[dalebert]

Just as I thought. Lott is a rat. He would rather drag the entire party down with him than do what is right. Evidently he and Jeffords were closer than I thought.

[WarrenC]

Right. This disgusting blackmail puts in high relief the fact that Trent Lott cares about himself and himself alone. The party and the country can go straight to hell as far as he's concerned. If Lott resigns from the Senate and someone defects to the Democrats, we lose the that body for a couple years but we gain the enormous benefit of a dramatic and public repudiation of racism (and stupidity). This will reassure white moderates who want to feel comfortable voting GOP. On the other hand if Lott's colleagues bow to his obnoxious threat, then for the next two years we "keep the Senate" and for the next two decades we deal with Lott's legacy - the GOP as the party that pines for the Dixiecrats.