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.
Regardless of the racial makeup of the school in question, the net effect is to put the emphasis back on academics as opposed to skin color.
Thus, it's not "affirmative action" as we know it today.
Yes, but he would have been accused of passing the buck, which would not sit with him well, either. You know, like everybody does it.
Yeah, but he didn't "do it"
Even Tom Daschle came out and said he just made a mistake.
The perfect opportunity to return fire.
Regardless of Lott's leadership skills, we did hang ourselves to some degree here.
Fat chance. LOL
By "everybody does it", I meant "passing the buck."
We keep this S___ up and they will be mopping the floor with our agenda.
We don't even have a working majority, just a numerical one and we barely got that.
Sincerely, December31, 1999
Let's hope for the best.
A special wish for our own Howlin, without whom, FR would not be as good as it is. Good night.
I am probably going to get in trouble again but what the hey. Lott was doomed from the start. Once the charge of "racist" is placed into circulation there is nowhere for a republican leader to hide or no explanation that will be acceptable. The entire process was predictable because it is a tried and true strategy. Lott was latest in a long string of victories. Lott is gone and that is a good thing but what are we going to do the next time? Is Frist going to face the wrath of single-issue forces on abortion from the right AND the left? If so what have we gained?
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