‘He will leave a mark on this institution that long outlasts the political fights of the day’



Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday regarding the retirement of Senator Trent Lott:



“After the news of Trent’s retirement had spread, a young farmer in Jackson had this to say about the man he had called senator most of his life: ‘He’s a good person to represent the state, caring for people like he does.’ And that farmer had it exactly right.



“Because whether Trent was making sure an old man in Pascagoula got his Social Security check, or ducking into a kitchen in Tunica to thank the cooks after a political event, no service was too small, no task too insignificant, when it came to serving the people of Mississippi.



“One time, when Trent was a young congressman, a constituent called his office to have his trash removed. When Trent asked why he hadn’t called the town supervisor first, the man replied that he didn’t want to start that high. Nobody ever saw Trent Lott as a congressman or a senator. To them, he was just Trent.



“And as he vowed last month, that commitment to the people of Mississippi does not end here: ‘I will work hard for the state the last day I'm in the Senate,’ he said , ‘and I will work hard for this state the last day I'm alive.’



“In a plaque on his office wall, visitors will find Trent’s Rules. The most important one, he always said, was this: ‘You can never have a national view if you forget the view from Pascagoula.’



“He never forgot his roots. Trent’s dined with presidents, yet he still remembers facing the winters of his childhood without indoor heat, and his first hot shower. And he never forgot the source of that early luxury. It came from hard work, his mother said. And he would spend a lifetime proving that he took her words to heart.



“The love of politics came early, thanks, in part, to some lively debates with his folks around the dinner table. They always treated him with respect, as an equal, he said, and they watched with pride as he threw himself into his studies — and everything else that was available to a blue-collar kid growing up along the Gulf Coast in 1950s America.



“Trent was an early standout. His high school classmates voted him student class president, most likely to succeed, most popular, a model of Christian conduct, most polite, and, of course, neatest. One friend recalls that Trent was the only guy he ever knew who tidied up his bed before going to sleep at night.



“Of course, Trent’s reputation for neatness outlasted high school. It’s been the source of a lot of jokes over the years. But some of those jokes just aren’t fair. It’s not true, for example, that Trent arranges his sock drawer according to color every day … he’s perfectly content to do it once a week. Black on one side, blue on the other.



“In college, the connection to Mississippi deepened. Surrounded by the white pillars and the ancient oaks of Ole Miss, he formed lifelong friendships, and grew in respect for the traditions of honor, integrity, duty, and service that had marked his beloved Sigma Nu from its beginnings.



“There was always something to do, and Trent did it all: frat parties, swaps, campus politics, singing, leading the cheers at the football games, and, occasionally, studying. One of Trent’s college friends recalls that Mrs. Hutchinson’s sophomore literature class was Trent’s Waterloo.



“But after a less than impressive showing on her mid-term exam, he refocused — and one of the things that came into view was a pretty young girl he had first met in high school band practice. One day Trent told a fraternity brother he’d met a girl he wanted to date. When he showed him Tricia’s picture, the friend said, ‘Yes, I think you should do that.’



“Then it was on to law school and marriage, and private practice. And then, in the winter of 1968, a surprise phone call came that changed everything. It was Trent’s Congressman, Bill Colmer. He wanted to know if Trent would be interested in a job as his top staffer in Washington.



“It was a tough decision. Trent had never thought of coming here. And the money wasn’t good. But it seemed like a good opportunity. And, as Trent says, he never made a choice in his life based on finances. So he took it. And Tricia was behind him all the way. That spring, they packed everything they could into their Pontiac and headed north. It was the first of many gambles that would pay off for Trent Lott.



The new city and its temptations didn’t change the boy from Pascagoula. He put his energy and his people skills to work, learning the rules and customs of the House by day and cementing new friendships over a glass of Old Granddad and a cigar — always a cheap cigar — by night.



“The second big gamble came when Congressman Colmer decided to retire. Trent wanted to run for his boss’s seat, but he’d do it his way. Though more than nine out of ten Fifth District voters were Democrats, Trent decided he would run as a Republican.



