[savedbygrace]

Senator Nickles wouldn't have made this bold move without first counting votes. It looks like he will be the incoming Senate Majority Leader.

[Right_in_Virginia]

No, Nickles doesn't have the votes. The moderates would never vote for him.

And after his performance today, I suspect he's lost some conservative votes, as well. Who could trust him?

Geeze, talk about stupid.

[mrsmith]

IMO most likely is that a new vote for Majority Leader will have Lott re-elected by a small majority of the caucus.
And that Nickles knows this.
The vote is just an opportunity for the Senate Reps to "chastise" Lott for his remark.

We don't want a leadership fight mucking up the Senate at this time with our small and divided majority.
Heck, I don't think Nickles, or any conservative, wants the aggravation of dealing with the liberal northern members of our caucus.

[sinkspur]

Senator Nickles wouldn't have made this bold move without first counting votes.

Yes he would. He does this kind of stuff all the time. He was one of the first and only Republican Senators to call for Clinton's resignation. Many GOP Senators may have had the same idea, but they weren't dumb enough to state it before they gauged the sentiment of the country.

It looks like he will be the incoming Senate Majority Leader.

If he was going to be Majority Leader, it would have happened by now. This little stunt kills it for him.

[rightwing2]

Senator Nickles wouldn't have made this bold move without first counting votes. It looks like he will be the incoming Senate Majority Leader.

I hope you are right! I think Nickles knows that this is his best chance to restore conservative leadership to the Senate Republicans and God willing he will succeed.