White House Says Senator Trent Lott 'Should Not' Resign

CNN ^ | December, 12, 2002 | Wolf Blitzer

[ewing]

Wolf Blitzer said word has come down from the White House that Trent Lott should not resign as Senate Majority Leader and that his apologies are good enough.

Nothing on what the Republican National Committee might say tomorrow..

[ewing]

Excatly, this is all about saving face and how things will go down.

I'm not sure Lott has earned the kid gloves treatment, but Rove wants to limit the political damage.

[SBprone]

"If that's the case, then I say "good riddance", we're better off without him."

You mean we're better off without a majority in the Senate? I'm glad you're not calling the plays in this game.

[BillyBoy]

>> the Democrat governor in MS (how did that happen?) <<

Dopey MS Republicans like Lott mistake good ol' boy southern Democrats as "true conservatives"

[canadiancapitalist]

Exactly. Why can't everyone see that the entir GOP agenda is in peril with Lott as Majority Leader?

[ewing]

'Time to go to the Mattresses, Karl..'

[chachacha]

Wow. President Bush is wrong on this one, IMHO.

No, he's not wrong he's giving the rest of you an education on how to stand by your convictions and how not to play the POLITICALLY CORRECT game. Which by the way, is a desease of the worst kind.

[dfwgator]

You mean we're better off without a majority in the Senate? I'm glad you're not calling the plays in this game.

With Trent Lott as ML, it's not as if there would be that much of a difference anyway. Maybe the GOP suffers a little in the short-term, but long-term we're better off without the spineless one.

[sinkspur]

Did you hear about his fraternity?

Yeah. The President of BET, Robert Johnson, who was at Ole Miss at the same time, voted for segregated fraternaties as well. In fact, the speculation is, he is the source of this story.

[BuddhaBoy]

Just wait. I am not backtracking at all. I said two days ago, that Lott would be out by Sunday, and he will be.

[Williams]

Trent Lott did not say a single racist thing. He made the inane remark that we would have been "better off" if ST had been elected 50 years ago. I wonder how many people think Lott actually said the democrat version they keep repeating -- "that the U.S. would be better off today if the policy of racial segregation had not been ended."

[dce88]

Instead of denouncing Mr. Lott, Americans ought to think hard about the important and unsettling truth he accidentally uttered.

[EternalVigilance]

Out Byrd for being a former KKK member. Out Jessie Jackson for his Haimietown quote. Just use a scorched earth approach to every Democrat in W., D.C. After a couple of months of it, the Dems would never do it again.

Absolutely right on the money.

Who has been busy today compiling the definitive list?...I have no doubt it's quite long.

[Real Cynic No More]

Bush is showing his backbone. Trent now has to get some and show it.

The libs know that every time Trent gets backed into a corner he wimps out. Well, now is not the time to wimp out. What should force his resignation from his leadership role would be if he gets into some kind of sharing arrangement with the Democrats.

Trent needs to understand that being Senate Majority Leader is not a popularity contest. There's no way on earth he's ever going to get 60% approval rating by the public. Heck, Bill Clinton didn't even have a majority of the voters in his first election; he was elected President with only 43% of the popular vote. Trent needs to exhibit some backbone, and tell the next person that asks that it is a closed issue, that if the leftists want to make an issue out of it that they're welcome to do so, that if they want him to step down they're going to have to vote him out. That worked for Clinton in the impeachment issue, when more than 50% of the House of Representatives voted to impeach him, and he didn't step down.

Trent needs to recognize that as the Majority party, the Republicans now have some power, and they need to wield it.

Appeasement begets more appeasement and results in terrible compromises just to "get along". Trent will get along best by exhibiting some leadership, and moving the Senate's business foreward.

If the Democrats want to make an issue of it, it will only keep its legs if the Republicans continue to join in the criticism. This issue's legs need to be amputated!

Get with the program, Trent!

[SBprone]

"Black and white Democrats alike who continue to demand that he [Lott] step down are doing so only for political reasons. And Republicans who fail to support him are displaying cowardice"

Thank you for saying that.

And I would like to emphasize the word cowardice.

There's a whole bunch of COWARDICE goin on here at FR and I've had about all I can take. Please excuse me while I puke in my wastebasket.

Some of you folks don't know when to stand and fight. If every Republican said with one voice "SO WHAT" those Demo vanguards would stop dead in their tracks. When you flee they grow bold. When you turn and face them they sh*t themselves. Let's try it.

[GraniteStateConservative]

That NAACP lynching James Byrd ad will be tiddly-winks compared to what is going to be thrown in our faces. It will be brutal and we'll deserve every bit of it. I find it perfectly reasonable to hold every Republican in Congress and Bush as well to account for their support of a bigot (which I honestly think Lott is) as Majority Leader.

Get ready for the audio and visual clips of Dixiecrat rallies mixed with images of Lott and Bush and the Senate/House candidate running. They'll show rednecks waving the Stars and Bars in the faces of black people participating in sit-ins and trying to attend white schools and universities. They'll show clips of Lott and quote his views on segregation from when he was at Ole Miss. Swing voters will leave us like they did Democrats over the fune-rally-- only it'll be a much bigger swing away from us. Anne Northup-- gone. Ernie Fletcher-- gone. Bob Beauprez-- gone. Max Burns and Phil Gingrey-- gone. Heather Wilson-- gone. Robin Hayes-- gone. Mike Rogers-- gone. Rob Simmons-- gone. That's just scratching the surface.

Lott tried to keep blacks out of his national fraternity, too, when at Ole Miss.

[canadiancapitalist]

More is coming out all the time. Republicans that stand by Lott will pay a political price. No doubt. Why can't someone like Hannity start hammering on the fact that all this outrage is bogus anyway. A Congressional Black Caucus member has already said as much. He said something about forgiving Lott if Lott pushes a minimum wage hike or something like that.

[Howlin]

He's an FOB, you know.

[GraniteStateConservative]

I just realized this could give a little push to Condi's political future, too, Chris. You think?

[sinkspur]

we will NEVER get the black vote no matter what we do, what we say, or how much we apologize for injuries that are simply not there . . . so why are we trying so hard to win the popularity contest?

Republicans shouldn't intentionally alienate any ethnic group.

But, walking through the racial minefield of today requires great dexterity. The trip wires are everywhere, and many have chips on shoulders the size of boulders.

Making a mistake can cause a great deal of grief; witness the present brouhaha.

Trent Lott may have become a liability, but he absolutely should not bend to Maxine Waters and the race pimps, at least until he can do whatever he wants to do on his own schedule. Feeding the beast that is the Race Machine Inc. just causes it to want more.

[Registered]

Please, let's not forget the "God Hates Fags" loving Al Gore.