Lott To Resign

JACKSON, Miss. — Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, the Senate's No. 2 Republican, plans to resign his seat before the end of the year, congressional and Bush administration officials said Monday.

Lott, 66, scheduled two news conferences in Pascagoula and Jackson later in the day to reveal his plans. According to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement, Lott intends to resign effective at the end of the year.

...Lott's colleagues elected him as the Senate's Republican whip last year, a redemption for the Mississippian after his ouster five years ago as the party's Senate leader over remarks he made at retiring Sen. Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party in 2002. Lott had saluted the South Carolina senator with comments later interpreted as support for southern segregationist policies.

Well, birds of a feather...

But seriously, something major is happening here. The amount of resignations over the last few months is not something I remember as a normal thing towards the end of an administration. Are the rats truly deserting the sinking ship?

What do they know that we don't, that is causing an exodus from Washington? Something of epic proportions is going to break soon. One would have thought it was the McClellan book quote story - or non-story as the "liberal" media would have you believe. A cackling laugh or a $400 haircut is major news, but the possibility that the highest officials in our government committed treason is something to be buried in the back pages.

Speculation is that Lott is trying to beat the new rule for former Senators joining lobbying groups. By resigning before the end of the year, Mr. Lott would beat the effective date for new ethics rules that double to two years the amount of time former Senators must wait before they can join a firm to lobby former colleagues. The new rule applies to those who leave office “on or after” Dec. 31.