GOP battle lines forming

Okay, on the pro-Lott side, we have:

Lott
McConnell
Santorum
"The vast majority of [the GOP] conference"

On the anti-Lott side, we have

Nickles

Hmmm... So far, I'm thinking Lott has the upper hand.

The "vast majority" quote comes from McConnnell, a strong Lott loyalist, so it may simply be spin. But he does claim to have spoken with the majority of his caucus, and as incoming Senate Whip, it's his job to count votes.

Of course, this may be a political version of Survivor, with everyone making "alliances", only to discard them whenever expedient. Many who might vocally support Lott when speaking with McConnel may be quick to pull the trigger in a secret ballot. Indeed, it's hard to think Nickles would challenge Lott publicly without assurances that he has enough votes to pose a serious threat to Lott.

The Senate is out of session right now, but Republicans can be called back if five of them request so. Nickles is probably eager to launch his coup. Sen. Warner has also expressed interest in calling them all back (of course, being that he lives in Virginia, it's easier for him to call his colleagues out of their vacations). Can they get three more?

I'm most interested in the GOP's moderate wing. Do they REALLY want to stage a high-profile leadership battle between Racist and Homophobe? Lott is bad enough. Nickles doesn't really help their cause. Then again, it's the holiday season, and if there's a time to get this unpleasantness out of the way, it's now when most people are consumed by holiday nonsense.

Posted December 15, 2002 08:23 PM | Comments (51)