Ooops! Looks like maybe the gay escort rumors about Senator Lott weren't true. I'm shocked! When would a blog ever publish rumors to incite its readership? Of course, given the behavior of conservative lawmakers, can you blame people for falling for the rumors?
The other rumor - that Lott's quitting to cash in on some sweet lobbying gig - appears to be true:
A near-certain scenario has him teaming up with his son, lobbyist Chester Lott, founder of Lott & Associates. Another, still fluid, idea is partnering with former Louisiana Democratic Sen. John Breaux, who is said to be mulling a departure from the lobbying powerhouse Patton Boggs. Breaux did not return calls for comment.
Of a Lott-Breaux partnership, one lobbyist quipped: "The only real question would be whether they would hire Brinks to bring in the money every day."
His son is a lobbyist? That's kind of sleazy, wouldn't you say?
But more important is what Lott's resignation and likely lobbyist career means for the culture of corruption in Congress. In short, Congress is seen as a stepping stone or proving ground for a lucrative lobbyist career!
...it was not so long ago that K Street jobs were considered consolation prizes for loser lawmakers - charity cases, if you will, that leaned on the quiet generosity of grateful lobbyists after being rejected by voters or becoming too aged or controversial to remain on Capitol Hill.
Money changed all that. As the jobs became more lucrative, including million-dollar contracts, lawmakers found it easier to get over any squeamishness about pitching a client's cause to a former colleague. It also moved up the timing of such a career change, from the closing days of a political career to its twilight to, in Lott's case, a peak.
"It's very clear that being able to go and lobby is seen as the upward track," said Meredith McGehee, of the Campaign Legal Center. "In the old days, you would make money and do these things and then maybe get to run for Congress or the Senate. Today, you run for Congress or the Senate and then, if you're really good, you can move up to become a lobbyist."
Congress has become what rightie Ed Morrisey calls the "AAA affiliate of K Street." What would be delicious is if Lott's resignation and attempts to lobby made him such a figure of ill repute that no lobbyist group would hire him...
Trent Lott's hangin' 'em up. He's quittin', takin' the easy road off into the sunset, ostensibly, as Roll Call reports (subscription req'd), because of a "general fatigue of Congress" and to spend more time with his family.
Yeah, his family of dead presidents:
While the exactly reason Lott is stepping down before he finishes his term is unknown, the general speculation is that a quick departure immunizes Lott against tougher restrictions in a new lobbying law that takes effect at the end of the year. That law would require Senators to wait two-years before entering the lucrative world of lobbying Congress.
That might also explain the recent spate of Republican retirements, might it not? A smart person:
...a friend asked -- with all these mid-term resignations, when is anyone going to stop looking at the political implications and start asking about the ethical ones? It's a fair point -- and one that I hope goes a few steps further.
Big Head DC hears that Hustler's >Larry Flynt may have played a role in the sudden and unexpected announcement of the resignation of Sen. Trent Lott this morning. Flynt was already involved earlier this year in uncovering Sen. David Vitter's involvement with the so-called DC Madam escort service. He has said he would reveal more "huge" tawdry politico sex scandals by year's end.
