WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE. . .

For several days now, I’ve been searching for a conservative to come to the defense of incoming Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. I haven’t found one. In fact, I constitute one of his biggest defenders simply because I don’t think he should be dumped from the GOP leadership because he’s allegedly racist. I think he should be dumped because he’s politically stupid. . . .

One has only two choices here: Either, you take Lott at his word or you don’t. If you don’t believe him, then, well, he’s a racist and a foolish one for being so obvious about it. But if you take him at his word, that he made a mistake, that’s even worse. I mean, he’s been smeared with the racist label enough times to have learned his lesson, especially considering the fact he’s supposed to lead the Republican Party.

Regardless, Trent Lott only does two things well, freeze-dry his hair and say stupid things. He mishandled impeachment, mishandled the 1998 elections, mishandled power-sharing with the Democrats after the 2000 election and mishandled Jim Jeffords straight into the Democratic Party.

One reason so many conservatives are denouncing Lott is that he’s never given conservatives much reason to trust him or care about him. He’s a deal-cutter who seems to stand for nothing except massive amounts of pork to his home state and, occasionally, sticking up for Jim Crow.

Ouch.