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.

[wretchard]

If the Republican party were to accept Lott's departure from the Senate at the price of losing the majority in the chamber, it would more good than harm over the long run. How can the Republican party advance, with a slender majority, under the "leadership" of a blackmailer? Senator Lott, if this report is true, is advertising his unfitness. If doesn't step down over the Thurmond remarks, he should step down for this disgusting threat. Stay on? The price of Lott's continuance in the Senate is likely to be a package of concessions to the affirmative action crowd, a kind of reparations. That is the price of a Lott.

Personally, I think Lott is bluffing. Were he to carry out his threat, he would find himself out of office, with no new friends on the Democratic side of the aisle and a whole new bunch of enemies where he once had colleagues. If he steps down as majority leader, he can have a modicum of a life. After all, the disaster was of his own making.

If Senator Lott is truly determined to spite his critics, President Bush should encourage him to switch parties. He could say, "On reflection, I wish to join the party of Senator Byrd out of the conviction that a man ought to join the group that best represents his beliefs." The Democrats would accept, of course, but it would guarantee President Bush's reelection in 2004.

If you want victory for a day, choice expediency. If you want a long term triumph, do the right thing.

[Texasforever]

is that a "larry flynt wannabe", as you say?

As we have seen it doesn't take a democrat to be a sleazy rumor monger and it doesn't take democrat to sound like one on a conservative forum.

[Reagan Man]

>>>If it's a choice between temporarily losing the Senate and permanently ridding ourselves of this accomodationist wimp, then that's a no-brainer.

What an idiot! Many conservative Republicans just broke their butts to get the Senate back in GOP control. I for one do not want the Senate to revert back to the obstructionism of the liberal Democrats and Tom Daschle.

Wake up numbnuts!

[William McKinley]

You are saying you advocate us keeping in a leadership position someone who would put his own pride above what is best for his party (and by extension, our country).

[WoofDog123]

For some time I have looked at Lott as an 'insider' politician, in that he always works within the system, rather than use the tactic of character assasination, crying to the media, etc, that are hallmarks of the dnc and some gop pols.

I remember after the columbine murders he said '..I'm sure we can get some reasonable gun control bill through' to the media and then sat on it in committee (it never came out, without drawing attention to the fact there would be NO gun control bill passed...he rarely bad-talks anyone to the media (actually i have never heard him say something bad about another politican in public), and before this incident possibly saw himself as having a shot at running for president in 6 or 10 years.

This 'scandal' reminds me of the one where reagan was putting wreathes in a cemetary which also contained SS soldiers' graves somewhere in germany, and a whole hullaballo came up. There had to be a playbook in the dnc war room waiting for lott to to make a vague allusive comment like this, with the subsequent 'leaks' ready to go at timed intervals. I have read that one network even ran the scotus/cross burning stuff right before this lott thing, so you have images of white hoods and burning crosses as you lead into this.

Politics is apart from reality, of course, but what is being attributed in many reports onthis is simply not what he said, and I wonder how much of the american public picks up on the difference.

[woofie]

So Deport, what is your take on this mess?....I keep jumping rom one side of the fence to the others and I may need surgery soon....

[sinkspur]

after 4 times it displays his true racist beleifs.

You'll have no trouble posting the "4 times it displays his true racist beliefs" will you?

Evidence, Kay.

You accuse somebody of racism, you better back it up.

[Optimist]

When it comes time to defend his own position of authority and perquisites, that Trent Lott turns into one tough SOB, grows a spine and gets enlarged testes.

My thoughts exactly. All of a sudden Trent "I'll share mine if you'll promise to like me" Lott doesn't haev a compromise position? This HAS to be a first. This from the guy who compromises away his committee powers because he doesn't have a big enough majority? What a waste of leadership position.

[TBall]

Oh my goodness. I was wrong about this situation. Quick lets stop everything and kiss lots ass because he threatnes to QUIT! Ding ding ding

[TomServo]

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.

It's all about you, isn't it Trent? You asshole.

[MissBaby]

I hope people are happy around this place.

We would have been happy had he been dumped before he did real damage to the party. Now that he has done it, he wants to go home? And we are supposed to feel bad about that!

Still, if that is his threat, then tell the man he can be leader.

[meema]

I remember that...

[ambrose]

For whatever it is worth, Bill Krystol reported the same thing on NPR.

[quebecois]

This whole thing is a PC circus. Lott was being nice to an old geezer on his birthday, and stuck his foot in his mouth. The libs are just having a field day to score political points...period. What did they do when Byrd used the word "N...ger" on national TV last year? Diddly-squat.

This is now taking on the aura of a lynching. Lott is being publically humiliated and destroyed to teach the other white males out there what will happen if we stray (even accidentally or carelessly) off of the PC reservation.

[WKB]

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

Not just a rat but a BIG rat with a tail this~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~long!

[Yaelle]

How can the Republican party advance, with a slender majority, under the "leadership" of a blackmailer? Senator Lott, if this report is true, is advertising his unfitness. If doesn't step down over the Thurmond remarks, he should step down for this disgusting threat.

Excellent point.

Personally, I think Lott is bluffing.

Let's call his bluff. It's gonna hurt us to lose the majority, but LOTT WILL ALWAYS BE TO BLAME FOR IT. He seems too self-absorbed to want to live life as a TOTAL LOSER forever more.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Well the Dixiecrats-- Lott's party of choice-- were Democrats. He's our Democrat mole.

[Torie]

Excuse my French, but to me it is now ineluctable that Lott is a first class asshole. It is all about Lott. Clearly, he doesn't give a detritus from his rear end about his favorite judicial nominee Pickering or anything else, if it interferes with Lott. I guess at this juncture, one should kiss his ass, and if a Pubbie is elected governor in Mississippi, then kick his butt as far out of the playing field as the best kicker in the NFL can muster. JMO.

[Texasforever]

Leave it to Lott to make this all about him.

I see so you feel that Lott is being petty just because 30 years of public service evaporates on republicans cowardly fear of being labeled "racist"? I would tell the GOP and the President to stick it where the “sun don't shine” too.