Posted on 12/17/2002 8:16:30 AM PST by KQQL
Jeffords was just the last to fall from a larger senate majority. The man is a political disaster waiting to happen.
For me anyways it stems from him being an idiot. He handles everything in a way to do maximum damage to the party. So far he has not disappointed on this current issue he created and if he stays I'm certain he will continue to find new and creative ways to screw the GOP.
LOTT: I'm not sure we in America, certainly not white America and the people in the South, fully understood who this man was; the impact he was having on the fabric of this country.
GORDON: But you certainly understood it by the time that vote came up, Senator.
LOTT: Well, but...
GORDON: You knew who Dr. King was at that point.
LOTT: I did, but I've learned a lot more since then. I want to make this point very clearly. I have a high appreciation for him being a man of peace, a man that was for nonviolence, a man that did change this country. I've made a mistake. And I would vote now for a Martin Luther King holiday.
Of course, that rather ignores the political realities of the time, but we're good at that around here.
I am not a fan of Lott, but I know that he will work with Pres. Bush to get his nominees confirmed and his legislation passed. That's important, because the last thing we need now at this critical time in our nation's history is two more years of Daschle-inspired gridlock.
With Lott out of the picture, we're going to end up with someone else just like him, when it comes to "leadership," because that's the way it is in the Senate, where it takes at least sixty assured votes on your side to dominate.
Daschle thought he could be the "Daschole" because he fervently believed Bush was a one-term "accidental President," and that not even his masterful handling of 9/11 could alter that.
Daschle was wrong. But he will do whatever he can to oppose Bush, and with Lott injured, and probably out of the Senate now, it's not going to take much more to get him right back in his seat.
To me, the damage is already done. His own Senate colleagues have turned against him, and the loser mentality of the Senate Republicans lives on.
No thanks to rank-and-file FReepers.
Even Bill Mahr has better sense than Lott and Mahr is an idiot.
Can you drop the racist strawman crap ?
The reason most of us want him gone is because of the damage he will continue to do. Its like inviting a bull into a china shop. You folks believe that if we just protect the bull this time he won't break anymore china.
And who led the senate to that disaster ? Even the rats jetisoned their house leader for less.
Good work Lott. Now you've got the Dems RIGHT where they want us.
From all I've read here, it seems that the real question is why Senator Lott was in a position of leadership. Now, I don't feel comfortable at all about Republicans not defending him at this juncture...it's a freedom of speech and freedom of thought issue. Senator Lott did not say specifically anything like he supports segregation. He is "guilty" of heaping lavish praise on a 100 year old man at his birthday celebration.
If GWB and other conservatives wanted a different leader, they should've been honest about it, rather than use a situation. It's like family. You defend your own when a wrong has been done. What Senator Lott said doesn't deserve the response he got.
What's going to happen if the Democrats hold GWB to the fire every time he misspeaks?
Lott is the gutless one.
Actually, that's just a part of it. The other examples of Lott-ish stupidity would include the "power share" deal he brokered with his good buddy in the Senate Club, Tom Daschle. Lott's poor leadership is not limited to Impeachment.
But even there, you misapprehend the nature of my objection. If by "political reality" you mean that there was no way to obtain a conviction, I might agree. But Lott did more than recognize the obvious (no democrat would vote to convict). No, he went further. He actively sabotaged the ability of the courageous House Impeachment managers and colluded with an effort to stage a show trial. Despicable.
Now, he threatens his party and president to retain his place in a position of power. He effectively attempts to blackmail them. "Remove me from the Majority Leader office and I'll quit." And he's already demonstrating, as veteran Lott-haters have been arguing for some time, that he's fully willing and able to throw Bush's conservative agenda (watered down as it is already) out the window to rehabilitate himself.
Lott isn't a victim of republican cowardice. He's the very living, breathing epitome of it.
And don't you ever presume to tell me what I "really think" again, boy.
That's the guy. The Dept of Ag chief who accepted gifts from Tyson Foods (including Super Bowl tix), but 'didn't let it effect his judgment.'
This is the best news Lott could have gotten. Knowing this guy is waiting in the wings should the GOP shove him out improves his hand immeasurably.
Agreed, it IS a witch hunt. Unfortunately, by Lott's own appeasement attempts, HE is the one FIGHTING AGAINST THOSE WHO TRY TO SAVE HIM IN ORDER TO THROW HIMSELF ON THE BURNING STAKE.
You and TLB may stop using that flipping 'we' crap when referring to appeasers. It's not true, and WE are tired of it.
One thing for sure, he could count on all the chicken farms he wants in MS, with Espy's Tyson connection.
What the hell to do now????? If the right thing had been done, he couldn't hold office, and felons can't even vote. Time to prosecute the Clintons and all their guilty friends.
It was the entire South that he labeled 'racist' wasn't it? Right after saying the government in his area is 'corrupt'? I might have that screwed up...I was runniing in and out, trying to catch Lott and keep up with the live thread too.
Multiple witnesses on her staff say she said it...among other things...more than once.
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