I had a chance to look at Bush’s remarks on Lott in Philadelphia last week, and it seemed stronger when I read it (than having heard a few lines on the news). If Lott isn’t replaced as GOP leader in the Senate, Bush loses. Because a Republican president can’t lose a battle like this, Lott will be out. It will take a few more days for the Senators to see this, but they will, and you can be assured that the White House (not excluding Rove) will help them see it (not publicly, of course, until the very end where the White House will say it welcomes new leadership). Andrew Sullivan is good on this in the latest issue of Time.
Grand Old Segregationists
Not one Republican member in the next Congress is African-American, and that’s not surprising. The modern GOP is built on a legacy of racism. Richard Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” set the poisonous tone, and Republican candidates continue to exploit racial fears for political gain. --Eleanor Clift, Newsweek (December 13, 2002)
The Republican Party has become a haven for white racist attitudes and anti-black policies. The party of Lincoln is now a safe house for bigotry. It’s the party of the Southern strategies and the Willie Horton campaigns and Bob Jones University and the relentless and unconscionable efforts to disenfranchise black voters. --Bob Herbert, Columnist, The New York Times newspaper (December 12, 2002)
I hear that Trent Lott is threatening to step all the way down, and thereby handing the Senate back to the Democrats (Lincoln Chaffee is Jim Jeffords) if the GOP doesn’t keep him as marjority leader. Isn’t this wonderful.
And very stupid of The "racist" Stupid Party. :(