Commentary: Lott Throws In The Towel (Conservative base will be gone)

crosswalk ^ | 12/20/2002 | Gary Bauer

[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.

[justshe]

Which is WHY the "race blackmail" must stop.

I trust GWB....and I have NO doubt he will play this to his advantage. May not be the way I want to see it played. And may not occur on MY timetable. But it will be taken care of, somehow.

The public will NOT sit still for this 'we are innocent' race-baiting from the Dems. And the worse THEY look..the better WE look.

I really liked something I heard Dominici say today. He said that the Republicans DO approach this 'race' issue differently than the Dems. He said we look at the individual. He went on to say that the Dems look at the RACE....and ignore the individual. And he said that the average 'individual' is starting to evaluate just what the DEMS have accomplished. It all boils down to accomplishment.

The American public is weary of the DEMS arguments and the race baiting. I think GWB trusts the American people...and we appear to continue to trust him. I hope the DEMS continue their rant. And I hope GWB et al. continue to take the high road. That is part of what achieves his 'ratings' in the polls. And that is critical if we want to continue to unwind the last 8 years, imo.

[TLBSHOW]

Have a great Holiday week Luis!

[Luis Gonzalez]

Have a Merry Christmas "T"!

[puroresu]

Lott's BET interview was the thing that changed my opinion, too. Once he gave in, denounced the south as having "immoral" leadership, and promised to support affirmative action, I could no longer in good conscience back him.

However, the point I have consistently tried to make in this debate, has been that the attack on Lott was about a lot more than Lott himself. It was an attempt by the Democrats to move our culture so far to the left on racial issues that no one would ever dare to cross the "civil rights" lobby again. The goal was to thoroughly demonize everyone who has ever strayed from the politically correct line on racial issues, or ever will in the future.

If it is now agreed by all "correct thinking" people that Lott's off-the-cuff, friendly praise of Thurmond was such an appalling thing that it merits his demotion and earns public repudiation from everyone, then we're in a whole new realm of thought control. There is no logical reason why praise of our founding fathers will not be soon prohibited as well.

Another target of the left in their attack on Lott was the supreme court. It was designed to frighten "centrist" judges like O'Connor and Kennedy into upholding affirmative action in the upcoming Michigan case. After all, the racist firestorm the left ignited, with help from weak-kneed conservatives, ended with opposition to affirmative action being effectively declared to be beyond the pale politically. Any judge who rules against affirmative action, quotas, and set-asides now knows he or she will be tarred as a racist. Courageous judges like Scalia and Thomas won't be intimidated, but I'm not so sure about O'Connor and Kennedy. Keep your fingers crossed. Say a prayer, because in post-Lott America, we're gonna need it.

If the court does throw out quotas, there will then be a demand that congress reverse the decision, or be smeared as "racist". The Democrats will demand enactment of another "Civil Rights Restoration Act". The media will then ask, "Will you Republicans join the Democrats and pass this important civil rights bill, or are you racist?" There will be plenty of wimpish GOP politicians, including some in the Bush white house, who will want to cut and run on this issue. As with Lott, once the race card is played, they will melt. The precedent has now been set.

The Republicans are, for the most part, terrified of a minority voting block that votes 90% against them already. Any group that voted 90% against the Democrats wouldn't get the time of day from them. In fact, Democrats declare open warfare on any group that even votes 55% against them. But given the choice between infuriating millions of conservatives who voted for them in the last election, or angering a "civil rights" lobby whose votes they will never get no matter what, what do you think the Republicans will do? What have they always done when the race card is played? What did they do when Lott's innocuous comments were declared to be "racist"?

By not defending Lott from the beginning against Orwellian charges, the Republicans, including Lott himself and many establishment conservative columnists, have set a precedent that will haunt us for many years, if not for the rest of our lives.

[Jhoffa_]

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?

I wish I knew.. I don't has an answer to be honest about it.

IMO, we are just going to have to accept the fact that some people can see through the BS, some can't and some will but they aren't ready to yet.

We should have told the truth: "Trent Lott is an idiot and he made a mistake. He's very sorry for that and is not a racist. However, because of this Je$$ie Jack$on and the CBC are trying (again) to win in the court of public opinion what the American People denied them at the polls."

Like you, I don't know what all this bending and twisting is supposed to win us.

When it's all done we will have validated yet another false charge of racism and 95% of the Blacks still won't vote for us. Further, it won't be over Trent Lott if they ever do decide to vote for us.

I just don't see a victory here.

[TLBSHOW]

By not defending Lott from the beginning against Orwellian charges, the Republicans, including Lott himself and many establishment conservative columnists, have set a precedent that will haunt us for many years, if not for the rest of our lives.


344 posted on 12/21/2002 3:13 AM EST by puroresu


True and if we learn something its that we fight back.

[Luis Gonzalez]

The response should have been immediate, angry, and unified.

We blew it.

The sight of us beating ourselves up to a pulp was so damned pathetic, that even Daschle started feeling sorry for us.

