Trent. Lott. Larry. Flynt. Ron. Paul.

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Trent Lott announced his resignation yesterday. "It's time for us to do something else," he said, referring to himself and his wife.

The surprise announcement caught "the political world off-guard," according to Steve Benen. "[I]t's a bizarre time for Lott to end his career." In a subsequent post, Steve offered a few possible explanations. The likeliest one: "He's cashing in," headed for the riches of K Street.

Perhaps.

But what if...

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In what may or may not be an unrelated story, Big Head DC is reporting this (via Atrios -- and with thanks to TL, who brought this to my attention earlier today):

Larry Flynt, editor and publisher of Hustler magazine, just told FOX Business Network's Neil Cavuto that he's "hoping to expose a bombshell" that will stand "Washington and the country on its head." Within the next week or two, he says his magazine will expose a sex scandal of huge proportions involving a prominent United States Senator. Flynt refused to comment on the Senator's political affiliation, but alluded that he or she is a Republican.

Cough. Cough. Ahem.

What exactly is the "something else" to which Lott was referring?

Well...

Big Head DC (via Melissa McEwan) is also reporting that Lott may be connected to a prominent male escort named Benjamin Nicholas (photo below):

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.

Quite the respectful professional, this "twentysomething boy-next-door type with reddish blond hair and a brilliantly white smile," no? Hmmm.

Anyway, what does it all mean? From here, I'll let you speculate on your own.

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Meanwhile, in what is somewhat related news, libertarian extremist Ron Paul has been endorsed by one of Nevada's leading pimps, the owner of the Moonlite BunnyRanch, Dennis Hof:

"I'll get all the (working girls) together, and we can raise him some money," Hof told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "I'll put up a collection box outside the door. They can drop in $1, $5 contributions."

Hof and two of his prostitutes, Brooke Taylor and a woman who goes by Air Force Amy, attended a Paul news conference.

The women said they liked Paul's message, but wanted to learn more about other candidates before making a decision.

It's nice to such civic engagement in action, isn't it? (Take that, Robert Putnam! Americans may be bowling alone, but, in Nevada at least, they don't need to sleep alone... for a price.)

And here's an invitation to Ms. Brooke and Ms. Amy to contact us here at The Reaction as they are learning about the other candidates and when they eventually reach a decision. We'll talk politics and make you feel right at home. Seriously.

By the way, I'm pretty much all for the decriminalization (and regulation) of prostitution, and I can understand why Hof has endorsed Paul

You know, 'cause pimpin' ain't easy, no it ain't, and it must be hard out there for a pimp like Dennis Hof.

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