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UH ----- OH
Posted on 12/16/2002 8:40:58 AM PST by RCW2001
Dec. 16
— WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Monday stopped short of offering public support for embattled Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, who has repeatedly apologized for a remark critics say shows an endorsement of racial segregation.
"The president thought that Senator Lott's comments were offensive and repugnant to the ideals of our nation and our party and the president also said that Senator Lott apologized and rightly so," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters.
Despite President Bush's criticism of Lott's remark, White House aides have said previously the Mississippi Republican should not resign his leadership post.
Though repeatedly pressed by reporters on this question, Fleischer on Monday said only that the president had stated his position on this case.
Lott came under fire in the last week for a comment made at the 100th birthday celebration of Sen. Strom Thurmond, a South Carolina Republican who ran for president in 1948 as a segregationist.
The Republican Party has been trying to regroup since of Lott said America would have been better off if Thurmond had been elected president .
Sen. Don Nickles of Oklahoma, who is ending a term as assistant Republican Senate leader and is viewed as a possible challenger to Lott, said on Sunday he was concerned that "Trent has been weakened to the point that may jeopardize his ability to enact our agenda and speak to all Americans."
Nickles told ABC's "This Week" program that Republicans should have an election to select a possible new leader.
Fleischer stood firm on Monday.
"The president believes his job is to pick the country up and elevate the country to focus on improving race, racial relations," the White House spokesman said. "That's what the president is focused on. That's his job, and that's what he's going to continue to do. He's spoken out about it and I, on his behalf, expressed the White House's position and I leave it at that."
Asked about Nickels' challenge, Fleischer said, "The White House isn't commenting on that."
Right on.
"Though repeatedly pressed by reporters on this question, Fleischer Lott on Monday said only that the president he had stated his position on this case."
End of Message
All the Neo Cons want Lott gone as well as the White House. Media types like Bill Krystal and the dudes on National Review will be quite happy to see a more socialist domestic policy and a strong international presence.
This can only mean that Bush will find it easier to deal with Daschle than it is to deal with Lott. If you look at the RNC site you will see that providing health care for the POOR is one of the three top items in the Bush agenda.
I believe that Bush and Rove have decided that they have had great success adopting the traditional Democratic agenda. That is, economic stimulus and deficit spending in down times, a strong international activist presence in the world. That only leaves economic redistribution and education as traditional Democrat issues still in Democratic hands. Pumping up Medicaid and Medicare as well as adding prescription drugs for the old and government paid insurance for the poor, would allow Bush and Rove to steal LBJ's LBJ. Did I mention CFR and the Kennedy/Bush Education bill?
Bush and Rove have decided to steal the Democrats issues and policies. They can't do that very well if Lott is Majority leader. It should be a slight clue when Bush wants rid of Lott to replace him with Frist. Those of you that think Lott will be replaced by Nickles, McConnell or some other Conservative are real funny. Bush has put out the word that Lott will be replaced by Frist.
That certainly makes sense. They will certainly hold most of the right Republicans just like FDR held the right Democrats while pulling the nation to the left. Bush and Rove are doing what they said they were going to do. They plan to make the Republican party the dominate party for the next 30 years. To do that they have to attract and hold a significant part of the left of center voters while tolerating some losses on the right.
I think Bush and Rove have decided to take the Republican half of the spectrum out of the center. It is a clever and likely very successful strategy.
The Democrats can not retaliate by trying to make a majority by putting the far left and right together. Both the far right and far left will hate it. But it will make the Republican party the dominate party. And if Daschle gets the Senate it is no big deal. Bush and Rove look to me like they are planing to do some things that Daschle will not fight anyway.
Strom Thurman is gone. Jesse Helms is gone. Soon Lott will be gone... Make some bad blood between Nickles and McConnell and it is real possible for Bush and Rove to move the Republicans left enough to hold all the center.
Once Lott said what he said Bush and Rove have been working to remove him and replace him with the centrist Bill Frist.
After January 6th, Strom Thurman, Jesse Helms, and Trent Lott will be gone. In their place will be McCainiac Graham, leftist Libby Dole and and a Black Democrat to be named by the Mississippi governor to replace Lott. Add to that Sununu, and former leftist Coleman and even you should be able to figure out where Bush is taking the Republican party.
Bush and Rove now have McConnell and Nickles on opposite sides of a fight, insuring that Frist is the new moderate Republican Leader
Kiss the right goodbye sonny boy. This is a Rove and Bush that LBJ could love. Bush is out to steal the entire left agenda. He has adopted the left's CFR, he has adopted the Kennedy's position and passed Teddies education bill. Bush has adopted the traditional Democratic position of economic stimulus and deficict spending in a downturn. On the RNC web site Bush lists as top priority govenment paid Healthcare for the Poor and free prescriptions for the old. With the old and the poor, that only leaves a working class expansion to make Hilllary Care a reality. The only difference between Bush's approach and Hillary care is that the Government pays the insurance companies and not the doctors and hospitals directly. It will take more taxes to pay for it when we add some more middlemen.
Bush is moving the Republicans to the LEFT. And Frist, Dole, Lindsay Graham, and McCain are going to help him do it.
Lott is one of the few conservatives left in the Senate. They have to drive him out of leadership or they can't move the nation left.
Of course those of us that listened to Bush the campaigner knew that he was in no way an economic conservative. Spending money like a drunken sailor works with the voters, but what happens when Medicare and Social Security combine to bankrupt our government and takes the dollar and our sconomy with it? What then will be the legacy of all PResidents who put off the tough decisions?
Though repeatedly pressed by reporters on this question, Fleischer on Monday said only that the president had stated his position on this case.
What this doesn't say is that the President WANTS Lott to remain as majority leader. It says the WH does not want him to resign. But it doesn't say that Lott should go unchallenged in a fair vote of Senate Republicans.
Which is exactly why Nickles replied with a possible vote challenging leadership.
We'll vote on it. The American way. Pretty astute politically, in my opinion.
I've been following your posts for several months now CT. You've had high praise for Bush in the past, but now you paint him as a conservative nightmare.
Try this on for size.
All the Republicans are looking for political cover on this issue. I find it plausible that the White House and other Republicans have talked with Lott and told him that things are gonna be rough for a few weeks to created the political cover neccessary to allow him to remain as Majority Leader. If this is indeed the case it has worked well. Even the Dems are taken aback with the forceful Republican rebuke of racism.
Bush is an extremely adept politician. You say Bush wants Daschle to control the Senate? I find that hard to believe...Daschle is stupid and perhaps Bush can convince him to do things that Lott wouldn't but I wouldn't put money on it, and I sure wouldn't bet my re-election on it.
I think this has nothing more to do with anything than that Lott created a firestorm through a blundering comment, and then magnified it by half-hearted apologies in favorable venues. He was given a week to stop the blood-letting, did NOT disavow segregation on Larry King Live even though asked to do so, and has generally compounded the error.
I do not think Lott is racist. He does, however, have a tin ear for the opinions of the general public. I have not come down one way another, really, on whether it would be better for him to stay as majority leader or whether to go.
However, to think this is a concerted strategy to go left, when we have seen nothing but incremental moves to the right, is just plain wrong. It is feeding the hysteria of those who are angered and want to defend Lott.
It is also aggravating to those who think Lott was wrong and should resign.
It is not a helpful theory, and much as I respect your opinion on most matters political, on this one I think you are mistaken.
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