American Politics Journal -- Pundit Pap

Flush twice... it's a long way to Sally Quinn's place...

Pundit Pap
for December 15, 2002
by the Pundit Pap Team

Dec. 15, 2002, 8:00PM -- NEW YORK (APJP) -- Just as we were about to go to press, the LottGate story was drowned out by the announcement that Al Gore will not run for the White House in 2004.

And, if his interview on tonight's 60 Minutes is to be believed, he won't run in 2008, either.

We're not sure about that last one, but the decision not to run in '04 didn't surprise us in the least, especially after having seen Gore's sidesplitting and daring performance on last evening's Saturday Night Live -- but we pretty much knew he would not run after he started attacking the fifth column in American broadcast and print news media, most notably FOX News.

We also suspect that Gore held off on leaking the news until after the Sunday pundits had a chance to work over America's number one segregationist, top bigot, and maybe, maybe-not Senate Majority Leader-to-be Trent Lott.

Here's the scoop on this morning's hand-wringing:

ABC News This Weak

Item one was, of course, LottGate -- and the breaking news that Don Nickles, another hard-right non-mainstream GOPer, is "breaking ranks" and "opposing" Lott's continued tenure as Majority Leader. Nickles told ABC that he is pushing for a referendum on Lott's leadership. But here's the truth: Nickles has coveted Lott's job for years. He is an anti-gay bigot. And he essentially gave Stephanopoulos the "exclusive" that he is "breaking ranks."

Guest one was Sen. Mitch "Cabbage Patch" McConnell, who tried to provide cover for Lott by saying that the Chimp-in-Chief, and not, Lott, is the "image of the Republican party."

Now that was good for a huge laugh! What a riot! Smirky -- the "image" of the Republican Party! It's a not-so-"subliminable" image of bumbling incompetence and extremist doctrine.

McConnell said Lott could be an "effective' leader -- and he's right. Lott would be effective in reminding every American of the incipient racism and bigotry that goes hand-in-hand with the hard right of the GOP. Lott would be effective in tanking the Simian Prince's domestic agenda. We say Lott should stay on -- bruised, battered and humiliated, tarnishing the razor-thin GOP majority in the Senate with the shame and ignominy of segregationism.

That suits us fine.

There was a boring back-and-forth about Senate rules and the need for five senators to form a "conference" to challenge Lott's leadership. And McConnell kept insisting that Lott "can be an effective leader" who can "move forward [Smirk's] agenda" (again prompting open laughter from viewers across the nation). McConnell insisted his colleagues believe Lott has handled the situation "appropriately" -- in other words, the mea culpas over having endorsed the 1948 Dixiecrat platform at Strom "the Mummy" Thurmond's 100th birthday party are more than enough, thank you.

Steph said that there's a possibility that Lott may be "blackmailing" the GOP by threatening to resign. McConnell mentioned the embarrassing resignation of Newt "Poontang Express" Gingrich from the House (that was hardly blackmail, though -- and we say it should be a national holiday). Steph asked McConnell if Lott would serve out his Senate term if ousted from the leadership -- and McConnell said he hoped so, but there is that niggling tradition of leaving the body when you step down from leadership.

Now that would present an interesting situation. The Mississippi Governor would appoint a Democrat. That would make the balance 50-50 again, as it was in January 2000 -- and all the Dems would need would be one GOPer (Chafee? Collins?) to go independent and caucus with the Dems. Buh-bye GOP lock on the two elected branches of government.

What happens if Dems make a motion of censure? McConnell gave a vague and cagey answer about such a resolution being "amendable." But Steph nailed him down -- saying that McConnell told his hometown newspaper that they'd also censure Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) over his ill-considered "white n!gger" comment.

This is the best that the GOP can do -- demonize the aged Byrd, who is contrite about his opposition to civil rights and his politically incorrect use of the term "white n!gger." Meanwhile, our own Beltway spies tell us that the so-called "n-word" is bandied about certain GOP senatorial and congressional offices with disturbing regularity. You've just gotta love the overwhelming hypocrisy of the Republican Party on race.

Does LottGate set back the GOP agenda on race? McConnell said Lott is concerned and wants to regain the confidence of the African-American community (translation: the party's racism is exposed and there had better be fast and effective damage control and continued 'wooing" of [read: lying to] black Americans).

