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December 18, 2002, 8:45 a.m. Mitch McConnell MIA. By NRO Staff

EDITOR’S NOTE: The newspaper accounts tell us that Senator Trent Lott is taking the names of who is or isn't going to stand by him while he tries to maintain his hold on power by any means necessary. Well, so is NRO. We know the senators want this matter to operate by the super-secret rules of the Skull & Bones Society, but it's too important for that. Excuse us for noting the performance of senators at a crucial time for the GOP.

itch McConnell is smart and tough as nails. There is good reason for his being frequently mentioned as a possible Senate Majority Leader. And anyone who loves the First Amendment owes him a debt for his relentless opposition to campaign-finance reform.

But McConnell is aiding and abetting an ongoing Republican nightmare, as he helps prop Trent Lott up to be a punching bag for the Democrats and to continue his sell-out apology tour.

In light of the hypocrisy of many of Lott's Left-wing critics, there was something satisfying (if not particularly high-minded) in McConnell's threat on Sunday to censure Democratic old-bull senators who have made racially insensitive remarks over the years. But this was partisan toughness in the service of partisan self-immolation.

Senator Robert Byrd is, unfortunately, not the point. Senator Byrd is not hurting the Republican party now. Senator Byrd is not causing — thanks to his ego and devotion to power — a drawn-out meltdown. Senator Lott is.

That McConnell is Lott's friend increases his obligation to tell Lott the truth: that he probably can't win this fight and that, even if he could, it wouldn't be worth it, not if he cares about the GOP.

The conventional wisdom has been that McConnell is well positioned in any Lott succession struggle, since he has demonstrated his loyalty (apparently the foremost Senate value) over the last week. But he could play that hand too long, since loyalty to the party ultimately should trump loyalty to the current Majority Leader.

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