It is no fun if you are not in the majority...

It looks like Sen. Lott is not the only one...

Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott's resignation announcement on Monday was the latest in a wave of retirements to hit congressional Republicans, making an already difficult 2008 electoral landscape even more complicated for the minority party.

Party officials insist that the retirements -- 17 members of the House and six senators -- are simply the result of individual decisions and not indicative of a broader negative sentiment within the party. "I don't hear a drumbeat that 'We're not effective and I don't like it here anymore,' " said National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (Okla).

But with so many lawmakers -- including a large number from competitive states and districts -- heading for the exits, it's hard not to point to the GOP's newfound minority status in Washington, the turnover in party leadership and the perilous political environment heading into 2008 to explain the exodus.

Another surprise yesterday came from Rep. J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), who was toppled from the speaker's chair by Republican losses in 2006 and had said in August that he would not run for reelection. Hastert revealed that he is leaving immediately, allowing Illinois to hold a special primary election for his seat Feb. 5.

"The one thing the open seats have in common is that there is no one who can squeeze [an incumbent] into an uncomfortable place to convince them to stay," said Dan Hazelwood, a Republican direct-mail consultant who has worked on dozens of House campaigns. "There was always a cogent and powerful person to say: 'The team needs you.' There is less of that, but it's also unclear that the team needs them."

Regardless of the reasons for the retirements, Republicans find themselves in serious danger of falling deeper into the minority in both the House and Senate in 2008.

Many retirements have come in seats and states that are competitive between the parties. Republican senators' retirements in Virginia, Colorado and New Mexico have created races in which Democrats are favored to win next November. The same holds true in the House, where open GOP districts in Ohio, Arizona and Illinois are primed to go to Democrats.

Emboldened by the House and Senate majorities they won last year, Democrats have had almost no retirements. Five members of the House are stepping down or running for higher office in 2008, but none of the vacated seats is expected to be competitive. No Senate Democrat up for reelection this cycle has announced plans to retire.

Republicans also face a daunting financial gap at the congressional level, the likes of which they have not seen in decades. At the end of October, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had $29 million in the bank to spend on House races -- roughly 14 times the $2.56 million its Republican counterpart had at that time.

The disparity on the Senate side is smaller but no less significant. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee showed $23.4 million on hand at the end of October, compared with $9.5 million for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

"The challenge is that [open seats] spread thin resources even more thinly," said Glen Bolger, a prominent Republican pollster. "Places you'd like to play offense, you might not play because you have to play defense" elsewhere.

Pointing to millions spent on open-seat contests in recent years, one senior Republican strategist was blunt. "Open seats are bought, not won," the source said.

More...

LINK: GOP Comeback Climb Is Increasingly Steep

The more that resign, the merrier. That's what I say!

-Mr. Joseph

Lott to Resign!

After realizing that it is no fun to be in Congress without a majority, yet another prominent Republican is stepping down. This week, it is heavyweight Senator Trent Lott.

Think Progress covers the story...

Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) is reportedly informing close allies that he plans to resign his Senate seat before the end of the year. NBC reports, “It’s possible a formal announcement of his plans could take place as early as today.” Politico adds, “If he resigns, Lott would become the sixth Republican senator to announce they were stepping down this election cycle.”

UPDATE: Lott was forced from his Senate Majority Leader seat in disgrace in late 2002 after hailing the segregationist platform of former Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC). Speaking at a 100th birthday party celebration for Thurmond, Lott said, “I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn’t have had all these problems over all these years, either.” He regained a leadership post after the 2006 midterm elections.

UPDATE II: Lott has “scheduled two news conferences in his home state later in the day.” AP reports, “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.”

UPDATE III: Lott’s term expires in 2012, therefore a resignation would trigger a special election for a replacement to serve the remainder of his term.

UPDATE IV: “While the exact reason Lott is stepping down before he finishes his term is unknown, the general speculation is that a quick departure immunizes Lott against tougher restrictions in a new lobbying law that takes effect at the end of the year. That law would require Senators to wait two-years before entering the lucrative world of lobbying Congress.”

