Don’t Get Too Excited
November 26th, 2007
Trent Lott is resigning–the sixth Senate Republican to announce so this year. He just got re-elected in 2006 (makes you wonder why he went to that effort until you realize that he ran unopposed), but a special election will be held in 2008 and that term will run until 2012. In the meantime, Mississippi’s Republican governor will fill the spot by appointment. So there not too much chance of a Democrat to take the seat, though there is more of a chance now than there was before. Still, an influential Republican will go and at worst, a weaker one will take his place.
I’m very excited; this is big news for my union, because Lott has been one of the main roadblocks to some legislation getting through the Senate. The FAA Reauthorization Act has been stalled due to a conflict between a few Senators, including Lott (who was the ranking member on the relevant committee) who insist that the FAA needs to charge user fees to non-commercial airlines; and another group of Senators who insist that the FAA should NOT charge user fees.
With Lott going, perhaps now we’ll get some movement on the bill- which would also help fix our labor situation, since we’re working without a contract.