Democrats did NOT force Lott to step-down as majority leader

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

History is Sooooooo important to remember because folks are trying to re-write it to their advantage every minute.

Democrats did NOT force Lott to step-down as majority leader. George W. Bush did, and for reasons having nothing to do with W's famous racial sensitivty.

Lott stepped down in December 2002. As you may recall, Democratic complaining never caused ANYTHING to happen at that time. That was right after the pugs took the Senate and pretty much everything else. Right after the big terrorism election of 2002... the Max Cleland election. Dems were still fighting not be be deported!

If Democrats had this power to force high-ranking pugs to resign every time they said something appalling there wouldn't be many pugs in office. (And I would hope we would have used that power on Bush.)

IIRC, Lott became majority leader in 1996. He lost the spot to Daschle in 2000 when Jim Jeffords switched to give Dems control. When we was forced out he was about to retake the position after the 2002 elections.

This was famous at the time... the Bush administration wanted a more pliable company-man in the majority-leader spot. Lott was too independent and too confident in his own judgments to be an ideal fascist party underling. George Bush hadn't made Trent Lott and Lott owed him nothing.

So the White House made a dramatic show of refusing to support Lott on any level after the Dixiecrat thing and presurred pug senators to bail on Lott. They wanted to put in their own guy (Bill Frist) so it was a scandal of opportunity.

The scandal kept alive on TV and the WH was part of the effort of having all the Senate pugs quietly tell Lott, "We love you, but you're hurting the party."

The political cliche "twisting in the wind" got an epic work-out that week.

Lott being nudged under the bus by Bush/Rove (and other enemies in the party) was well understood by all at the time, and most of all by Trent Lott. That's why he subsequently became rather "difficult." (It is also probably part of why he bailed on the Senate altogether in 2007 to rake in some big lobbyist dollars.)

[muntrv]

1. Bill Frist was behind the push so that he could become majority leader.

[mitchtv]

2. IBTL

just kidding, I think.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

3. I feel the same way

[mopinko]

4. a scandal of opportunity.

can we get this phrase into the political lexicon? we need it badly.