There was an interesting article in the Galveston, Texas, newspaper "The Daily News," on Mississippi senator Trent Lott's intention of taking back the Senate Majority leader post next year (
Lott might run for majority leader post).
Among other tidbits, he back-stabs Frisk and claims to want more senate oversight of the White House.
Some choice quotes:
Congress' oversight role has been diminishing since before George W. Bush became president and it's time to revive it,[...snip...]
And
Lott said Frist didn't have the experience to lead a political body as fractious as the Senate.
"I don't think he'll go down in history as one of the greats," Lott said Saturday.
Frist, who is dogged by questions about stock transactions involving the family company, plans to step down next year as majority leader to make a run for the presidency. It's a run that Lott doesn't think much of.
"I don't think he has a shot at that," Lott said.
Also worthy of note is that this is the first public reference he's made on wanting to take back the majority leader post, and it was made in a Texas newspaper vice Mississippi newspaper.
Now he says if he's re-elected in November, and if other circumstances are right, he would make a bid next year to re-enter the Senate leadership. If successful, he would be the first senator in history to do so.
Lott's term current ends this year and he was toying with possible retirement almost to the last minute before the campaign filing deadline. When he announced he would seek re-election, he claimed hurricane Katrina made him do it.
My cut is that his popularity was failing among his base (the Mississippi Costal area) until Katrina and his personal involvement with helping folks cut through FEMA and other relief assistance BS. Having his home destroyed during the storm also bought him some sympathy from other people here who suffered storm damage. And opening a lawsuit against the insurance companies over flood vs. wind damage claims gained him a LOT of approval here.
Until Lott made senate majority leader, he could do no wrong in this part of the state. After, people started grumbling that he had forgotten where he came from. When he lost his Senate majority post, the common consensus here was that Bush had pushed him out for his hand-picked favorite.
The bright spot is that there are now four Democrats in the Mississippi primaries contending for Lott's seat, along with a Libertarian. The four Dems are:
James O'Keefe, son of former Biloxi Mayor Jerry O'Keefe
Bill Bowlin, from Hickory Flat
Erik Fleming, from Clinton
Catherine M. Starr, from Hattiesburg
O'Keefe has been an outspoken supporter of the 12 Mile Coalition, which formed to fight gov Barbour's desire to drill for oil in the state's offshore barrier islands (which also are part of the national park holdings). Although the talk of drilling offshore has died down some since hurricane Katrina (possibly due to more people realizing what could have happened had here been working oil rigs there when Katrina's surge submerged the islands), the fight is still not over.
Lott of course, as a good republican, is in favor of offshore drilling. I see him as the consummate opportunist, and the epitome of an arrogant, hypocritical republican party.
Althought it is a long-shot, there is hope he won't be a contender for majority leader next year, and there is a new freshman senator from the state of Mississippi.