by Bob Roehr
Senator Trent Lott (R-Mississippi) shocked Capitol Hill with an announcement on November 26 that he will step down by the end of the session. The minority whip, and former majority leader, is one of the most powerful members of that chamber.
Lott, 66, said he was leaving while there was still time to do other things, though he indicated no firm plans at this moment. He cited frustration with "the great difficulty in passing needed legislation." His frustration was likely to grow as a handful of other retirements make it inevitable that Republicans will sink even further into minority status in the Senate.
He said he had considered not running for reelection last year, but Hurricane Katrina had devastated Mississippi in 2005. He used his seniority to bring federal resources to the state to help it rebuild.
Observers have noted that new Senate ethics rules kick in at the beginning of next year. They double the waiting period for lobbying for a retiring Senator, from one to two years. That might have influenced the timing of Lott's decision.
Lott had a solidly antigay voting record, consistently earning zeros from the Human Rights Campaign. He blocked the confirmation of James Hormel to be the first openly gay US Ambassador. The issue was resolved only when President Bill Clinton made a "recess appointment" while the Senate was not in session, and Hormel served with distinction.
The Senator earlier had earned the wrath of the gay community with comments made in 1998 in an interview with conservative radio talk show host Armstrong Williams. He compared homosexuality to alcoholism and kleptomania.
Williams had his own brushes with homosexuality, having been sued by a male personal trainer for same-sex sexual harassment. The matter was later resolved without going to trial.
Lott had been forced to step down as majority leader in 2002 after remarks at Sen. Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party were taken to mean support for the segregationist ideals that Thurmond championed in his 1948 bid for the presidency. But he was able to rehabilitate himself, winning back the number two position in the Senate leadership by one vote, after the last election.
This being Washington, there are rumors that sex in behind Lott's resignation. Lott being Republican, the prefix homo has been attached to those rumors.
The blog "Big Head DC" alleged that the male escort working as "Benjamin Nicholas" had liaisons with Lott on at least two occasions. "Nicholas" would later deny such contact. Two years ago an individual using that name had written an article offering advice on how to be a male escort, chief of which was the need for discretion.
That prompted on poster to ask whether "Nicholas" was initially lying about having had sex with Lott, or was lying now in denying ever having had such activity, in an attempt to maintain "professional standards."
Hustler magazine purchased a full page ad in the Washington Post last June offering a "$1 million reward" to anyone who could provide evidence of improper sexual activity by high government officials. Publisher Larry Flynt is playing coy with the Lott situation.
