Saving
the Mandate
A
BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
by Bob Gaiek
Dear BuzzFlash,
BuzzFlash.com has proved to be the only "reliable source" to ferret out the real story underlying the Trent Lott caper. The destruction of Lott was engineered by a true political genius -- the White House Political Advisor.
Soon after the mid-term elections, GOP loyalists and pundits hooted and howled about the "crushing mandate" the Campaigner-in-Chief had just received from the electorate. BuzzFlash clearly defined a key element of the electorate as "the white racially-biased male vote of the south". The voters who would make sure that George W. Bush would be re-elected in 2004.
Skeptics of the mainstream media still have not caught on. Lott is finished and that story is over; he will probably follow historical precedent and resign from the Senate. As one unattributed source remarked, "so be it." Saving the mandate and pushing through the real agenda is more important than one senate seat.
The nice thing about having control over all branches of government is that a political party can advance it's agenda in more than one way. The House is in good hands with the predictable leadership of Tom DeLay. The Senate was questionable under the leadership of Trent Lott. The Agenda could advance more quickly under the leadership of someone like Senator Rick Santorum, R-Pennsylvania -- someone who has a "strong record on supporting minority opportunities" according to the Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59200-2002Dec15.html
He is also "one of the Senate's scrappiest members" the Post reports. Just the kind of guy a chief political advisor could come to love. It does not hurt that he represents a state that Bush lost in 2000 -- a state that seems more hospitable since the surprise imposition of steel tariffs after trade legislation was passed.
Being in a regular "prayer group" with people like Trent Lott -- as he divulged on Meet the Press Sunday -- does not hurt either. Passing "faith based" legislation is key to an administration that cherishes it's compassionate conservative label.
In his appearance on BET, Trent Lott confessed to a newfound belief in the importance of affirmative action. One would think that would be enough to convince the strongest skeptics that Lott was politically born again and ready to legislate like a moderate -- ready and able to be the Majority Leader of the Senate. That would be an incorrect assumption. That other branch of government is poised to bring some semblance of order to the mess caused by affirmative action.
While Trent Lott was taping his BET apology, Bob Novak revealed on CNN's Inside Politics that Ted Olson had just volunteered to "intervene in the anti-affirmative action now pending before the court to be decided later this year."
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0212/16/ip.00.html
According to Novak, "it is a popular position with many Americans, to be against affirmative action" as it is presented in this University of Michigan case. When Judy Woodruff inquired if "this was a White House call" Novak replied in the affirmative, no pun intended.
Ah, the beauty of unbridled power. Some would say Ted Olsen never got the credit he deserved for insuring the Supreme Court would rule for the good guys in Bush v. Gore. Now he is quietly working on the only mandate that really counts -- getting George W. Bush elected fair and square.
Bob
Gaiek, Atlanta
A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
Articles in the BuzzFlash Contributor section are posted as-is. Given the timeliness of some Contributor articles, BuzzFlash cannot verify or guarantee the accuracy of every word. We strive to correct inaccuracies when they are brought to our attention.
