Drudge - Karl Rove Wants Lott Out of Leadership, Replaced with Frist

Matt Drudge Report/Next Week's Newsweek ^ | Matt Drudge

[ewing]

Nothing but a headline right now..

[CyberAnt]

Frist is not a Rhino - no way, no how!! You better check your facts before you begin accusing people.

[Maynerd]

"Go choke on your kumbaya bend over. You ain't got the stomach for a culture war homey."

Your juvenile ghetto rhetoric is self-defeating.

Unfortunately, you appear to be blinded by hostility and/or ignorance to the gravity of vacant Lott's faux paus. It is equivalent to Jim McDermott and David Bonior going to Baghdad and criticizing Bush. Lott reinforces all of the suspicions (fair or unfair) that minorities and touchy feeling soccor moms have for conservatives. Just as the Baghdad Boys reinforced all of the suspicions mainstream Americans have about liberal democrats and the use of military force.

You sound like the Buchaniite fringe. Righteously indignant but also absolutely powerless and ineffective.

[dogbyte12]

I am trying to pick a good picture to represent the Lott crisis. Choose from these options.

[billhilly]

"And the liberal professors and media fail to mention that tidbit as they rail against the racism of '60's Mississippi."

It is an undeniable truth that 60's Mississippi, as well as fifty's, forty's, etc., was racist. So was a lot of the rest of the country, but Mississippi was first among equals.

[Southern Federalist]

But should the standards be established by race-baiters?

The standards are set by common sense and common decency. That's why conservative writers and journalists were calling for Lott to quit the Majority Leader post days before Jackson and Sharpton even noticed the story.

My mama told me that just because other people were acting bad, it didn't mean I have the right to act bad too. The fact that the Dems are hypocrites and Jackson and Sharpton are race-baiters doesn't make Lott's remarks either less stupid or less wrong.

Besides, think about what you're saying. You're saying that Republicans can't dissociate themselves decisively from segregation-nostalgia until the Democrats stop race-baiting. So in 2022, the Republican Party will still be trying to assure the country that it's not in favor of Jim Crow, the likes of Vacant Lott will still be shooting it in the foot with cr*p like this, and people like you will be saying, "Hell, no, stand tall, we can't let Jesse Jackson, Jr. set the standards."

And those alienated swing voters will just carry President Karenna Gore Schiff right on to a second term in '24.

[EternalVigilance]

Frist is not a Rhino - no way, no how!! You better check your facts before you begin accusing people.

Then why in the heck did he use his power as the head of the Senatorial Committee in 2002 to back RINOs over Conservatives in contested primaries? Do you have any idea of what went on in Iowa, for example?

Why did he refuse to give even one penny to help Jay Wolfe and Republicans in WV defeat Rockefeller?

I could line up a number of other examples...but that's a taste for you.

We won the Senate in 2002 in spite of, not because of, Lott and Frist.

I was intimately involved in those and a number of other races across the country, and saw it first hand.

[Mr. Mojo]

Frist is not a Rhino - no way, no how!!

He sure is on 2nd Amendment issues.

[mysonsfuture]

Excuse me, but Rove just helped win the election with what he had. We can't win it all at once but we are WINNING. Frist in charge of the senate is like putting Hassert in chagre of the House, Nickels would run the show as #2, while moderatre Frisk keeps Snow and Chaffee in line. Rove is a great!

[wardaddy]

Fine. Roll over and enjoy it. You won't get a blip of crossover from black voters on this one and are only empowering our foes.

If you think standing up to political correctness even for the doofuss Lott is wrong then so be it. I don't. I'd be glad to see him gone but not under the boot heel of Dems and collaborative Republicans.

Yep....I'm big on taking a stand on the culture war. I have a profile page(where's yours?)...you can read all about it. I'm no Buchananite....you are too funny. I was broken glass for Bush but now I am not sure on this issue. I do like Bush no doubt but he's no serious conservative. He's a moderate Pubbie. Fine...he is a very good war leader and that counts for a lot in my book. I didn't agree on everything with Ronaldus Maximus either.

I don't like Lott at all(and I and my family know him and have had dealings with him)...never have but I despise caving over the usual race smear garbage even more.

I also despise the blantant double standard ALWAYS at play over this issue.

Conservatives fear being branded a racist or sexist or homophobe more than just about anything and with the media's dutiful compliance and our own lack of spine we simply roll over every time. Neither the Dems or Blacks or Latinos or Media are going to recognize toppling Lott as anything other than the lack of spine that it is and our foes will only be further encouraged. Somewhere somebody is going to have to stand up.

You prefer the other route hoping it will matter vote wise. I wouldn't hold my breath.

[StopGlobalWhining]

Frist is an anti-gun SOB.

This is very disturbing. I did look Frist up at the Gun Owners of America link you cite in #17, and he was given a grade of D on Second Amendment support. Lott wasn't much better, coming in at a C-.

