Lott Says Immigration Battle Drove Him Out
Former Sen. Trent Lott spoke with reporters as the Senate appears poised to take up immigration reform legislation at the insistence of Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). Lott’s message to Reid was simple: Don’t go there.
Lott said, “I think it’s going to blow up on him. This is not a winning issue politically.”
You may remember Lott tried taking the lead on the Republican side when as Senate Minority Whip he pushed the comprehensive reform bill against the wishes of his constituents. The result according to Lott, he received death threats and verbal assaults making it “one of the reasons I decided to leave when I did.”
That was in the summer of 2007. The bill was killed after bi-partisan opposition. Lott was gone by the end of the year.
Lott also talked about Florida Gov. Charlie Crist who has opted out of the Republican primary where he was trailing Marco Rubio in the neighborhood of 20-25 points in most polls. Crist will run as an Indpendant setting up a competitive three-way race that puts this seat in danger for Republicans.
Lott’s thoughts? “I hope it’s (the reports) wrong, I think it would be a tragic mistake. I think he should have withdrawn or seen it through.”
Immigration and illegal immigrants is a touchy subject no matter what. I do find it interesting that when things were going well economically no one thought anything of the cheap labor that was avaliable. Something has to be done to ensure the well being of all groups involved. With politics involved I am not sure that will ever happen. I hope people will remember you cannot have it both ways. I’ll give Lott one plus, it is not a winning issue politically.