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************************************** Happy Birthday... ...to my wife, Gia ([EMAIL PROTECTED]). As a good husband who knows better than to reveal the age of a lady (especially one with access to one's scalp in the middle of the night), let me just note that this is one of the bigger ones. But like the proverbial fine wine, the lady seems to get better and better with age. Happy birthday, hon! *********************************** Next On the Chopping Block "The next Bush administration senior official to depart may be Christine Todd Whitman, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The former two-term New Jersey governor has never been a big favorite with party solons who view her as being out of step with the GOP base on too many issues. According to one source, the administration is trying to figure out a way for her to leave without losing face -- possibly by shifting her to a plum ambassadorial appointment to a European or Caribbean country with a pleasant climate." - Peter Roff, UPI's Capital Comment, 12/17/02 *********************************** Strength in Numbers If you know someone who might like to receive News & Views, you can sign 'em up at: http://www.chuckmuth.com. And if you want to help us continue offering News & Views to the widest audience possible for FREE, please consider making a "voluntary contribution" (just like the liberals do over at PBS) by going to: http://chuckmuth.com/voluntarysubscription.htm. *********************************** Stand By Your Man "Dumping Trent Lott has become the great morality crusade of certain Republicans. Maybe we shouldn't be too hard on them. Maybe their mamas were frightened by bunny rabbits, or Bambi said boo. "The Democrats didn't even have to try very hard to get the Republicans to bite on this one, and the dump-Lott campaign, of which certain Republicans are inordinately proud, is driven not by Democratic expedience nor even Congressional Black Caucus outrage, but by Republican outrage, much of it no doubt sincere, and Republican fear and opportunism as well." - Wes Pruden, Pruden On Politics, 12/17/02 *********************************** Good Grief "Trent Lott may have been a segregationist, but at least he wasn't a principled segregationist. That pretty well sums up the defense he offered last night on Black Entertainment Television. In an effort to make amends for his pro-segregation comments of two weeks ago, he has essentially promised to endorse the whole liberal agenda on matters racial. " 'What about affirmative action?' BET host Ed Gordon asked Lott. 'I'm for that,' he said. 'Across the board?' 'Absolutely, across the board.' "Lott also said he's conferred with Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and veteran of the civil-rights movement, about 'the need . . . to develop a plan, working together in a bipartisan way, bicameral, and multi-racial, you know, young and old, men and women from all sections of the country to have a task force of reconciliation; sit down and talk.' ".(So how does Lott) propose to make amends for (his comments about Strom Thurmond which have) outraged liberals and conservatives alike? By embracing the entire liberal agenda on race. In doing so he implicitly endorses the smear that the only way not to be a 'racist' is to embrace 'affirmative action' and other such policies. "Lott probably hasn't thought any of this through and is merely thrashing about trying to find a way of surviving politically. But his betrayal of conservative principles is one more reason he deserves to be voted out of the Senate leadership by his Republican colleagues." - Best of the Web, 12/17/02 *********************************** Nice Hair, But. "Mr. Lott has never, in fact, seemed to me qualified for majority leader for any reason other than his nice haircut. When I wholeheartedly agree with some policy he is also advocating and then listen to him make the argument for it on a TV program, he often comes within a hair of changing my mind." - Columnist Jay Ambrose *********************************** Political Albatross "In the world of college fraternities, there is a long-standing custom during what is called Rush Week, when new members are being sought, to hide away those fraternity brothers whose personalities are so visibly unpleasant as to scare off potential members. The ugly brother is told to hide in the frat house basement or stay off the premises altogether when rushees are being shown around. "Republican Sen. Trent Lott's predicament reminded me of that old fraternity custom. Outside of Mississippi, he's going to be invited to go down to a symbolic basement in the 2004 presidential campaign. No matter how many more apology press conferences he schedules nor how many black Americans he hires for his senatorial office between now and 2004, Mr. Lott is going to be an invisible presence in Republican politics, especially at the next Republican presidential convention. "Is an incumbent president, trying to overcome the parental jinx that defeated his father's presidential re-election bid in 1992, going to allow himself to be photographed with Mr. Lott at the nominating convention? Is President Bush going to allow the senator to sit on the convention platform itself, let alone to address the convention, an honor normally due to a Senate majority leader? Would Mr. Bush campaign for re-election in Mississippi in 2004 with Mr. Lott at his side speaking on his behalf? Name a Republican senator up for re-election in 2004 who would invite Mr. Lott to his state for a fund-raising speech? Is the Democratic presidential candidate going to raise the Trent Lott question in the presidential debate with Mr. Bush? "You betcha. The mere thought of going into the 2004 presidential election race with Mr. Lott, a visible figure in Republican politics, should be enough to persuade party leaders to ask Mr. Lott to step down." - Columnist Arnold Beichman *********************************** Communication Breakdown "Sixty percent of Americans believe present immigration levels are a 'critical threat to the vital interests of the United States,' but only 14 percent of the nation's leaders think so, a new analysis (by the Center for Immigration Studies) finds. . . . There is also a similar gap between the public and leaders on illegal immigration. "Among the public, 70 percent think that controlling and reducing illegal immigration should be an important goal of foreign policy, about the same number that ranked energy supplies and military superiority as important. "Only 22 percent of "elites" say reducing illegal immigration is an important foreign policy goal, about the same percentage that ranked trade deficits and protecting weak nations as important." - Washington Times, 12/17/02 *********************************** Honorary Republican What'll John Dendahl think of next? The quintessential New Mexico state GOP chief never misses an opportunity to turn the proverbial lemon into lemonade. Thus, when Democrat Bill Richardson won the state's governor's mansion in November running on a conservative platform, Dendahl did the only thing he could: He made Richardson an "honorary Republican." "WHEREAS, in seeking to become Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson campaigned as an advocate of Republican principles such as restructuring personal income taxes and encouraging expanded private sector employment," reads Dendahl's proclamation. "And WHEREAS, Bill Richardson's campaign for election as Governor of New Mexico raised about three times the funds raised by any other candidate for the office in state history, making him an exemplar of the Democrat caricature of a typical Republican supported by fat cats," it continues. "Now, therefore, without any authority granted to me -- as usual, some might say -- by the State Central Committee of the Republican Party of New Mexico, I do hereby declare Bill Richardson to be an honorary New Mexico Republican with the duty to carry forward the Republican agenda on which he campaigned for office in the year 2002." Dendahl obviously intends to hold Richardson's feet to the fire, making sure the new Guv acts in office the way he campaigned on the stump. And you can bet if Richardson wanders even a foot off the ranch, Dendahl will be there with a cattle prod. This is gonna be fun to watch. *********************************** Left Out In the Cold A number of left-wing Maryland environmental groups are still crying in their beer over the election of Republican Bob Ehrlich in November's gubernatorial race. According to the Washington Times, groups such as the Sierra Club, the Maryland League of Conservation Voters and the Audubon Society are pitching a hissy fit at not being invited to sit at the table of the new chief executive. Now, normally you would see a typical Republican roll over and "reach out" to such liberal special interests groups once the moaning and groaning begins. But Bob Ehrlich ain't your typical Republican. "Several of those organizations worked very hard to defeat Ehrlich, and they are right, we have not sought their opinion," said Ehrlich spokesman Paul Schurick. Schurick went on to point out that during the last eight years when the tree-huggers and bunny-cuddlers had their way with the Democrat administration of Gov. Parris Glendenning, the business community was left out in the cold - usually getting stuck with the bill, to boot. Nice to see the shoe on the other foot for a change. ************************************ Long Savings on Long Distance! 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