BTW, Bob Smith who the White House wanted out, has an A+ ranking from GOA.

[Mr. Mojo]

If you haven't seen them already, and if you're interested, here are the GOA rating for the members of the House of Representatives.

Bob Smith who the White House wanted out, has an A+ ranking from GOA.

Yep, Rove and Co. wanted Bob Smith outta there bad. He was just way too ....controversial (which means either 'honest' or 'principled' in politico-speak). In the Senate, aside from Smith, only Enzi (WY) and Inhofe (OK) received A grades. Did you notice all the F minuses? That's one scary group.

[A CA Guy]

He should NOT LEAVE LEADERSHIP NOW!

He should perhaps step down in the summer, unless unbelievable gains are made in the Senate agenda that prove him effective.

Let the Dems gear up to use him like Gingrich then he should pull himself between summer and Dec. 2003.

[JDGreen123]

I think Bush and Rove clearly want "loyal" followers. I do not think that it is any co-incidence that Elizabeth Dole, Cununu Jr., and Lamar Alexander all won Senate seats. I am from Tennessee. Rove interfered in our Republican Senatorial primary by asking the more conservative Ed Bryant to drop put and let Alexander have the nomination. Bryant refused but Alexander won anyway.

I do not have much liking for Frist. He is part of the Belle Meade gang here in Nashville along with Alexander, Al Gore, and newly elected Governor Phil Bredesen. Frist hacked me off because many of his own family and friends financially backed the Democrat Bredesen over the conservative Republican, Van Hillery.

Frist's family started Hospital Corporation of America which has gobbled up most hospitals across America. He is too far left for me but probably fits waht Bush wants. The Bushes have always been attracted to the more moderate, big money Republicans. Frist is a good spokesperson and certainly won Bush's favor by leading the Republican Senate election campaign this year as well as selling the Bush message about bio-terrorism and smallpox.

[Mr. Mojo]

Thanks for the interesting background info about Frist and Tennessee politics.

"The Bushes have always been attracted to the more moderate, big money Republicans"

Yep, they're about as far away from the independent, principled, Reagan/Goldwater kind of Republicans as can be imagined. I do like Dubya considerably more than his dad x41 (one of the worst Presidents of the 20th century), but only because he seems a bit more removed from the eastern establishment, compromising Rinos. Time will tell.

[ellery]

I think you're absolutely right. These dangerous times especially call for leaders to do what they judge right, rather than what they think is politically expedient. I'm no Bushbot, but I'm certainly sounding like one these days. Kudos to our president on his principled stand on Lott.

[ellery]

You mean race baiters like Peggy Noonan, David Frum and the editors of the National Review?

[JDGreen123]

I agree. I like Jr. better than his Dad. It is their family dedication to globalism, free trade, multi-national activities, etc. that really upset me. I try to take the good with the bad but I fondly remember the Reagan era where the President put America first and didn't care what other countries liked it or not.

[dougherty]

Rove needs to be run out of DC if not out of the country, he's bent on destroying conservatives and replacing them with RINOS!

Ditto!

[swheats]

Best I have in response to your comment is a raised brow. No I'm not saying Republicans can't disassociate themselves, I'm saying that this didn't become a problem until the Left pointed this out. Seems everyone knew Lott was a racist long before now. Where was the indignation?

Now you know you lost credibility with me when you went into name calling "vacant Lott". Tells me what group you're in.

[WRhine]

Conveniently enough, your high moral standards dicate that Trent is too big a racist to remain as leader, but they are flexible enough to allow a RACIST RACIST RACIST to remain in office to preserve your majority.

It's interesting how these people think, isn't it? They don't like Lott for other reasons so they find a perfect excuse to get rid of him. To hear em say it, it's like: "Let's run Lott out of his ML position under our cries of RACISM and, let's see, Oh Yeah, that's right, we still need Lott for our senate majority so maybe we can toss a few bones his way after we get done with his character assassination and get him to enthusiastically accept his new role as a disgraced senator, ready and willing to help with the Bush Agenda.” “What a brilliant plan!"

If you win, Trent will resign from the Senate, and once again the STUPID PARTY will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

You Bet. That is a very real possibility. I believe this is only now beginning to dawn on this hysterical mob of self-destructing republicans. The way I see it, this incredible exhibition of republican suicide only became an unmitigated disaster when Bush, instead of acting like a leader, chose to pour gasoline on this smoldering fire with his highly charged PC rhetoric. Absent that, this controversy would have quickly burned out on its own. I really don't know why Bush couldn't have said something to the effect that he believes Lott's remarks were taken WAY OUT OF CONTEXT (which they were) and that this is politics of personal destruction of the worst kind.

Since Bush took the easy, cushy PC route it makes me wonder if this is not payback for Lott’s recent comments that he is for putting our military on the border and perhaps a few other issues that he is at odds with Bush on. I also wonder if Bush seriously ever thought of the consequences that his remarks might have on the control of the senate.