Free Republic

Two N.C. Republican members of Congress have joined those calling on embattled Sen. Trent Lott to resign as the GOP's Senate leader. U.S. Reps. Sue Myrick and Cass Ballenger are the Carolinas' first Republican lawmakers to publicly say Lott should step aside. The Mississippi Republican ignited a firestorm this month after praising Sen. Strom Thurmond's 1948 segregationist presidential campaign during a birthday bash for the S.C. senator. "It's in the best interest of the country if he steps down as leader so we can move forward with what the people want us to do and this isn't an issue forever,"...