LOTT THREATENS TO QUIT THE SENATE IF FORCED FROM LEADERSHIP

Newsnight with Aaron Brown | 12/13/2002 | Jonathan Karl

[sinkspur]

Trent Lott, in a conference call with 27 GOP Senate Republicans today, said that he would leave the Senate if forced from the Leader position.

Jonathan Karl said three or four of the Senators viewed this as "blackmail," but that the majority still support Lott and want him to continue as Leader.

[ApesForEvolution]

Exactly. The Lott has screwed us again and again we're stuck with a king in the senate that acts more like a queen.

[kristinn]

Newt betrayed his wife and us. He did the right thing by getting out.

Of course. We can't have people in powerful positions that have gotten blow jobs,can we? It's MUCH better to stab him in the back to remove him so it's safe for the Dims to rule again.

Newt's betrayal of his wife was bad enough. But his affair put him in the position of being vulnerable to blackmail ( to which he acceded) and kept him from holding Bill Clinton accountable for the treason he committed. Hell, thanks to Newt we barely impeached the SOB for the felonies of perjury and obstruction of justice.

[sneakypete]

The immediate impact is massive.

PBA ban gets lost in the senate.

Bush's ability to deal with terrorism becomes more tenuous.

Taxcuts get tied up at a time when the economy needs them.

AND most important of all, Bubba-2 and his fellow RINO travelers in the RNC get all this as campaign issues to run on again in 2004,firing up their blind "yeller dawg Republican" base who MIGHT otherwise have asked why Bush didn't do anything conservative if the Republicans had maintained control of the Senate. This way both Bush and the Dim Party get what they want. Bush gets a excuse for fiddling while Rome burns,and the Dims get political power.

[Wingsofgold]

Amy switched parties. No go there.

[GWfan]

I made it up. ;)

At least I am woman enough to admit it.

[Torie]

I guess we need a transcript. As I said, if the story were true, than Lott has gone insane. Perhaps some words were filled in, to make the story a bit more sexy.

[Robert_Paulson2]

how... if there were 27 on this alleged "conference" call, are there NO senators coming out and saying this publicly?

Doesn't make sense.
With 27 senators, SOMEONE would have taken steps to clarify and state the truth. THREE senators MIGHT be able to keep a secret. TWENTY SEVEN.. no way.

I think this is full spin, macauliffe in clintongs "war room" on overdrive, with a staff of internet plants.
I don't care if Lott was GAY, he needs to stay in the majority, even if it does him in. I don't care if he made a statement that al not so sharpton THINKS is prejudiced. WE don't give back the marbles after the shootin' match.

The dems want us to crush lott. I want him to step down and STAY... BUT I must admit, I wanted Nichols before this lott gaffe to begin with... or santorum. I DOUBT LOTT threatened to walk. I think he MIGHT have resisted resigning Majority Leader, on the basis of an unfounded and untrue accusation.

He is no racist.
This is the dems trying to hinder Bush.
I do not doubt that Lott has skeletons. I don't think he is particularly good at facing blackmail... and for that reason, I think he needs to sit out a few innings... and let the asskickers in for a few rounds.

Of course, the dems may be blackmailing him that if he leaves, and their agenda is not given fair play by any replacement, that they will skewer him over his long distant past. MY experience is those who threaten and blackmail SELDOM let their "marque" off the hook even AFTER their will is done.

Lott needs to simply let someone else lead for a while.
And we need to go on the offensive attacking clinton's statements about the "f#cking, J#w B#$t#rds" a year or two back. We need to refocus this nation on the racist comments by hillary and her crowd. Dems are the racists.

This is THEIR attempt to cover it up.

I don't think TRENT theatened anybody on a conference call. And until someone plays us the recording of it, I suspect it is a macauliffe lie.

[fooman]

it wasn;t about the 60 votes. 51 votes would have been a stain in the history books.

After that you get the pariah (sp) effect. Remember we got the 15-0 security council vote because Syria did not want to be the pariah.