The next guests were NAACP Chairman Kwesi Mfume and -- catch this -- racist US Civil Rights Commission member Abigail "White Kollar Klanswoman" Thernstrom, who first proclaimed that she is a scholar and a member of the Civil Rights commission (so as to lend herself credibility among pundit TV viewers who may not be familiar with her or her disturbing views), and that "the GOP needs to articulate a civil rights agenda for the 21st century" (read: they need to tear down affirmative action and destroy the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts). Thernstrom, a skilled liar, talked a good game about "opportunity" (for whites, naturally). Mfume explicitly said that Lott must resign and Lott and the GOP cannot govern -- and that bigoted comments feed white AND black racism.

And then Mfume said what the pundits dared not: Lott made virtually that SAME statement endorsing Thurmond's 1948 Dixiecrat platform 22 years ago! Should he be censured? Yes -- in fact, about half the Senate should be censured -- there's NO DIVERSITY in the Senate! Dems cannot avoid the issue, added Mfume, and Republicans can no longer run away from the issue; their view that Lott should stay undermines the GOP. Thernstrom shilled for school choice (right -- but she'll never tell you there is virtually NO school choice because there is a limited amount of space in the few alternative schools that exist).

Will Mfume meet with Lott? Mfume said he served with Lott -- and Lott needs to confront himself and his record of opposing equal rights.

Following the break, Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT and sounding like a Democrat for once) laid out the problems with Lott -- and when Steph again pulled out the Byrd issue, Lieberman told Steph that there's a big difference between Lott and Byrd -- Lott is the incoming majority leader.

Steph then changed subject to the Axis of Evil -- and the risky Smirk strategy of focusing on Iraq and waiting to deal with the nuclear dreams of Iran and North Korea. Lieberman said that Team Smirk has in essence neglected North Korea -- and there is a danger of the situation becoming more perilous, with rhetoric escalating instead of negotiations. "We cannot have a nuclear North Korea." Lieberman then surprised Steph by saying that North Korea had in fact shut down a plutonium plant that would have by now given them 20 bombs -- and Clinton gets the credit.

Steph then asked one of the most sane republicans in Washington, Sen. Dick Lugar, about the issue -- and Lugar in effect agreed with Lieberman, pointing out that North Korea also has missile technology. Should we threaten military action? No, it would be a disaster for South Korea -- but the North has a lot of problems, and we should look for ways to increase commerce with them. Lieberman said that both the US and North Korea are playing a dangerous game of "out-macho."

Steph mentioned US intelligence complaints that the published Iraqi declaration of WMD-related stuff to the UN is "woefully incomplete." Is this grounds for war? Lugar wants to see a few Iraqi scientists can be "shaken out" and urged to cooperate with us. Lieberman said that if the Security Council and US agree that Saddam is a liar, then the UN Security Council should impose their will --possibly including military action (translation; no Smirk-a-lateralism).

Once again, the roundtable (George Will, Michelle Martin, Fareed Zakaria) missed the point of Nickles' challenge of Lott -- it's an outright grab for power by someone who has street cred among extreme-right organizations and business interests. But we got a kick out of Fareed Zakaria saying that Reagan's comment about "welfare queens" was typical hard-right racist coded language.

Sadly, that's true -- but we wonder if Reagan had been fully aware that that was the case.

Martin mentioned Lott's involvement with a "white kollar Klan" (the Council of Conservative citizens). Even Will had to admit that Lott is now in the way of Shrub's extremist agenda (you've gotta love the irony).

The panel thinks that Lott will not be the next majority leader.

The pap on the Iraqi inspections was predictable and boring. We also ignored Will's tirade about -- would you believe -- Pete Rose.

But Steph and his ABC bosses ended the show with the continued milking of their Nickles "exclusive". Lott's people called it "cynical opportunism"; the White House, said Steph, was caught by surprise; and Steph replayed McConnell's comment about a "weakened" Lott -- and a very funny clip of "Trent Lott" (played by president-elect Al Gore on last night's best-in-years Saturday Night Live) promising that he "will leave no white person behind."

Even Steph was smiling a little after that clip ran.

McLaugh-In

Issue one was, naturally, LottGate. Pat Buchanan kept pushing the view he has espoused all week on MSNBC -- there was no malice, he apologized, end of story. Eleanor Clift said keeping Lott is tantamount to raising the Confederate flag over the Capitol. Tony Blankley said that Senate Republicans have to make a tough decision, and most see him as damaged; Tony also mentioned the resignation from the House of his old boss Newt Gingrich. John suggested that Smirk is conniving to replace Lott with Frist. Mort Zuckerman called Lott's choice of words not just "unfortunate" but a throwback to the age of segregation.

