Lott Jumps Ship While Booty Still Good
Breaking from our non-stop Mike Huckabee coverage...Trent Lott announced his resignation from the Senate today, joining a gang of recent Republicans who have jumped ship in recent weeks. Lott's retirement means that Republicans will have to defend 23 seats in next year's election, while Democrats have only 12 seats at stake and further increases the likelihood that we'll see a hell of a sweep next year if Democrats can field a good Presidential candidate and fend off the torrent of dirty tricks sure to follow.
Noting that he bears no anger or malice (interesting choice of words), Lott said it was "time to do other things" in announcing his departure. What other things, you might ask? Well, as ThinkProgress notes today, Lott's retirement comes in JUST under the wire to not be affected by a new law that would require members of congress to be out of office a full two years before registering as a lobbyist. For his part, Lott says the ban didn't play a significant role in his decision to retire early, but who you going to believe? Some left-leaning blog or the guy who fought tooth and nail against the ban before it was passed and whose own son is a lobbyist?