[EternalVigilance]

The question is: Can Bush recover if he waits another day to call publicly for his ouster?

I don't know about the 'recover' part...but I do know this. Lott needs to go to his backbench or his chairmanship sooner rather than later...and he needs to say that he has paid the price for his error, and then just shut up and stay away from the camera...and then let the rest of us get on with the nation's pressing business...especially the new Majority Leader.

[clintonh8r]

I think this story is RAT-planted bullshit. Having said that, here's my prediction, then I'm going to bed. Flame away if you feel the need, I'll be snoring contentedly, probably dreaming about Ann Coulter.

Someone will oppose Lott for majority leader. Lott will lose, graciously, and will not resign his seat. He will have "lost" fair and square, rather than being forced out, the GOP rules the Senate, we get a leader with some spine, and everybody's happy (except the RATs)! That's my story and I'm sticking with it. Or to it.

[P-Marlowe]

Have you told your wife about all the screwing around you did when you were in college?

I didn't.

Did you ever do stupid stuff in college?

Fighting for state sponsored segregation is not just stupid stuff. It is EVIL stuff.

The stupid stuff I did in college was to vote for McGovern and Carter. I have since admitted that doing that was both stupid and evil and I have rependted of my sin.

Has Lott ever really admitted that his actions at that time were EVIL? I don't think so.

[habs4ever]

So concern was expressed about "the long term impact of this?" LOL! Long term in DC is 6 days! If the WH thinks he can't survive, they'll inform him.But that will take some time.

I just love them soothsayers who can predict falling skies with such uncanny accuracy ;-)

[sinkspur]

Many gay men are married and have children.

Are you going to get down in the gutter with these knuckle-draggers who are accusing Lott of being gay?

Are you? I can't believe you'd resort to this kind of nonsense.

But, then, I can't believe a lot of what I've read from longtime posters and conservatives over the last week.

I hope we can heal these rifts after this is all over. I have no use for people who will destroy another human being over a misunderstanding that has been retracted, and for which apologies have been forthcoming, and forthcoming, and forthcoming.

[fooman]

AGREED!

[Dave S]

Mississippi has a rat governor, if Lott leaves he will appoint another rat. Is that what we all want

How about Bush gets on the phone to the RAT governor and offers to bail his state out of its current budget difficulties if he calls for a special election in 90 days to replace Lott. Couldnt be that expensive. You could run MS government for a year for less than it takes to run NYC for a week.

[crasher]

What are you talking about? I know she switched parties... she is now a Republican, and a conservative one at that. What's the problem?

[TBall]

If this did not happen then you need to make a post that it didn't happen. I was dawg gone excited when I read your post. Jeez...

[Miss Marple]

That's because every time there is an issue that is quite divisive to the party, I look over at a nearby tree-trunk, and by golly, there is Bill Kristol!

I suppose it could be a coincidence.

Just like it was a coincidence that Kristol reported this conference call story on NPR.

Or the coincidence that he had the scoop on Jeffords' switch.

Or the infamous "Our National Humiliation" column he wrote about the China plane incident, before we had the crew back.

Or the fact that he was pushing Colin Powell for President before he ended up with McCain.

Or the fact that he now consistently disses Powell, the same man he pushed as a presidential candidate 3 years ago.

The pattern is that he almost always surfaces whenever there is an issue divisive to the Republicans, and very often if he has not actually instigated it, he makes sure to fan the flames of discord.

So you can think I am in tin-foil land. I don't care. Kristol got information from someone, and I want to know who. I think it quite possible that he has embellished and /or manufactured a portion of this story.

[mysonsfuture]

Republicans would still win a senate replacement election, with the right candidate.

[sneakypete]

it was revealed that Lott had spoken several times to the Council of Conservative Citizens, a "racialist", neo-white supremacist organization.

In WHAT ways would this be any worse than speaking to other even more racist organizations,like the NAACP or the Congressional Black Caucus?