Pat Buchanan, and Robert Novak columns it is.


I am having a great deal of fun exploring all the writers that did not mouth off from the Rove memo. Of get Lott. As far as I am concerned all the ones that did can write for Salon. LOL
103 posted on 12/20/2002 7:49:16 PM PST by TLBSHOW
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To: TLBSHOW
yeah, Bush is so "nice" to those who hate us, he goes and blows them away while they're driving their SUV across the desert.
104 posted on 12/20/2002 7:50:05 PM PST by fightinJAG
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To: Reagan Man
I wonder if the President will address race in his State of the Union Address. That would be the best chance to reach a larger audience. So many questions...
105 posted on 12/20/2002 7:50:16 PM PST by Wait4Truth
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To: laconic
Bill Frist has an 85 percent conservative rating.

Bill Frist is rated with a "D" on upholding the Creator endowed rights affirmed in the Second Amendment to the Constitution by Gun Owners of America (GOA)

Bill Frist is a "conservative"???

We have a far less conservative GOP Senate today than we had in January 2001. Gone are Phil Gramm, Jesse Helms and Bob Smith.

106 posted on 12/20/2002 7:50:46 PM PST by StopGlobalWhining
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To: GailA
Here's the thread it is Frist 88 to Santorum 86, American Tax Payer Union also has Frist rated 2 points ahead of Santorum FR Thread
107 posted on 12/20/2002 7:52:22 PM PST by GailA
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To: Salvation
Well, you could go to acuratings.com and check them out. That's what I did. :-)
108 posted on 12/20/2002 7:52:56 PM PST by Wait4Truth
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To: Poohbah
What is it with you? Affirmative action which Bush promotes as he has done already in court will be his downfall! I bet many many blacks will agree that we need to get rid of it Now.

Speaking of Now they need to go too......
109 posted on 12/20/2002 7:53:05 PM PST by TLBSHOW
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To: fightinJAG
Bush is fantastic with defense but tell me about CFR and why he signed it?
110 posted on 12/20/2002 7:54:49 PM PST by TLBSHOW
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To: Wait4Truth
I hope you are right about Hillary's remarks. Boy, didn't she look ugh-ly today? And since when did she actually start making media comments. This must be about Bubba dating Demi Moore---you know, the Clintons are finally going to separate so that the Witch can be free of him and run for the presidency. Thus, Witchy is beginning to pop up here and there in the media more often.
111 posted on 12/20/2002 7:54:57 PM PST by fightinJAG
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To: sinkspur

Dubya about had to come down hard on Lott in public.

Lott wasn't saying much, the whole incident and what he meant exactly was ambiguous. Everyone was uncertain and it was only a matter of time before someone put Dubya on the spot about it anyway.

I get the impression he came down hard on him in private also, and that's kind of troubling. (At the urging of Rove, perhaps?)

I think you're right about the cowardly, "Canonized Conservatives" though.

I couldn't believe my eyes when the nicest, most compassionate, understanding & all around most decent comment I heard about his mistake was from Tom Daschle.

I didn't care why Daschle said what he did, I was just amazed that he said it while the supposed "conservatives" were all readying Lott's noose.

112 posted on 12/20/2002 7:55:14 PM PST by Jhoffa_
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To: jwalsh07
You took up all that bandwidth to say nothing. Absolutely zero.

Wrong. I merely pointed out that making broad-brush statements about how most "politically aware" Americans want the executive branch to file an amicus brief in the UofMich case, in the absence of any sort of statistically valid polling, is kinda sily.

Your opinion is that Americans aren't interested in where the Bush administration stands on affirmative action.

There are slightly more important things on the minds of most Americans I've run into recently. Affirmative action just ain't on the radar screen, unless you're talking about taking affirmative action against Saddam Hussein.

113 posted on 12/20/2002 7:56:00 PM PST by Poohbah
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To: sinkspur
It's Sherry, not Sharon - but that's ok. I think more highly of Senator Lott now that he has stepped down from the ML role. I have no plans to criticize him anymore and I haven't today. I have been fighting against the lies against Bill Frist today. The lies being spread about him have been sickening.
114 posted on 12/20/2002 7:56:18 PM PST by Wait4Truth
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To: TLBSHOW
I bet many many blacks will agree that we need to get rid of it Now.

And your evidence for this statement is...?

(Cue Final Jeopardy theme)

115 posted on 12/20/2002 7:56:50 PM PST by Poohbah
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To: Jhoffa_
I get the impression he came down hard on him in private also, and that's kind of troubling.

What's really troubling is that Lott didn't take the hint and clean up his mess.

116 posted on 12/20/2002 7:57:36 PM PST by Poohbah
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To: Poohbah
My opinion stands, you're clueless.
117 posted on 12/20/2002 7:57:39 PM PST by jwalsh07
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To: Wait4Truth
>>>So many questions...

Depends on the level of political recovery the GOP makes between now and then. I don't think PresBush wants to feed the passions of racial strife and open old wounds.

118 posted on 12/20/2002 7:57:46 PM PST by Reagan Man
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To: sinkspur
Oh! And Merry Christmas to you, too, sink! I hope we can all unite again one of these days. I hate flame wars and don't usually get too involved in them but I was really upset over all of this. You were, too. Let's pray that this backfires on the RATS. It very well could.
119 posted on 12/20/2002 7:58:10 PM PST by Wait4Truth
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To: OldFashionedAmerican
One of the reasons we could not get rid of the criminal creep, Bubba? TRENT LOTT (leader of the sham impeachment trial).
120 posted on 12/20/2002 7:58:14 PM PST by fightinJAG
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