Posted on 12/18/2002 3:51:50 PM PST by TLBSHOW
While I personally think we blew a good chance to take the race battle to them, that was yesterday..
Today I am worried about the rubber spined and their rubber stamps for affirmative action.
If he's going to lay down on race issues then that's clearly not acceptable.
I mean, hell he may as well turn the Senate over to Daschle on race matters if that's the way it's going to be.
I think he crossed the Rubicon on this one.. There's no way back from where he is now.
He's finally alienated everyone.
Because it is fairly obvious that Lott cannot remain ML. He is now in the final stages of the Stockholm syndrome. The only support Lott has received is in the cowardly reaction of the GOP to a phony racism charge. That damage is going to be long lasting because the next ML, whomever it is, will not challenge anything that has the slightest hint of racial bias IOW every domestic program that comes before the senate.
Sure, just ask Pavlov..
Worked for him.
I think the knives are being sharpened, but we can hardly follow Captain Dixiecrat into that battle.
What amazes me is that I have seen many posts saying that Frist is too liberal but if it meant getting rid of Lott that was ok. I thought Lott was too liberal and he has a 93% ACU rating. Something does not compute.
Now that's something we don't need. My gosh, the last thing we need is an assault from the right here.
FYI..........just because someone has a differing opinion regarding a particular issue from what you might hold, it does not make them a RAT, a DU'er or a disruptor. In other words....... Knock it off!
I'm sure you've been paying attention since this began. I won't speak for TLB, but I too have seen a tendency lately for one to knock off a bunch of one-liners to every post in a thread that one sees. It's as if one logs on, reads down a thread, and posts whatever word-association pops into one's head at the moment. That doesn't lead to reasoned debate, only derision.
Not being one to dwell on problems, but rather, to offer solutions, let me say that it appears that most posters here fall into these camps:
1) Those who feel that Lott didn't say what people are hearing. Lott was repeating a running gag between himself and a senile old man to make him smile, and political opportunists (who know the truth) are running with it for partisan gain. That Lott must stand up against this PC insanity, but that he's an ineffective Majority Leader and should be replaced, but on our terms, not Democrat agitators' terms. Count me in this group.
2) Those who feel that Lott is a closet racist with a past history of supporting segregationist positions and that this "gaffe" is just another example of a growing pattern of behavior. Keeping Lott in power proves that all Republicans are racists at heart, and Lott will be used as our "albatross," disqualifying us from taking any moral high-ground position on issues of race, taxes, education, or whatever might prove vulnerable.
3) Those who feel that Lott is an idiot and an ineffective leader with no backbone, and will sell out everyone just to be liked. No matter how specious the charge, it should be used as justification to toss him overboard for the betterment of the party, even if it leads to more flimsy attacks and escalates the "politics of personal destruction."
4) Those who feel that Lott made a "mistake," but that we are Republicans who are held to a higher standard and will not stoop to the gutter-level of Democrats. That we will call for Lott's resignation on principle even if it costs us the majority that was stolen from us two years ago. That even though we are at a pivotal cusp in American history with Republicans controlling the Executive branch, both chambers of Congress, and with many vacancies in the Judiciary and at least two retiring Supreme Court Justices, we will gladly give it up in order to preserve our dignity amongst proven liars, cheats, perjurers and racketeers from the other side of the Aisle.
I've been squarely in the first camp since this story broke. I think the debate here has been healthy, the opinions diverse, and the passion evident, but I think the "hit and run" posting tactics have been detracting from the discourse.
-PJ
I know.
My concern is we are going to come out of this allot worse than we went into it.
We could:
1) Wind up with Trenty rubber stamping all things racial. Which will be everything by the time the rats and the press is through.
2) Wind up with a gigantic RINO as SML, thus thwarting our agenda yet again.. Maybe even setting it back.
3) Wind up with a rat appointee as Senator in Lott's place.
4) Some combination of all the bad aspects above.
I wish we would have addressed this much differently, but I think it's too late now.
I think all that's left to do is see how it plays out and just bite the bullet if it goes poorly for us.
The racism charge was phony and it came from both the left and right even here at FR. That's something the next ML will loooooooooong not forget. Our domestic agenda is screwed.
It's not too hard to see why Trent gave it up in January of 99.
Affirmative action, a King holiday, numerous apologies -- Lott should be removed from leadership for supporting such.
That I agree with
I get the feeling that you think our 51 Senator majority has been reduced down to 1. Will Lott be THAT powerful, that the other 50 Republican Senators would be reduced to the status of "potted plants?" Don't you think others would stop him before things got to that point? Aren't there any failsafes in the Republican caucus that would kick in? Aren't there any "recall" provisions to replace the Majority Leader if something like that were to happen?
-PJ
Worth repeating for all the lurking dims to read!
Imo, Specter won the "Golden Spine" award for invoking "Scottish Law" to avoid actually saying the words "Yea" or "Nay" outright.
They are an old boys club and are known for their lack of principles and back room deals.
So, No... I don't expect any checks or balances to ride in and save the day.
Congrats.
When I came back to the thread it was already nearly 400 posts, and so hadda search for the phrase "Southern Democrats" to see if anyone else noticed that important observation. So far it appears to be only you and me. Here's hoping we can remedy that.
Both Ann today and Mark Steyn on Monday pointed out why it is not the rest of the GOP that is disloyal and outa step. It is not the rest of the GOP that is falling for the race baiting. It is Lott, and only Lott, who chummed for the race sharks to attack his party.
Coulter:
Republicans made Southern Democrats drop the race nonsense when they entered the Republican Party.
Because the Rats allow Byrd to remain not only without censure, but with honor (forgodsakes, he was President Protem for how long?), some of our fellow pubbies are letting the Rats set the standards for what constitutes loyalty. They think we should rally around a man who, at the very least, should cause any of us to not just question his intelligence but also his past promise to leave "the race nonsense" behind.
For what it's worth, I think these two conservative writers make it quite clear why some of our fellow FReepers have been misplacing their sense of loyalty. For the sake of simple honest decency, it's not the number of bodies our party needs to stand behind. That's for the Rats. What is at the very core of Republican principle that deserves our loyalty is that the GOP stands for freedom for all men, regardless of what group they're apt to be categorized by the true racists, to achieve what God has imbued in them the skill to achieve. Race is the history of Democrats, long earned by Democrats, and still being earned by Democrats.
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