Ohio senators stand by their man

Republican leaders will have a caucus Jan. 6 to decide what to do about Lott.
By DAVID ENRICH
STATES NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON -- Ohio's two Republican senators stood by their embattled party leader Monday, even as some of their colleagues called for a new vote on whether Trent Lott should remain majority leader.
Sens. Mike DeWine and George V. Voinovich said Lott should not be ousted from his post and they accepted his apology for saying the country would have been better off if a segregationist had been elected president in 1948.
In the wake of mounting criticism from black leaders and conservative commentators, a handful of top Republican senators have said in recent days the party should reconsider its unanimous vote last month to select Lott as Senate majority leader.
"I am concerned that Trent has been weakened to the point that may jeopardize his ability to enact our agenda and speak to all Americans," Don Nickles of Oklahoma, the Senate's No. 2 Republican, said Sunday.
"There are several outstanding senators who are more than capable of effective leadership and I hope we have an opportunity to choose."
Republican leaders have scheduled a Jan. 6 caucus to decide whether to hold a new election for their Senate leader. A majority of the party's 51 senators would need to agree to invalidate Lott's previous election and have a new vote.
In their words
"I don't think that Trent Lott's a racist," DeWine said. "I think he 's a good person. He has apologized and I don't think it's the right thing to do to hold another election. We just voted several weeks ago to elect him the leader of the Senate."
Voinovich spokesman Scott Milburn said the senator doesn't think Lott should step down and doesn't support the idea of a meeting to elect a new GOP leader.
The Ohioans' continued support for Lott runs counter to what some of their constituents are saying. Both offices are reporting dozens of phone calls from those who want Lott to step down -- many times more than the number of calls they are receiving in Lott's defense.
"The people that are motivated to pick up the phone ... are the people that tend to be in opposition to something," said DeWine spokeswoman Amanda Flaig.
DeWine acknowledged that Lott's statement about Sen. Strom Thurmond "has certainly been hurtful" to the Republican Party as it tries to woo minority voters, but he argued the remarks, while racially insensitive, would not be detrimental.
"Although our party certainly has a long ways to go to be an inclusive party, George Bush is taking us in the right direction," DeWine said.
"We're going to be judged, I think, by George Bush more than by any one senator or any one representative."
Possible challengers
Nickles and Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee are rumored to be considering a challenge to Lott.
Both Ohio senators could face a tough choice, in part because of their histories with some of the current GOP leaders.
For example, Voinovich and Nickles have recently joined forces on a number of legislative issues, including securing loan guarantees for ailing steel companies and the so-called Patients Bill of Rights.
Several potential candidates to replace Lott -- Nickles, Frist and Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the incoming majority whip -- all contributed money to DeWine's son, Pat, who last year ran for a seat on Cincinnati City Council.
Some Republican aides and lawmakers said Lott might voluntarily relinquish his leadership post if he senses his colleagues are going to vote to replace him, but other Republicans have warned that if Lott loses his majority leader post, he might resign from the Senate.
Mississippi's Democratic governor would appoint a replacement, presumably a Democrat, leaving the Senate evenly split between the two parties.