1115.org

When Senator Trent Lott found himself as one of the unfortunate people who lost their homes during Hurricane Katrina, he received a lot of attention; after all, President Bush didn’t wax poetic about sitting on anyone else’s front porch. But then came the reality check, when Lott realized that his status as a United States Senator wouldn’t keep him from being on the losing end of his insurance company’s policies.

So, like many Americans, Lott decided to sue. Many have already noted the irony of a famously pro-business and anti-lawsuit politician (this post by David Sirota has a few choice quotes) deciding to throw his lot in with the evil trial lawyers. It’s amusing, but hardly news anymore; people have been documenting Lott’s apparent hypocrisy on this issue for months.

What is new, however, are the revelations of how Lott has used the full power of his office in order to fight back against the insurance companies:

He said he inserted a provision into legislation, signed by President Bush last week, directing the Department of Homeland Security to investigate potential fraud by the insurance industry. Mr. Lott said he was also drafting legislation to challenge the industry’s exemptions from antitrust laws and had asked his staff to investigate the industry’s tax rates.

While I am certainly no fan of insurance companies, the idea that the Department of Homeland Security—you know, the guys who are supposed to be protecting us from terrorists and such—is now investigating insurance fraud is just lunacy, as if they are a private detective squad ready to solve any lawmaker’s personal pet peeve. He’s not the first, though: a lot of you will remember that Tom DeLay was accused of using the department to track down Democratic legislators during the whole Texas redistricting business.

As for looking into the insurance industry’s tax rates and antitrust policies, I’m too cynical to think that Lott’s motivation extends anywhere beyond the reality of his own situation. When lawsuits surrounding Katrina policies are finally settled, will Lott keep up fighting the good fight? Where will he be on the other facets of American life which are being strangled by insurance issues, such as health care? Where will he be if another disaster—a big earthquake, for instance—creates an insurance meltdown in a part of a country where he doesn’t personally live?

He’ll be on his rebuilt front porch, yapping about frivolous lawsuits and competitive business environments, because by then it will be someone else’s problem.