<A TARGET="_top" HREF="http://ad.doubleclick.net/click%3Bh=v2|2f07|3|0|%2a|s%3B4954829%3B0-0%3B1%3B7112603%3B9323-728|90%3B2043478|2041858|1%3B%3B%3fhttp%3a%2f%2fwww.theprincessjewelers.com"><IMG SRC="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-adv/advertisers/princess/images/Princess_backup.jpg" WIDTH="728" HEIGHT="90" BORDER="0"></A>
• For GOP, South's Past Rises in Tangle of Pride, Shame (The Washington Post, Dec 15, 2002) • In Miss. Home, Reaction Mimics Racial Divide (The Washington Post, Dec 15, 2002) • Officials See Bush Insulated From Hill Probes (The Washington Post, Dec 15, 2002) • Bid to Oust Lott From Leadership Considered (The Washington Post, Dec 15, 2002) • Sen. Lott Fights to Save Post As Leader (The Washington Post, Dec 14, 2002) • More on Congress
• Today's Political News • Daily E-mail Updates
By Jim VandeHei and Helen Dewar Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, December 15, 2002; 11:50 AM
Sen. Don Nickles (Okla.), the second-ranking Senate Republican, this morning said Republicans should consider ousting Sen. Trent Lott as their party leader.
Nickles -- who considered challenging Lott for his leadership job well before the Mississippian made his racially divisive comments -- said in a television interview this morning, "Trent has been weakened to the point that may jeopardize his ability to enact our agenda and speak to all Americans."
On ABC's "This Week," Nickles pointedly said: "There are several outstanding senators who are more than capable of effective leadership and I hope we can have an opportunity to choose." Nickles did not say if he'll run for the post, though several GOP officials said he desperately wants to.
Nickles became the first Republican senator to publicly suggest Lott should be ousted as leader for saying the country would be better off if pro-segregation presidential candidate Strom Thurmond had been elected in 1948.
Nickles's comments greatly undermined Lott's aggressive campaign to remain party leader and increased the likelihood he'll be ousted, Republicans say.
Lott, however, maintains wide, but not very deep, support and might benefit from the perception that Nickles is trying to exploit the situation for his own political gain. Sensitive to this charge, a Nickles aide stessed that the Oklahoman said many Republicans are qualified to become leader and did not announce his own candidacy.
Nickles, who an aide said has not decided if he'll run for leader, was voicing what more than one dozen GOP senators are expressing privately, Republicans say. Nickles talked numerous times over the weekend with outgoing National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Bill Frist (Tenn.) who shares many of his concerns. Frist, an ally of President Bush and possible candidate himself, has not said Lott should step down. Nickles also took calls from many other GOP members who worried aloud that Lott has become liability for a party looking to broaden its appeal among minorities, particularly African Americans.
Lott has no plans to step down, an aide said, and believes Nickles is exploiting the controversy for his own political gain. The two men have had frosty relations for years, and Nickles considered running against Lott earlier this year. Nickles didn't have the votes, so he brokered a deal with Lott to chair the Budget Committee in the next Congress.
Nickles called Lott this morning to tell him personally that he would make his remarks publicly, an aide said. Nickles called White House political director Karl C. Rove last night to tell him of his plans.
"This is bigger than any single senator now," Nickles said on ABC.
Nickles needs to get five Republican senators to sign a letter requesting a meeting of Senate Republican Conference to discuss Lott's ouster. He should have no problem getting the signatures. Republicans say such a meeting would take place Jan. 8, one day after the Senate is expected to reconvene. It would be a free-wheeling meeting with no concrete rules guiding members.
Senate Republican Conference Chairman Rick Santorum (Pa.) told NBC's "Meet the Press" Lott should remain party leader, and several other GOP senators are rising to Lott's defense. But the future looks bleak for Lott. Senior White House officials say Bush will not defend Lott from a challenge.
Worse yet, they let it be known that Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, both African Americans, rebuffed Lott's request for statements defending him.
Several White House officials share Nickles's concern that Lott's comments will dog the party for years if he does not step down now. "We have to move beyond this," a Nickles aide said.
Republicans familiar with a flurry of phone calls over the weekend said the list of potential candidates is long. It includes Nickles, Santorum, Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) -- a key Lott defender who was selected to serve as the second-ranking leader in the next Congress -- Sen. Chuck Hagel (Neb.) and incoming Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard G. Lugar (Ind.).
"Senator Lott knows that he's weakened," McConnell said on ABC's "This Week." "He knows he made a bad mistake. But he's apologized, as I said, on four different occasions. I think we ought to accept the apology and move on."
© 2002 The Washington Post Company