[Jhoffa_]

I trust GWB....and I have NO doubt he will play this to his advantage.

Sorry, I don't do personality cults and I don't do idol worship.

I did defend him over this, but it's because I think he had to smack Lott around. Didn't do it out of blind faith.

[TLBSHOW]

To be honest .. I've gotten to the point I'm don't know who's side TLB is on


I am not on the democrats side. If I had my way they would all be on a plane to Iraq. LOL

[justshe]

A fluster cuck (as rintense would say) is what we will have achieved--unless--this plays out like I think it will.

Frist is much less assailable than Lott was. Miss Marple has some MAHVELOUS ideas about how to wage a good offense. I understand there is a documentary somewhere that shows Frist's trips to Africa....complete with tribal chieftans praising the goodness of Frist and his dedication. If you will notice how HARD the Dems have had to work to attack GWB. He is just TOO GOOD to have their poisonous darts stick.

And I STILL think there is less wrangling POST-GWB....then there was PRE-GWB. Perhaps the 'tide' is turning....ever so slowly.

[Jhoffa_]

Last month, Americans for Better Immigration gave Frist an overall grade of "D" over the span of his career.

He's been getting allot of those from what I can see..

Source: Gun Owners Of America

A+   Pro-Gun Leader: introduces pro-gun legislation. A & A-   Pro-Gun Voter: philosophically sound. B & B-   Pro-Gun Compromiser: generally leans our way. C & C-   Leans Our Way: occasionally. D & D-   Leans Anti-Gun: usually against us. F   Anti-Gun Voter: a philosophically committed anti-gunner. F-   Anti-Gun Leader: outspoken anti-gun advocate who carries anti-gun legislation. NR Not rated: Refused to answer his or her questionnaire; no track record.

United States Senate
SOUTH DAKOTA			TENNESSEE
DASCHLE JOHNSON	F F		FRIST THOMPSON	D B-

Further, Frist got fully 66.6% of his "100%" rating from: National Right To Life by voting against Campaign Finance Reform

If you can believe that.

Opposing CFR = Automatic 66.6% approval from National Right To Life.

Key Votes

1 -	McCain-Feingold "campaign finance reform"
2 -	Shays-Meehan (McCain-Feingold) "campaign finance reform"
3 -	Ban on abortions in military medical facilities

NRLC Scorecard	O	O	O
Tennessee	1	2	3	X	O	Score
Fred Thompson (R)	O	O	X	1	2	33%
Bill Frist (R)	X	X	X	3	0	100%

Legend
Code	Value
X	Voted in agreement with NRLC position
O	Voted against NRLC position
P	Voted "Present"
S	Speaker (usually does not vote)
NV	Absent or not voting
*	Not eligible on this vote

[sneakypete]

so shall Frists appointment deny the leftist propagandists scum their pound of flesh.

Well,he sure does get the Eleanor Clift "seal of approval". She wrote a whole column about him,and called him a "moderate",and didn't seem to have anything negative to write about him. Now,if he can just get the "Michael Moore Seal of Approval" also,we will know we have a winnah!

[justshe]

You make a HUGE assumption re: personality cults, idol worship and blind faith.

Why not just say bush-bot and get it over with? You apparently missed my earlier posts re: people having trust in a person and still being able to disagree with their decision.

[TLBSHOW]

I want to see him bring up PB abortion and get it banned. That is the right thing to do and what Lott was plannng to do.

[Jhoffa_]

Why not just say bush-bot and get it over with?

I will.

Some people like dubya because they like his policies, some people have mixed feelings, depending on the issue at hand (that's me) and some people have a kind of emotional attachment to him.

I don't know why that is, but it's allot like the Rose Garden episode with the democrats.

Not that I care, it's their vote.. but I personally think they are doing themselves a disservice by blindly following anyone, regardless of who it is.

[Luis Gonzalez]

"I am not on the democrats side. If I had my way they would all be on a plane to Iraq."

TLB, I don't believe in the Democrat's agenda, I don't share in their vision of America, I do not support their causes, nor do I agree with their opinions, but I also do not believe that they should be cast out of the country.

Now, I know that what you said, you said in jest, but there is an undercurrent in our country that I don't like these days: politics are dividing the American people like I have never seen in my lifetime.

I recognize one overwhelming truth about the Dems...they are Americans, and as such, they are simply exercising their God-given, constitutionally-guaranteed right to freedom of tought, beliefs, and ideals.

Never forget that, because that's the most important thing of all.

We are all Americans in the end.

[puroresu]

You're right, it was indeed pathetic.

[TLBSHOW]

Someday you'll wish they were all out of the country.

[sneakypete]

I'm thinking this is all going to turn out ok in the end.

I think the one thing a lot of us can agree on is that Frist can't possibly be worse than Lott from the POV of a conservative. I don't care what kind of rating Lott has from conservative groups,Teddy Kennedy might as well have been majority leader.

[TLBSHOW]

We are all Americans in the end.


I don't know about that? I think they are aliens.