Frist was scared to investigate a fellow Repuke...that's why the confusion

[Roland99]

about the letter he signed or didn't sign or signed but didn't tell anybody.

http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/111005/news4.html

Instead, the premature release of Frist and Hastert’s letter set off a chain of events that drew attention to what some House Republicans call the inability of the Senate to coordinate with them.

The mix-up renewed the criticism often voiced by House Republicans that it can be difficult to coordinate party message with Senate Republicans.

...

CNN reported earlier in the day that Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) had said a Republican senator may have leaked information about the so-called black sites to the Post. Lott told reporters yesterday that he had been talking about another Post article. He said he was not talking about the article about the detention and interrogation facilities.

GOP aides conjectured privately that Frist’s delay in signing the letter may have been caused by concern over the possibility of endangering a Republican senator by calling for the investigation.

They are so worried about the appearances of staying on message and not attacking other Republicans and only opening investigations if it will make the Dems look bad reveals the FACT that the GOP is engaging in the criminalization of politics and that the label "Culture of Corruption" is the most perfect label befitting the GOP.

[MADem]

1. I said this in another thread on this issue, but it bears repeating

TRENT LOTT is the key, here. I think Trent, if he did not spill those beans himself, arranged for some bean spilling to happen. This is a coordinated campaign, all right--by Trent Lott. Trent wants the LEADER mantle that was stolen, stripped from him, after the Strom thing, in order to install a compliant toady as Leader who would answer to the WH and not to the interests of the majority senators. The only guy who was EVER able to herd those cats, to make the Senate a "cohesive group," was Trent. He knew how to kiss ass, kick butt and twist arms, and they tossed him over the side because he would not cede his own authority or the advise and consent role of the Senate:

“It’s very hard to get the Senate to partner in the message,” said Rep. Jack Kingston (Ga.), vice chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and head of the House GOP “Theme Team.” “The Senate is not a cohesive group. Even within the Senate’s <55> majority senators, you can’t get them to coordinate.”

Kingston said the last time there was such a communications mix-up was before the August recess, when Frist announced his support for legislation expanding stem-cell research, something conservatives vigorously oppose, without consulting with the House. That announcement eclipsed the planned Republican message touting the passage of long-stalled energy and transportation legislation.

“I think sometimes the Frist press people get ahead of themselves,” Kingston said.

...The short news report immediately created a clamor among the Capitol Hill press corps for more information about the probe. The media demand prompted the Speaker’s office to release copies of the letter to the press between 12:30 and 1 p.m., before Hastert had a chance to read and approve the demand, said reporters who received copies of the letter. Hastert didn’t sign the letter until about 1:10 p.m....

I think, at this point, Trent does not care if he is the MAJORITY leader, or the MINORITY leader. He just wants the damn job back. He is a lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way kind of guy, and he wants to push those idiots who need to get out of the way aside, and do what needs doing himself. He is one of the few on the GOP side who maintains close, productive relationships with the other caucus. He is no fool, no bridge burner.

[Roland99]

2. He needs to go whittle some wood on his front porch.

[MADem]

3. No--the enemy of our enemy is our friend

Trent Lott hates Bush more than some Senate DINOs do. It was not simply an act of kindness that the FIRST phone call Trent got after the hurricane blew through was from...JOHN KERRY. Teresa sent down a planeload of shit to help him and his neighbors out in those first few days.

Think strategically. Trent can be a great help to us. His agenda coincides with ours.