Greener pastures

Trent Lott is finally cashing in his chips. Or is he planning to cash in on his chits? The Mississippi Republican stunned Washington on Monday by announcing his retirement from the Senate before the end of this year -- with five years remaining in his term. The decision was particularly odd because the former majority leader had staged a comeback from political disgrace a year ago by landing the Republican whip’s job, the second-highest GOP leadership post in the Senate. His odious remarks of several years earlier, in praise of the segregationist policies of then-Sen. Strom Thurmond, seemed forgotten. Lott had even announced plans to revive the “Singing Senators,” a barbershop quartet that once featured Lott, John Ashcroft of Missouri, Larry Craig of Idaho and James Jeffords of Vermont.

So why the sudden change of heart? Either life in the Senate must look a lot worse than it did a year ago, or life outside the Senate must look a lot rosier. Lott didn’t say. But politicos were quick to note that by quitting now, he avoids new “revolving-door” ethics rules that will prevent lawmakers from lobbying for two years after leaving office. Under the ethics reform bill signed by President Bush in September and to take effect in January, the “cooling-off period” during which former lawmakers may not lobby current members has been extended from one year to two, effectively reducing the market value of those who would profit from Washington’s well-worn revolving door.

Lott voted against the ethics bill and was a vocal opponent of the provision that forbids lawmakers from accepting rides on corporate jets. Surely a senior senator wouldn’t resign because he was forced to fly commercial? However, if Lott were now to join, say, the former lobbying firm of his friend and current Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, he could move from the Capitol right over to the K Street corridor, where his skills as one of Washington’s preeminent political deal makers could fetch a salary in the high six figures. It’s a safe bet that it’s not the national interest he would be advancing.

If you think the new ethics law will curb such activities, you haven’t been reading the fine print. It’s true that the law will ban lawmakers-turned-lobbyists from personal contacts -- letters, telephone calls and meetings -- for two years after leaving office. But nothing prevents them from sitting in a conference room and telling subordinates exactly how to play their former colleagues. True, lobbyists won’t be allowed to buy congressmen so much as a $25 lunch. But that’s a surmountable problem when they are allowed to bundle millions of dollars in contributions to the lawmakers’ re-election campaigns. Lott is a prodigious fundraiser. So we wish him a peaceful retirement -- and we hope he will ply his notable talents in the purely private sector.