Republican resignations are usually such good news, too
Former Senate Majority Leader--and current douchebag (with all due apologies to douchebags everywhere!)--Trent Lott is resigning by the end of the year. Wasn't he just re-elected, you ask? Why yes; yes he was. So why resign now? I mean, it's not like the unregenerate racist and corrupt scumbag feels any shame for being caught in scandals--that happened before his 2006 decision to ignore them and run again.
Apparently, though, being in the minority is less fun than running the country into the ditch--the ditch of Hell, that is--even though the Republicans in the Senate have no problems stopping any and all legislation they dislike. The major reasons, then, for the timing of his resignation must be 1) selfish; and 2) political.
The selfish reason is that there is new legislation coming down the pike that will increase the time a public servant has to wait before becoming a lobbyist. The new ethics rule, which goes into effect on Jan. 1 (gee, what a shocker ol' Trent will be gone by 12/31!), will delay the transformation of corrupt pols to those doing the corrupting for 2 years; there is currently a 1 year waiting period. Trent apparently can't put off the inevitable and massive income raise he'll be getting from his right wing masters those extra 365 days. Such a financial hardship, I know.
The political reason, and given Trent's history of a lack of any kind of ethical behavior in his pursuit of Republican power, we know that there is one, is that this will give his successor the time it takes to achieve the veneer (and real world advantages, too, of course) of incumbency for the November 2008 election he will then face to complete Lott's term.
In Mississippi, the governor gets to appoint a replacement to any Senate openings, and since Haley Barbour is an old-school Republican hack, we know he's been in on this since Lott decided to run again. Expect a cleaner version of Lott to fill that seat for the next 4+ years, not that that says much . . .
Mississippi. Once again reclaiming the title of the only state Alabama can look down upon!
Apparently, though, being in the minority is less fun than running the country into the ditch--the ditch of Hell, that is--even though the Republicans in the Senate have no problems stopping any and all legislation they dislike. The major reasons, then, for the timing of his resignation must be 1) selfish; and 2) political.
The selfish reason is that there is new legislation coming down the pike that will increase the time a public servant has to wait before becoming a lobbyist. The new ethics rule, which goes into effect on Jan. 1 (gee, what a shocker ol' Trent will be gone by 12/31!), will delay the transformation of corrupt pols to those doing the corrupting for 2 years; there is currently a 1 year waiting period. Trent apparently can't put off the inevitable and massive income raise he'll be getting from his right wing masters those extra 365 days. Such a financial hardship, I know.
The political reason, and given Trent's history of a lack of any kind of ethical behavior in his pursuit of Republican power, we know that there is one, is that this will give his successor the time it takes to achieve the veneer (and real world advantages, too, of course) of incumbency for the November 2008 election he will then face to complete Lott's term.
In Mississippi, the governor gets to appoint a replacement to any Senate openings, and since Haley Barbour is an old-school Republican hack, we know he's been in on this since Lott decided to run again. Expect a cleaner version of Lott to fill that seat for the next 4+ years, not that that says much . . .
Mississippi. Once again reclaiming the title of the only state Alabama can look down upon!
Labels: Haley Barbour, Mississippi politics, Trent Lott, US Senate
posted by bryduck at 10:05 AM
1 Comments:
Update: there is a legal hitch to the plan. According to Miss. law, if any resignation occurs in a non-election year (2007, for example), the governor has to call for a special election to be held within 90 days of the resignation. This means any replacement Barbour names will only have 3 months to establish himself--not enough to do much good.
If Trent resigns in an election year (2008, of course), Barbour names someone to serve until the regular election date in November, garnering the benefits mentioned in my post. Of course, Trent would then have to abide by the 2 year lobbyist rule.
Naturally, Barbour and the rest of the clowns in the Republican Party are trying to game the system and have it both ways. Surprised?
We'll see how it plays out; what tells me they'll get what they want and the rule of law will have to go suck it yet again?
Post a Comment
<< Home