GOOD RIDDANCE TO TRENT LOTT (R-KKK)

Last night there was a great deal of speculation about why Trent Lott was resigning a senate career that could go on until 2012-- or forever. He is set to announce he's leaving this afternoon, but is unlikely to give the real reason. The consensus is that he needs to resign before the end of the year in order to avoid the new lobbying restrictions he fought which require senators to wait 2 years before they can start gorging themselves on K Street.

No reason for Lott's resignation was given, but according to a congressional official, there is nothing amiss with Lott's health. The senator has "other opportunities" he plans to pursue, the official said, without elaborating. Lott was re-elected to a fourth Senate term in 2006... Lott becomes the sixth Senate Republican this year to announce retirement.

Others claim that Larry Flynt is on to Lott and that he's resigning now rather than face Larry Craig-like humiliation. I have it from a reliable DC source that "Lott would cruise the area gay bars whilst wearing a different toupée from his usual one. He apparently thought that was enough of a disguise."

One thing is certain, though. Lott is one of the most reactionary members of the Senate. His ranking at Progressive Punch is near the bottom of the barrel, one of the 10 most right-wing members of the senate. Although he represents the poorest state in the Union, he consistently votes against the interests of his constituents across a broad array of issues, especially on matters concerning workers' rights to unionize, health care, housing, family planning, education, checking corporate power. And he has been a rabid supporter of the Bush-Cheney agenda in the Middle East. It will be wonderful to see him go, although, sadly, it would be foolhearty to expect even the slightest improvement from the most backward state in America. The two most touted leading contenders to replace him, Chip Pickering and Roger Wicker, are both far right extremists, each a narrow-minded bigot, happily serving the interests of the wealthy and doing everything in his power to stomp on the aspirations of working Americans and the middle class. Go Miss!


UPDATE: HOW WILL THE NEXT REACTIONARY FROM MISSISSIPPI BE SELECTED?

Mississippi's corporatist reactionary governor, Haley Barbour (R) will select someone within 10 days of Lott's departure. Then in November, 2008, there will be an election to fill the remaining 4 years of Lott's term. Pickering has made it clear that he either gets the senate job or he leaves politics; he had already announced his retirement from the House after Thad Cochran said he would be running for the Senate again. Statewide politics in Mississippi is just a Republican thing. The state is so racist and backward that no one adhering to even the most basic Democratic values can possibly win any statewide offices there. Last year the Democrat who ran against Lott, in a hugely Democratic year in the non-Confederate part of America, got only 35% of the vote. In the 2 previous senate elections, the Democrats who went up against Lott wound up with 31 and 32% and the last time Cochran ran, the Democrats didn't even bother putting up a candidate against him. (The time before that the Democrat got 27% of the vote.) Kerry took 40% of the vote against Bush.

Oh, and Lott, a bold-faced liar to the end, isn't acknowledging what is common knowledge on Capitol Hill-- that he wants to cash in as a lobbyist-- but says he may become a school teacher.


UPDATE: HUSTLER MAGAZINE WON'T COMMENT BUT THE STORIES ABOUT TRENT LOTT ARE LEAKING OUT ALREADY

A post about a male escort who was having sex with homophobic extremist Trent Lott was removed. It now says: Error 404 – File Not Found. But before it said that, it said this:

Once upon a time, there was a twentysomething boy-next-door type with reddish blond hair and a brilliantly white smile. Not one to shy away from attention, he wrote a blog called "Fifteen Minutes," and also became a freelance writer for various publications, including The Stranger in Seattle. He'd often focus on his non-traditional lifestyle as a gay male escort — a topic that often fascinated his readers, which, in turn, helped him to garner a substantial amount of powerful
business acquaintances through the years.

Based in San Antonio, he would travel all over the world to meet his clients, which included high profile celebrities, businessmen and even politicians in the United States Congress.

Sometimes within his writings he'd give advice on how other males could become successful escorts. Other times he'd post videos of himself flexing on YouTube. Once, he even scolded gay escort Mike
Jones for outing Rev. Ted Haggard as one of his gay escort business participants.

"You were paid for sex, Mike," he wrote in 2006. "The most important rule you can follow when taking people's money in exchange for sex is that—no matter what—their lives stay their own and whatever passes between the two of you remains private. Period."

Many of his clients greatly appreciate his professionalism. In fact, according to one 66-year-old patron who reviewed him on a gay escort site, he is "a very reliable escort who keeps you informed."

The boy happens to be real, and his "stage name" is Benjamin Nicholas. One of the politicos Big Head DC has learned he's alleged to have been involved with is the married Sen. Trent Lott, 66, who unexpectedly announced his retirement on Monday. Lott is well-known to have been against a plethora of gay rights issues throughout his terms in Congress. He was also good friends with Sen. Larry Craig throughout his time in Congress.

Nicholas told Big Head DC today via e-mail that he didn't want to go on the record to talk about his dealings with Lott, because, said Nicholas, "Trent is going through his fair share of scrutiny right now
and I don't want to add to it." However, e-mail and other records confirm that the two have met on at least two occasions.

"All I can say at this point is no comment," Nicholas told us. "It's the professional thing for me to do."

In a subsequent e-mail message, Nicholas confirmed that another publication is working on a story about a "possible relationship" between Lott and himself, but Nicholas also "politely declined" an
interview for that story.

"As I said before, Lott has quite a bit on his plate right now and I don't really want to add fuel to the embers," Nicholas told Big Head DC.

UPDATE: SO WERE LOTT AND THE MALE ESCORT HAVING AN AFFAIR OR NOT?

The Big Head DC site is back in action and the original post is back online. But it's now preceded by a denial Benjamin Nicholas-- a denial that seems to indicate that he may have been involved sexually with Trent Lott in the past! Here's the statement: "Here’s my public comment, on-the-record: Sen. Lott and I have no current affiliation with one another. I’m sure he would appreciate no further scrutiny.” Does that clear matters up?

Meanwhile, Hustler Magazine publisher Larry Flynt won't say whether he's got the goods on Lott or not. "Huster Magazine has received numerous inquiries regarding the involvement of Larry Flynt and Hustler in the resignation of Trent Lott. Senator Lott has been the target of an ongoing Hustler investigation for some time now, due to confidential information that we have received."