The Hotline: Lott elected Minority Whip by vote of 25-24

[Sam Spade]

No it is secret ballot.

After seeing Reid constantly outmanuever Frist, I am glad we have Lott back on the leadership team.

I don't think Lott is any better at maneuvering than Frist, though I think he's slightly better at behind-the-scene work (which is what a whip does) and my gut tells me, better than Lamar Alexander would have been. 

Of course, McConnell is not a public figure, so that means Lott will probably be front and center again in the media (for better or worse, can't tell right now).  Ironically, the one thing my Al-like grandfather and me agreed on was that Lott really got a raw deal on the whole Strom Thurmond incident.  I suspect many here will not agree.

Having McConnell rather than Frist at minority leader is where the difference will be found.  Frist didn't know jack about Senate rules, whereas McConnell is a master of them.  That's where the difference.

[Sam Spade]

Uh, I'm really kinda confused how people are making this the landmark decision that will change the course of the Republican party in the future based on some event five years ago.

How many people in the US know who the Minority Whip in the Senate is?(or Majority Whip, for that matter)  I mean, unless Lott says something really dumb in public again, who is going to care?  I suspect if he's smart, he stays in the background for the most part, because that's the job of Whips, to whip their party members into submission (for all you weirdos out there) and not to be public figures.  After all, it's not like Dick Durbin's statement that America was running gulags in Iraq really had any effect on public opinion whatsoever.

The election for House minority leader and Senate minority leader (much, much more than the House) are more important than this election, even though no one will know who they are either.  The general point is that Republicans don't have to make themselves into public figures to represent Republicans right now, because they've got Bush to cover that angle for them.  For the Democrats, the creation of public figures to represent "Democrats" is of much greater importance.

With John Kerry leaving to the sidelines (hopefully for good), the face of the Democratic party will be undergoing transition.  Normally, until we have the 2008 Presidential nominee, this spot will be up for grabs for about the next year or so.  The most likely candidates to take this position are the new leaders in the Senate and the House, since they will be in opposition to the Republican leader, Bush. 

Harry Reid is not well-suited for this position, IMO, and he will probably correctly pass.  I suspect Nancy Pelosi doesn't want to be in this position.  So, it will probably come down to House Majority leader.  Steny Hoyer is not that great of a public face, so if he wins, Nancy will probably be front-and-center, which is probably not too bad of a thing, since I think she's probably smart enough to force the issue in ways that will benefit her. 

Murtha, on the other hand, loves the public spotlight and seems to be eager to assume this role.  The problem is that, quite frankly, he isn't smart enough for it and can be outmaneuvered fairly easily.  Which is precisely the reason why, if the Dems are smart, they don't let him anywhere near the spot.