UPDATE V: Politico reports that Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) plans to run for Senate Minority Whip.

UPDATE VI: “Speculation on who Barbour might pick includes Rep. Charles W. “Chip” Pickering Jr. (R-MS) and Rep. Roger Wicker (R-MS). For Democrats, former Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore (D) is the most prominent Democrat mentioned as a possible candidate for the seat in 2008.”

LINK: Breaking: Trent Lott To Resign Before End Of The Year

Think Progress also covers what Senator Lott will be going into after he reigns. You guesses it -- lobbying...

Earlier today, news broke that Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-MS) intends “to resign his seat before the end of the year.” Lott will explain his plans in two news conferences in his home state of Mississippi later today.

Though the reasons for Lott’s resignation are still unknown, a “congressional official” told the AP that “there is nothing amiss with Lott’s health” and that “the senator has ‘other opportunities‘ he plans to pursue.” NBC News reports that Lott’s “other opportunities” involve joining the “lucrative world of lobbying Congress” before “tougher restrictions in a new lobbying law” take effect:

While the exactly reason Lott is stepping down before he finishes his term is unknown, the general speculation is that a quick departure immunizes Lott against tougher restrictions in a new lobbying law that takes effect at the end of the year. That law would require Senators to wait two-years before entering the lucrative world of lobbying Congress.

“A Lott friend” confirmed to the Politico that the new lobbying law is “a factor in the timing” of his resignation.

Lott, whose son is a lobbyist, was part of a small bloc of conservatives who voted against the ethics reform bill in August that included the two-year revolving door ban. His vote reflected his longtime position as an opponent of lobbying reform. Here are a few more examples of Lott’s defense of his potential, soon-to-be job:

- In Jan. 2006, Lott praised “the practice of secretly inserting special projects into spending bills at the behest of lobbyists,” calling it “an effective way for Congress to address a problem or need back home.”

- In Feb. 2006, Lott derided the effort to fix lobbying loopholes after the Jack Abramoff scandal as “the usual over reaction that we see happen quite often in Washington.”

- In March 2006, Lott voted against establishing a Senate Office of Public Integrity.

- In March 2006, when Congress sought to ban free meals from lobbyists, Lott defended the free meals, saying a ban would imply “that we can be had for the price of a lunch or dinner.”

Lott’s defense of lobbyists should come as no surprise considering how well they treated him while in office. Earlier this year, the Washington Post reported that Lott topped “the list of current lawmakers who have most frequently been jetted around the country aboard the luxurious private jets of Corporate America.”

Now, with tougher restrictions looming, Lott appears likely to pass through the revolving door to take the type of “lucrative” lobbying job that he fought so hard in the Senate to protect.

UPDATE: In a press conference today, Lott denied that the upcoming ban played “a big role” in his decision.

LINK: Lott Resigns To Enter ‘Lucrative’ World Of Lobbying That He Worked In The Senate To Protect

Enjoy the private sector, Senator. And please, try not to be racist... again...

-Mr. Joseph

Trent Lott Proves He is Racist Yet Again...

"Why do they hate each other? Why do Sunnis kill Shiites? How do they tell the difference? They all look the same to me."
-Trent Lott

From Think Progress...

SUMMARY:
Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), who famously suggested the U.S. wouldn’t have “all these problems” had Strom Thurmond been elected President, said today that the religious differences among Iraqis makes the conflict very difficult for him to understand:

“It’s hard for Americans, all of us, including me, to understand what’s wrong with these people,” he said. “Why do they kill people of other religions because of religion? Why do they hate the Israeli’s and despise their right to exist? Why do they hate each other? Why do Sunnis kill Shiites? How do they tell the difference? They all look the same to me."

Speaking shortly after a meeting with President Bush and Vice President Cheney, Lott added that Iraq wasn’t among the White House’s priorities.

“No, none of that,” Lott told reporters after the session when asked if the Iraq war was discussed. “You’re [the media] the only ones who obsess on that. We don’t and the real people out in the real world don’t for the most part."

LINK: Lott On Iraq: ‘Why Do Sunnis Kill Shiites? … They All Look The Same To Me’

-Mr. Joseph