And You Thought Trent Lott Was Gone For Good

Lott running for whip post






After keeping his plans close to the vest since Election Day, Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) formally declared his bid for minority whip on Monday evening.

Lott had refrained from openly discussing his intentions for the whip race even after GOP Conference Chairman Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), who was next in line based on seniority, lost his reelection bid last week. Few on Capitol Hill would second-guess Lott’s prowess at backroom maneuvering, and his silence had given way to questions about whether a new feint was in the works.

But Lott spokeswoman Susan Irby confirmed his bid in a statement. "Senator Lott is running for Republican whip. His name will be on the ballot. We are closing in on victory," she said.

Lott was forced to step down as Senate majority leader in 2002 after comments he made at former Sen. Strom Thurmond’s (R-S.C.) birthday party touched off a racially charged controversy and the White House threw its backing to now-Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).

Frist’s fellow Tennessean, Lamar Alexander (R), has already declared his whip bid and continues to make calls lining up support before Wednesday’s leadership elections.

"We feel really good about where we are," Alexander chief of staff Tom Ingram said on Monday, projecting that the conference majority Alexander claimed late last week had grown to "majority-plus."

Ingram acknowledged that the secret ballot of Wednesday’s election means victory will rely on trusting that senators will stick to their public commitments. Still, he expressed confidence in Alexander’s whipping for the whip job, which has seen about 10 senators making calls on his behalf.

One source close to that whip operation said the Alexander camp has Lott’s support in the conference pegged at about a dozen senators.

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Why Is This Man Smiling?


You know, this says much about the Republican party nowdays. Trent Lott is as corrupt and vile a man as ever sat in the Senate, yet the Republican party is actually considering him as Senate Minority Whip. THIS is why the Republicans lost so many voters in this country. It is why they will continue to lose voters until the bitter end. It is why the party must repudiate Trent Lott once and for all.