Word: lott
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...After making plenty of December noise about mucking up George W. Bush's first days in office with campaign finance reform, soft money's Don Quixote emerged from Trent Lott's office Friday with a deal to give the new guy time to kick off his legislative agenda with something a little more on-message...
...have John talk," says an Ashcroft partisan, "the conversation will cease." But it had already become clear that Ashcroft's vote count had fallen from 70 to around 60 as the interest groups on the left were able to concentrate their fire on him. G.O.P. leader Trent Lott announced last week that all 50 Senate Republicans were lined up to confirm--it takes only a simple majority--but that was as much a brave hope as a real prediction. Just one Republican defection could unify the opposition and sink Ashcroft's nomination...
...likely that the confirmation hearings will reflect the overall tenor of the Senate in this new era. On Friday, Trent Lott and Tom Daschle hammered out a power-sharing arrangement that was approved by both sides. The deal would give the parties equal membership and staffing on the Senate committees--a huge Republican concession, though the G.O.P. would continue to control the chairmanships and, if a committee splits down the middle, have the right to bring bills to the floor for votes. Conservatives grouse that Lott gave away too much. "It's difficult for me to see how two people...
McCain is not merely forcing Bush's hand; he's taking on his party's leadership, as usual. Republican leader Trent Lott and most of his G.O.P. caucus loathe the prospect of McCain's bill being the first thing the Senate debates this year. The measure would stop millions of dollars in unregulated soft money from flowing into both parties, a spigot Lott and Bush don't want to shut off. Bush, who is irritated and puzzled by his former rival's gambit, also opposes McCain's bill because it doesn't protect union members from having their dues...
...Lott is trying to outmaneuver McCain, perhaps by pre-empting his bill with one that Hagel has crafted--a rival measure that conservative Republicans find more palatable. Instead of an outright ban, Hagel's measure would put a cap of $60,000 on the soft-money contributions a business, union, pac or individual could make in any year. The Nebraska Senator says he's having "serious discussions" with Bush aides on fine-tuning the measure so the new President might back it. McCain could also be derailed with a little presidential pressure. Some of the G.O.P. Senators supporting his bill...