“It was the hardest race of his life, but Trent loved every greased-pig contest, every country fair, every parking lot rally, and every conversation in every living room he burst into. Often unannounced. And usually uninvited. And the voters loved him back.



“Buoyed by the Nixon landslide and a last-minute endorsement by his boss, he won. And so at 32, Trent had achieved what so many others in this county have experienced: the realization, through wits and hard work, of an outrageous dream. The boy from Pascagoula would return to Washington as the gentleman from Mississippi, full of energy, and ready to put it to use.

And a year later came Watergate, new wisdom, and soon, the recognition by Trent’s colleagues that he was a leader.



“It was an exciting time to be in Washington. The Reagan Revolution was about to take hold. As Trent later recalled, ‘You could feel the political ground shift.’ And he would play a leading role.



“Rising up the Leadership ladder, he revolutionized the House’s Whip operation, and found his place in the push and pull of counting votes. The only member in history to serve as Whip in both chambers, Trent put his skills on display every day on the floor and in some close leadership races over the years, three of which he won by a single vote. If you win by two, Trent always said, you’ve wasted a vote.



“But his special gift back then, as now, was his ability to bring people around to his point of view. One of his college friends put it this way: ‘Trent could carry on a conversation with a tree stump — and make it feel good about itself.’



“His colleagues soon learned that Trent Lott’s word was as solid as a Mississippi Oak. So, armed with a reputation for honesty, charm, wits, and a group of trusted soldiers — including an Arizona lawyer named Jon Kyl and a young former Maine state senator named Olympia Snowe — he turned Minority Republicans into a potent legislative force, ensuring some of the biggest victories of the Reagan Revolution.



“At the end of the Reagan years, Trent set his sights on the Senate. And his opponent in that first race came right at him. But Trent was ready for the fight. When the opponent said Trent’s hair was too neat, Trent politely offered him a comb. When he falsely accused Trent of being an elitist, the pipefitter’s son responded the old-fashioned way: He and Tricia met just about every voter in the state that summer. The voters could judge for themselves what kind a guy he was.



“And, of course, they liked him, and they made him their senator. And he didn’t disappoint. And again he rose quickly, quickly becoming conference secretary, and then Whip.



“And then came another retirement, sending Trent to the top of the class again as his party’s Leader in the Senate.



“On passing tough legislation, he didn’t understand the word ‘no.’



“On working out deals, he was without equal.



“We all saw it up close after Katrina, when Trent became a ferocious advocate for the people of Mississippi and the wider Gulf Coast, many of whom would rather live in tents than move away. And in a fight that brought together all his skills as a politician and home-state advocate, he won.



“We all know how valuable good staff is. Trent’s always had the best. We honor all of them today too, past and present, for their tremendous contributions. To those who stay behind, we’re glad you’ll be here. For those who don’t, we wish you every success.



“Trent’s lived life fully; never afraid to reach higher, and always ready to accept whatever fate would bring. Who in this chamber wasn’t impressed by the way he dusted himself off after stepping down as Leader? He never quit. And there is something deeply admirable in that.



“To me, Trent’s always been the perfect colleague. We’ve been in a lot of tough spots together. And he’s always helped me in every possible way. He has taught me a lot.



“Looking back on his beginnings, it’s astonishing to think of how far the son of Chester and Iona Lott has come. He leaves this place with a remarkable 35-year record of accomplishment of which he can justly be proud, and scores of admirers from across the ideological spectrum. He will leave a mark on this institution that long outlasts the political fights of the day.



“It’s hard to believe Trent won’t be around when we all come back in January and the gavel drops on another session.



“But when it does, we will all remember at some point in the days and weeks that follow that mischievous grin, or a heavy slap on the back, or some happy tune we heard him whistle once when he passed us quickly in the hall.



“And then we will be glad to have served with a man like Trent Lott — and renewed in the hope that this institution and this nation that he loves — to borrow the words of another Mississippian — will not merely endure. They will prevail.”



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