Here in New York, the McLaughlin debate was interrupted by the dominant local news story -- a special report on what looks to be an impending strike by regional transit (commuter train) workers as a spokesman for the Transit Workers' Union issued a pessimistic statement. A strike looks very possible, and the local affiliate even broke into sporting events yesterday with updates on negotiations.

McLaugh-In resumed with Tony and Mort bashing Al Gore over the way he handled LottGate. They're still jonesing for every hit of "attack Bill! attack Al!" that they can get! They couldn't be wronger -- if anything, the Democrat who has most bungled the Lott debacle was the overly forgiving Tom Daschle. Eleanor said that Dems should stay on the sideline (i.e. sit back, roast some marshmallows and watch the fun).

What was Lott's mistake?
Pat: Those nasty Dems are soooo mean to Southern Christian conservatives!
Eleanor: His own stupid mouth.
Tony: Making himself vulnerable.
Mort: Blindness to the importance of civil rights to the entire nation.
John: The bad habit of saying things to please the audience of the moment.

Will he survive as majority leader?
Pat: Yes.
Eleanor: Beyond this week, who knows?
Tony: Only if he makes it to holiday break; if so, yes.
Mort: He'll make it to the holiday break, but beyond that, who knows?
John: YES!

Issue two was Jimmy Carter's scathe of His Fraudulence's "war to stop war" policy during his Nobel Peace prize acceptance speech -- and Mort Zuckerman and Pat Buchanan both lit into Carter, Mort for supposed hypocrisy, Pat for daring to undermine the Selected Simian. Eleanor said that Carter has every right to attack Smirk's policies. Tony was WRONG when he said that if England and France had waged a preemptive war in 1934 there would be no World War II.

Hey, Tony -- Germany would have easily routed and turned France, then probably defeated England.

The predictions were boring -- until John pressed Tony on whether or not Lott should resign. Tony could not bring himself to say the one word he was clearly thinking: "Yes!"

Meet the Pest

Would Tim-meh beat up on Trent, or continue coddling the party of segregation?

His first two guests were Reps. John Lewis and JC Watts -- and here is the "condensed soup" transcript of the segment.

Tim: Lott's latest apology didn't settle the issue, did it?
Lewis: No, it's not enough.
Tim: Should he resign?
Lewis: His GOP pals have to make that decision; going on BET as he plans to won't fix the problem, which is a national problem of stealth racism. Even whites were offended by Lott's obnoxious comments!
Tim: So what can he do?
Lewis: Lott has a history of cozying up to racists -- and he's not a young man. Why did he vote against renewing the Voting Rights act and flirt with the CCC (Conference of Conservative Citizens)?
Tim: Did he do enough?
Watts: For some, it wouldn't be enough for Lott to crawl across Alabama and beg forgiveness! I accept his apologies, but more is needed from Lott Symbolic statements on both sides do symbolic things, and so far nothing of substance has come out of the mess. Hey, Tim, I have a proven track record of leadership! (It was a weird non-sequitur -- but it was there.) Lott's knocked down, and now he has to get up, move forward, and there must be a rehabilitation phase (in other words, I think he should stay, but he looks like toast).
Tim: But he said there wouldn't be "all these problems!" What problems? C'mon, make it sound like you're cutting through some sort of spin here.
Watts: What spin? I've seen it several times. It's indefensible. I've talked it over with him. You can't defend it, Tim. It's a sin of the head, not the heart, and the guy's damaged goods. Enough with symbolism! We need to see substance! Substance!
Tim: Can Lott lead Republicans in the Senate?
Watts: That remains to be seen. It's a test of character. I don't believe people will let it go (i.e. he's toast). The political arena is poisoned. It's an attack forum. We need healing.
Tim: The Congressional Black Caucus has called for a censure.
Lewis: Dems and Republicans must decide what action to take. Race is not a partisan issue but a moral issue. Lott should know better. People died in his home state in the effort to enfranchise black voters.
Tim: But, but, but... Farrakhan! He got censured! Should the same standard be applied?
Lewis: Yes!
Watts: The Senate will have to make their decision. They should be consistent and demonize anyone who has said hateful things (read: Robert Byrd). It's good to point the finger -- but there are always three pointing back! Lott won't be alone.
Tim: Nickles says Lott is weakened and the Republican agenda is hurt.
Watts: Yes. The left and right have blasted him, and they should not trivialize the issue.
Tim: Let me plug your book, JC. And now that you're out, there are no black Republicans in Congress.
Watts: There are no black Democrat Senators either.
Tim: Will Senator Lott's apologies help with outreach to blacks?
Watts: Are you crazy? Lewis is right -- going on BET is just talk. Substance, dammit, substance! In fact, Lott should sit down with Mfume ands strike up a dialogue!
Tim: Can Lott survive this? Can he lead effectively?
Lewis: It will be hard for him to lead effectively now that he's outed as having 1948 Dixiecrat views at the outset of the 21st century.

