Don Nickles Calls for New Senate Leadership Election to Challenge Lott

Fox News | 12-15-02

[rightwing2]

Fox News just reported that ABC reported that Nickles has called for a new Senate leadership challenge to Trent Lott!

[aristeides]

Of course, Lott has not taken the opportunity to say that he will not resign from the senate.

According to yesterday's Washington Post, he issued precisely such a statement, through a spokesperson.

[Mustang]

IMHO...Trent is Texas Toast!

Mustang sends.

[John Lenin]

I thought you lived in California. When did that become part of the South?

I lived in Charlotte for 4 years and I love grits and corn bread. lol

[McGavin999]

I don't think so rintense. I think this is all about how poorly handled this thing was. Lott allowed it to go entirely too long before he even addressed the matter. It was political ineptness that was mind boggling. He could have reduced this thing to nothing by coming out immediately, acting horrified that anyone would even think he meant anything by it, apologizing if anyone was hurt and launched a full frontal attack on the race baiters. He didn't do that and Bush gave him a full week to take the reins on this. When he didn't, Bush HAD to step forward.

This entire fiasco is of Lott's own making. Not just what he said, because he could have easily explained that away, but in the amount of time he gave the democrats to mount a campagin against him AND the republican party.

If you remember, when this first happened, Bush made a mild remark and stated his belief in Lott. Then a whole week passed in which Lott made TELEPHONE calls to RADIO stations! And what's worse, he even thought that should take care of the matter. He dragged Bush into this, then he tried to drag Condi and Powell into it.

I'm sorry, you know how much I love you, but I think President Bush bent over backward to help Lott and Lott let him down.

[Jhoffa_]

Dubya had to come down hard on Trent. Lott wasn't saying much, there was allot of ambiguity out there and someone was going put him on the spot about it eventually. It was inevitable.

What confuses me is why everyone else is jumping on the bandwagon. There is no need to turn this into a free for all and damage our prospects even further.

I can understand the rats' motivation for doing so, but the rest of it seems to be more counter productive as anything.. Like you said, it's setting up and legitimizing a scenario that's going to be played out over and over.

The party and conservative media is happily dancing to the democrat tune.

[Torie]

The guy who likely gets the crown will be in Florida when his business burns down in New York as it were, and he collects the insurance money. Thus McConnell cannot be excluded.

[aristeides]

#541 relays a rumor reported on DU. That's not a reliable source. It does, however, give us an idea of where the rumors Friday night may have come from (leftists wanting to stir up dissension among Republicans).

[TLBSHOW]

McConnell

what a complete mess..............

[alnick]

This Lott-didn't-say-the-word-"segregation"-so-he-couldn't-possibly-have-meant-segregation defense is downright Clintonian.

[aristeides]

#541 reports a rumor as reported on DU. It is not a reliable source.

[ambrose]

Majority Leader Kay Bailey Hutchison

[marajade]

Watching McConnell today on FNC sounded to me as if he's gonna fight to keep Lott in as ML...

[alnick]

Hear, hear!

[Torie]

Ya, but he needs to say it himself, not have a newspaper repeat what some unnamed aide said. I don't think the aide's name was mentioned was it?

[TLBSHOW]

I disagree with you 100% and now only Bush can fix it or show his true nature.

I support Bush and have always, except over the religion of Peace bs, but this one is really boiling my blood!

[aristeides]

Yeah, before the new senators even had a chance to be seated or have a say in who was going to be their leader.

If the vote had been held when it usually is, in December, the new senators wouldn't have had a vote then either.

[TLBSHOW]

reported at Capital Grilling not the du!

[alnick]

It is about the Dems too... Its about hypocracy... Why is it wrong for Lott, who as majority leader has no claim to the line of the Presidency, but its okay for Byrd who WAS fourth in line?

I don't understand why so many conservatives seem to want to hide the democrat hypocrisy from the voters. I for one am anxious for the voters to see the contrast between the parties for themselves.

[TLBSHOW]

from the left their thoughts.......

Buzzflash looks at the Trent Lott's ongoing troubles and sees Karl Rove manipulating the puppet strings:


Quite simply, the Bush right wing political pundits that Karl Rove has on his leash are suddenly glorifying America's great tradition of civil rights and telling Trent Lott to walk the plank. You would expect these hack journalists to be choking on their words, since they have regularly spewed venom on civil rights, prominent black elected officials -- and unrelentingly advocated for the racially code worded issue of "states rights." But Rove is worried silly that if Bush is revealed for leading the anti-minority, anti-civil rights jihad that he is really undertaking, the suburban women and independents will jump to the Democratic candidate in 2004, giving the Democrats a shot at picking up one of the smaller marginal red states and winning the presidential election.


That's why we are now seeing so much right wing red ink about the "horrible misdeeds" of Trent Lott. That is why the story is staying alive as a mainstream media issue. That is why the White House journalistic "amen choir" is all over Trent Lott like a wet blanket.


That is also why Bush participates in so many photo opportunities with young black school children. It is not to win over black votes; it is to convey the image of a man who cares about minorities to women, suburban males and independents.

More.
http://www.thismodernworld.com/

[aristeides]

Note that the "aides" in the story are unnamed.