Free Republic

The top Senate Republican negotiator on immigration said he has heard the complaints of conservative talk-radio show hosts and bloggers, and will try to change the immigration bill to accommodate them. Sen. Jon Kyl, the Arizona Republican who wrote the bill with Democrats and the Bush administration, said he is making moves to stiffen immigration law enforcement when the Senate bill returns to the floor next week. "All of the concerns from our constituents and some in the media have been listened to, and incorporated," said Mr. Kyl, who is drafting new provisions in an amendment he hopes to offer....

HH: It is also a day that will go down in legislative infamy. It appears that we are only hours away before cloture is agreed to on the immigration bill, despite the obvious desires of the party. I based that on statements made by Trent Lott earlier today. To discuss those statements, the bill, and just generally what is going on in this country, Columnist To the World, Mark Steyn, joins me, www.steynonline.com. Mark, it appears as thought Senate Republicans are intent on taking the party over the cliff. MS: I think that’s true. I think in fact, people like...

Sen. Trent Lott, ousted from the top Senate Republican leadership job four years ago because of remarks considered racially insensitive, won election to the No. 2 post Wednesday for the minority GOP in the next Congress. Lott returned to the center of power by getting the position of vote- counting GOP whip, nosing out Sen. Lamar Alexander. Sen. Rick Santorum told reporters that Lott beat Alexander by a 25-24 vote. After an intense evening in which both men lobbied colleagues during floor votes, the Republican caucus elected Lott, a one-time whip and majority leader, by secret ballot. Lott will be...

United States Senator Lincoln Chafee (Republican-Rhode Island) became the first GOP Senator to suggest that Majority Leader Trent Lott (Republican-Mississippi) should resign during a radio interview in Providence.But he then backed aaway from the statement when he said the only way that would happen is if the White House officially told Lott do to so [resign the Majority Leaders Post in the US Senate] -something White House Spokesman Ari Fleisher said would not happen.'The White House does not choose sides in a political leadership race,' Fliescher said Wednesday at a White House briefing.

<p>What do Trent Lott and Bill Clinton have in common? Not enough for Lott to survive.</p> <p>Trent Lott and Bill Clinton were both born poor in the Deep South of the 1940s. Both crawled their way to the top of the national political heap with enormous grit and drive. Both are extremely stubborn men who instinctively refuse to bow to pressure and quit when controversy envelopes them. The difference is that Bill Clinton could be removed as president only by a two-thirds vote of the Senate--something his party's loyal support precluded. But Trent Lott's support within his party is melting away, and right now he is nowhere near the 26 votes from GOP Senate colleagues he needs to retain his job.</p>

I have wanted Trent Lott removed from leadership since Impeachment. The spineless weasel had the votes to bring live witnesses before the Senate on national television that would have revealed the extent of Bill Clinton's sexual predator history. David Schippers called it a SELLOUT. Schippers was absolutely correct. Could the prosecutors have changed enough minds to get 67 votes? We will never know. They should have had the opportunity to try. Lott is the one who stood in the way. The RATS have been in turmoil since the midterm elections. They were shocked to their core. And now, Lott puts...

<p>Lott, 61 announced [during the speech] that he was in talks with Black Entertainment Television to deliever and hour long speech next week to talk about 'his hopes and dreams for people' regardless of their race.</p> <p>Lott, who was greeted with hearty cheers from supporters at the start of the news conference, vowed not to step down from his leadership post, rejecting the suggestion by some that he is bigoted against minorities.</p>

Trent Lott, the Republican Party's eternal Maalox moment, has given the Beltway's liberal pontiffs on race exactly what they crave: a big, fat excuse to extract legislative payoffs to ease their collective "pain." On Wednesday, the Senate Republican leader went on Fox News and CNN promising more race-conscious government remedies to make amends for his tacit endorsement of segregation. In interviews with Sean Hannity and Larry King, Lott cravenly pledged support for "community renewal" (more minority set-asides); said he would "put more money into education so no child is left behind" (more federal spending for failed urban programs); and boasted...

Trent Lott is nothing more than the Minority Leader of the Senate until the new Congress organizes during the first week of 2003. Lott does not have to resign from anything to solve the current "problem." The Republicans will meet in a conference to choose their new leader. I suspect that there will be support for Bill Frist, Rick Santorum, and Don Nickles. One of those will be chosen by his fellow GOP senators to be majority leader. Lott will not have to resign and make it look like he was forced to do so. The GOP will simply vote...

The Price of Survival Senator Lott’s apology on Sean Hannity’s radio show was nicely said. Three days ago, it would have killed the whole controversy. Now I fear it will not. And I fear something else too: That Lott will try to save himself by jettisoning the conservative agenda in the Senate. Democrats are only too willing to offer Lott just such a deal. Here is what Senator Joe Lieberman had to say yesterday: Lott “needs to speak from his moral center and make clear his commitment to racial equality. One way to do that would be to go beyond...

<p>Amid the firestorm over his remarks embracing Strom Thurmond's 1948 segregationist presidential campaign, Trent Lott may not consider himself lucky. But he is. Back in October, he abruptly advanced the date of Republican leadership elections by several weeks in a bid to squelch competition for his job. The vote re-electing Mr. Lott was held only two weeks after the November elections. Smart move.</p>