The Week

The week’s lesson is that liberals don’t care what you volunteer for, so long as it’s compulsory.

Although Bob Dole successfully opposed the Chemical Weapons Convention last year, he endorsed it at an April 23 ceremony that helped the White House enjoy one of its best weeks since, well, running against Dole for President. Dole’s endorsement was also a boon for Trent Lott, who is rapidly proving himself Dole’s successor as Senate Majority Leader in every sense of the term. Lott easily had the votes to kill the CWC, but decided instead to offend his conservative base, win media kudos for being a “doer,” and placate the Clinton White House by delivering the GOP votes needed to ratify the treaty. Lott figures his cave-in on CWC will win him White House concessions on the budget. Good luck. If Dole demonstrates that losing is habit-forming, the new Majority Leader is showing that it can be contagious too.

Featured Tags

The week’s lesson is that liberals don’t care what you volunteer for, so long as it’s compulsory.

Although Bob Dole successfully opposed the Chemical Weapons Convention last year, he endorsed it at an April 23 ceremony that helped the White House enjoy one of its best weeks since, well, running against Dole for President. Dole’s endorsement was also a boon for Trent Lott, who is rapidly proving himself Dole’s successor as Senate Majority Leader in every sense of the term. Lott easily had the votes to kill the CWC, but decided instead to offend his conservative base, win media kudos for being a “doer,” and placate the Clinton White House by delivering the GOP votes needed to ratify the treaty. Lott figures his cave-in on CWC will win him White House concessions on the budget. Good luck. If Dole demonstrates that losing is habit-forming, the new Majority Leader is showing that it can be contagious too.