Tapped writes:

It looks like pressure is building on Lott, and we expect to start hearing some calls soon from both Democrats and Republicans for him to resign as Senate majority leader.... [W]hile a lot of conservatives may call for his ouster because they think he's a clueless buffoon and the wrong face for the party, something else is going to be in play here. For years, hard-core conservative groups have pushed their allies in the Senate to give Lott the boot. Among really conservative Republicans, Lott is viewed as too much of an accomodationist and deal-maker. They'd rather have someone like Sen. Don Nickles -- who's been breathing down Lott's neck for the past four years -- in charge. Tapped has a feeling that some of these folks, like the Family Research Council, sense a twofer in the offing: Earn some anti-racist cred with the public, and finally get rid of Lott, too.

Not a twofer -- they're looking for a threefer. In addition to appearing anti-racist and dumping someone they think isn't feral enough, they think they'll get to whine about "political correctness" and "witch hunts" based on "speech codes" promulgated by the "liberal media." This future Line of the Day has already shown up in a column at the looney-right NewsMax Web site ("Lott finds himself once again in the crosshairs of the Democratic racial sensitivity police"; thanks to the Mahablog for the link). The line will probably be road-tested further in Ann Coulter's column tomorrow; if Lott gives up the leadership position, expect "centrist" pundits to be reciting it on prime-time cable and Sunday network talk shows very, very soon.