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CNN Live Sunday
Senator Nickles Calls for a Vote to Replace Lott
Aired December 15, 2002 - 17:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Another top political story we're following for you. An apology may not be enough. A Republican senator says Trent Lott may have hurt his ability to advance the GOP agenda. Oklahoma's Don Nickles says Republicans should have an opportunity to choose a new majority leader. Senior White House correspondent John King has details now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senator Lott headed to church knowing the odds he will lose his Senate leadership post are growing. Senator Don Nickles of Oklahoma Sunday became the first Senate Republican to call for a new leadership election. Lott's long-time deputy and rival said: "I am concerned Senator Lott has been weakened to the point that it may jeopardize his ability to enact our agenda and speak to all Americans." It would take just five of the 51 Republican senators to force a caucus meeting, and Nickles' statement immediately put his fellow Republicans on the spot.
SEN. JOHN WARNER (R), VIRGINIA: I feel we should come together as a group, and make that decision, and put to rest once and for all this controversy.
KING: Even a top Lott lieutenant opposed to a new vote now doesn't flatly rule one out.
SEN. RICK SANTORUM (R), PENNSYLVANIA: The next few weeks when we get back, we will probably have that discussion. At this point I don't see support for that idea.
KING: This the speech that ignited the storm. Lott saying the country would have been better off had segregationist Storm Thurmond won the 1948 presidential election. The senator has apologized several times now, but Democrats see a pattern.
Lott opposed integrating his college fraternity, voted in 1982 against expanding the Voting Rights Act, and against the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday in 1983.
REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: That is a mind-set. Sometimes you have those core belief and core feeling that's not easy to dismiss them, to get them out of you.
KING: Lott's effort to quiet the controversy includes a Monday appearance on Black Entertainment Television. Administration sources say Lott appealed for help from two top African-American Bush advisers -- Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, but both refused to issue statements supporting Lott.
The president returned from Camp David. Nothing new to say on the Lott controversy. Top aides say whether to replace Lott as leader is a question for Senate Republicans, not the White House.
(on camera): But more and more here, there are concerns the controversy could cause lasting damage to the Republican Party, and more and more here, there are questions about whether Senator Lott can effectively steer the president's agenda through the Congress.
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 15, 2002 - 17:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Another top political story we're following for you. An apology may not be enough. A Republican senator says Trent Lott may have hurt his ability to advance the GOP agenda. Oklahoma's Don Nickles says Republicans should have an opportunity to choose a new majority leader. Senior White House correspondent John King has details now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senator Lott headed to church knowing the odds he will lose his Senate leadership post are growing. Senator Don Nickles of Oklahoma Sunday became the first Senate Republican to call for a new leadership election. Lott's long-time deputy and rival said: "I am concerned Senator Lott has been weakened to the point that it may jeopardize his ability to enact our agenda and speak to all Americans." It would take just five of the 51 Republican senators to force a caucus meeting, and Nickles' statement immediately put his fellow Republicans on the spot.
SEN. JOHN WARNER (R), VIRGINIA: I feel we should come together as a group, and make that decision, and put to rest once and for all this controversy.
KING: Even a top Lott lieutenant opposed to a new vote now doesn't flatly rule one out.
SEN. RICK SANTORUM (R), PENNSYLVANIA: The next few weeks when we get back, we will probably have that discussion. At this point I don't see support for that idea.
KING: This the speech that ignited the storm. Lott saying the country would have been better off had segregationist Storm Thurmond won the 1948 presidential election. The senator has apologized several times now, but Democrats see a pattern.
Lott opposed integrating his college fraternity, voted in 1982 against expanding the Voting Rights Act, and against the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday in 1983.
REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: That is a mind-set. Sometimes you have those core belief and core feeling that's not easy to dismiss them, to get them out of you.
KING: Lott's effort to quiet the controversy includes a Monday appearance on Black Entertainment Television. Administration sources say Lott appealed for help from two top African-American Bush advisers -- Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, but both refused to issue statements supporting Lott.
The president returned from Camp David. Nothing new to say on the Lott controversy. Top aides say whether to replace Lott as leader is a question for Senate Republicans, not the White House.
(on camera): But more and more here, there are concerns the controversy could cause lasting damage to the Republican Party, and more and more here, there are questions about whether Senator Lott can effectively steer the president's agenda through the Congress.
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