Following the break, Tim spoke with Rick Santorum (R-PA), who defended Lott's "integrity" and lied outright when he claimed that Lott sees all men equally (oh, please, Little Ricky -- look at his voting record -- he only sees them as equal if they're lily-white). Santorum had to admit that LottGate is a wake-up call -- but then lied again when he said that Smirky is trying to get out a message of reconciliation (oh, please -- the Bogus POTUS was pushing coded states' rights messages on the campaign trail through Dixie -- and it wouldn't surprise us if the White House is in fact engineering Lott's departure from the leadership of the GOP in the Senate). Will you call a conference meeting to deal with Lott? That's not how it works, said Santorum (in other words, his political euthanasia will be planned behind closed doors). If Lott steps down, will Santorum run? Santorum gave the requisite evasive "I already have a job" answer (even though we say his eyes light up like a Christmas tree).

Tim then turned to Sen. Carl Levin -- who said that if he were a Republican, he would not support Lott And Levin even mentioned racist code words that GOPers inject into campaigns -- most recently in Michigan, to attract racist votes. This is, he said, a Republican issue -- and it is up to Republicans to show what they stand up for. Tim mentioned Levin's having introduced a measure to censure Farrakhan -- will he introduce one about Lott? Only if it is done on a bipartisan basis. Tim actually prompted Levin to say he has called Lott's comments highly offensive.

Wow.

Between the four legislators, Tim had managed to absolutely eviscerate Trent Lott, presenting him as a source of infighting among Republicans and righteous scorn among Democrats.

Tim then reminded Santorum that he had voted for Clinton's impeachment -- then played Jesse Jackson Jr's comment that Lott is worse than Lewinsky -- Lewinsky was about personal morality, Lott's is about public morality. Santorum made the dumbest comment of the week: he said Jackson is wrong and Lott is a man of integrity.

Our media room erupted in derisive laughter. We can't wait to see that comment played in campaign ads when Santorum runs for reelection. Pennsylvanians, particularly in and around their cities, aren't bigots -- and don't like people who coddle bigots. Got that, little Ricky?

Tim turned the topic to the topic of Iraq's nuclear proliferation. Santorum said that inspectors need to look into the holes in IAEA findings, then said Iraq was in material breach and slammed Saddam "stringing this out" (like he has much choice if his vicious regime is to survive). Should the US go forward if the UN says no? Of course, said Santorum, cheerleading for his pals Paul Wolfowitz and Dick Cheney. Levin said that we should not act unilaterally and act as if the rest of the world does not matter -- we should not act arrogantly. Are we closer to war? No, said Levin -- in fact, while we build up forces in the region, we may be moving the world toward forcing Iraq to stand down. We have to be far more cautious, thoughtful and careful.

Tim then brought up Smirk's economic advisor nominee Steve Friedman, who, it turns out, is top an officer for the conservative, pro-budget-balancing Concord Coalition, advocating a postponement of tax cuts -- giving Santorum a chance to spout supply-side mythology. Santorum wants to fight wars. Levin said Friedman's right -- Smirk-o-nomics doesn't add up. Tim tried to claim that Levin wants to raise taxes, but Levin demolished Tim's spin, saying targeted tax cuts for the poor and middle class are important.

What was odd was that Friedman also advocated screwing the poor and elderly by cutting a Medicare prescription benefit. Tim did not encourage talk about that particular topic. A little too volatile,Tim?

The segment that followed, featuring the dull NY Times commentator Tom Friedman and Wall Street Journal editorial page neo-fascist Paul Gigot, was the usual stage-managed ritual of non-observations and posturing in the service of right-wing viewpoints.

So we rewound the tape in our VCR and watched last night's episode of Saturday Night Live, which we had recorded. It's the funniest episode we've seen in nearly a decade -- better even than John McCain's very funny, self-deprecating and self-parodying appearance of some weeks ago. The parody of the running mate search played out as the awful FOX Television series The Bachelor was sidesplitting (especially the hot-tub scene) -- but best of all was Gore as Senator Trent Lott on Hardball being grilled by a truculent Chris Matthews.

JJ Balzer is a former television news producer. He lives in New York City.