There really is no honor among thieves - or politicians.
You’ve heard all this bloviating drivel a millions times from pols on the stump - emotional appeals to honor, courage, integrity, yada, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah.
A political campaign is more than just a simple panhandling for votes. It’s a job interview.
And once the ballots are counted and a winner declared, a campaign also becomes a personal services contract of sorts between the candidate and the constituents he or she has promised to represent.
Seems pretty simple - until money gets in the way.
If you are a constituent of either Mississippi Republican Sen. Trent Lott, or Illinois Republican Rep. Denny Hastert, right about now you have to feel you’ve been played for a chump. And you have.
Last year, both men ran for re-election to their offices, presenting themselves as the best choice to represent their citizens’ interests in the United States Congress.
And their arguments apparently were convincing since both men were returned to their jobs.
However this week, both Lott and Hastert announced they would be resigning from their posts. In Lott’s case, he had five years remaining on his Senate term. Hastert is leaving with a year to go on his House term.
And if you sense an air of really stinky cheese in all these, you’re not wrong.
It’s one thing for an elected representative to announce a resignation because of health concerns, or perhaps a family crisis. That’s not the case here.
It would have been more than understandable if Lott and Hastert (both in their 60s) had announced they would not be running for re-election at the end of their terms. That’s not the case here either.
In announcing his departure, Lott said he was sitting in church the other day when the minister started quoting Ecclesiastes, Chapter Three, the famolus “To eveything there is a season,” passage.
Suddenly, Lott said, with a straight face, he decided it was time to leave the U.S. Senate into his fourth term. Perhaps there is a passage in there somewhere, which reads, “A time to grub for money, a time to shill as a lobbyist.”
The timing of the Lott and Hastert departures couldn’t be more mercenary. Congressmen leaving their jobs now, before the end of 2007, have to wait one year before actively engaging in lobbyist activities.
In 2008, that waiting period will be extended to two years. Do you sense a sleazy coincidence here?
Back in 2006 Trent Lott and Denny Hastert ran for re-election on the premise they would be around to serve their constituents.
Instead voters in Mississippi and Illinois were deceived, conned and disrespected.
You hear all the time from these phonies how public service is it’s own reward.
And it is - but only until a better deal comes along.