[Common Tator]

Yes sir Peggy!

Does anyone really think that Trent Lott will step down and stay in the Senate? Anyone with a brain knows that he is very unlikely to do that. He will of course resign his senate seat

The Democratic governor of Mississippi will undoubtedly replace Trent with a Democrat.

That would tie the senate with Jeffords makeing it 50-50.

What do you think the Democrats would offer Chaffee or Snowe to cross the isle. What will McCain do? Which one will sell out to Daschle. The odds are 65 to 35 that one of them will.

The Surpreme court is at stake and both Bush and Peggy came down on the side of two more Souters.

[Russell Scott]

Are kidding me? Trent Lott's ego is such that if he looses his leadership position he will resign. I don't think so. But if true, then Trent Lott is a bigger liability to the party than I ever imagined.

[Fury]

What do you think the Democrats would offer Chaffee or Snowe to cross the isle. What will McCain do? Which one will sell out to Daschle. The odds are 65 to 35 that one of them will.

I'll bet you a $250 pledge, payable to FreeRepublic, that Chaffee or Snow will NOT jump from the Republican party between now and November, 2004. Because if one of them did jump, FR would be needed more than ever.

[sinkspur]

Does anyone really think that Trent Lott will step down and stay in the Senate? Anyone with a brain knows that he is very unlikely to do that. He will of course resign his senate seat

Yep. He's likely to become a lobbyist with those RACISTS he hangs around with in Mississippi and make millions while those who rode him out on a rail are wringing their hands, one Lincoln-Chaffee-hissy-fit away from a Democrat Majority.

[Consort]

Correct. So much is at stake. No more RINO/McCain bashing until the new Supreme Court Justices are confirmed, and taxes are lowered, etc., etc.....

[McGavin999]

I don't think he would resign as a senator if he was given a very powerful chair on a very powerful committee.

[Salvation]

I don't think your scenario will take place.

[dpwiener]

Does anyone really think that Trent Lott will step down and stay in the Senate?

Yes.

I have no doubt that he's been trying to use the threat of resignation from the Senate as leverage with his fellow Republican Senators to try to maintain his position as Majority Leader. But it's pretty much an empty threat, and they know it.

First, the Republicans are far more likely to lose their majority if Lott stays on, due to defections of Chaffee, Snow, McCain, and others who will not want to have to explain to their constituents why they continued to support Lott. Other Republican Senators know that Lott as Majority Leader provides a perfect excuse for fence jumping, as well as threatening their own re-election prospects. They all know how to read the political tea leaves, or they wouldn't be where they are, and they know that Lott is toast. The only question is the manner of his removal as Majority Leader.

Bush signalled that he's not going to go to the mat to defend Trent Lott, and hence no other Senators are going to go out on a limb to defend Lott. Notice that there's been an incredible amount of silence by Republican Senators. The media feeding frenzy is still growing (pushed along by many conservatives), and Lott will not surive it.

Intense negotiations are going on behind the scenes right now to pave the way for Lott to step down. Yesterday (Wednesday) I predicted that it would take 2 to 6 days. My best guess now is that Lott will make a speech late tomorrow (Friday) afternoon, in which he'll explain that he's been unfairly maligned but for the good of the country he is withdrawing as Majority Leader.

And that will be that. He'll stay on as a Senator, because it's still a very powerful position and there's nothing like it available outside of politics. Lott enjoys power, and he's not going to just give it up. And no, he couldn't make millions as a lobbyist if he resigned from the Senate and let a Democrat be appointed in his place. If he did that he'd be labelled a worse traitor than Jeffords, and he'd be hated by all the other Republican Senators who might lose their majority committee chairmanships and perks. Hence he'd have no influence to peddle.

Watch it happen.

[section9]

I don't agree with you.

I think Bush spanked Trent just hard enough to let him know that what he did was stupid.

I don't believe that Lott will resign his seat, however. Primarily because Lott has been very good at bringing the goodies back to Mississippi and will probably rate a good committee chair. Lott is popular back home. He will need to mend some fences, but on the whole, when all is said and done, he'll stay where he is.

But he won't remain as majority leader past mid-January.

The Conservative Base in the Senate sees him as the guy who gets rolled by Daschle all the time. But in this Senate, we need all the Republicans we can get, so Bush will ease up on him, despite his stupidity.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[copycat]

I don't often, but I disagree with your analysis on this one. Lott MIGHT step down from leadership, but probably not. However, there is NO WAY he will resign his seat.

I don't think Bush would let him jeopardize the thin majority that hundreds of others worked so hard to forge.

If Lott steps out of the spotlight and just continues to be a back-bench Senator for the Republicans, W. can still get his nominees through. And hell, I don't think his recent comments will hurt him as badly in Mississippi as they do in the country at large, so he could keep getting re-elected.

IMHO, the best thing that could happen is if Mr. Lott stands up to Big Race, and quietly resigns the leadership post for personal reasons this summer.

[Polybius]

Does anyone really think that Trent Lott will step down and stay in the Senate? Anyone with a brain knows that he is very unlikely to do that. He will of course resign his senate seat

The Democratic governor of Mississippi will undoubtedly replace Trent with a Democrat.

Knowing whether Lott would stay in the Senate or not if he could not be Majority Leader is not a matter of "brains". It is a matter of having more inside knowledge of the personality of this man than somebody else may have.

If what you are saying is true, then think about what this means.

It means that we are dealing with a man that is so self-centered that he would put his ego above what is best for his country.

If that is the case, and you may be right, then Trent Lott is a man with as little integrity as William Jefferson Clinton and is therefore a man that should never have been elected as the GOP Majority Leader.