>be careful where you swear your allegiance.<
Someone on FR said that Lott was a Democrat before he was a Republican. Could that could explain a few things? Try as one may, you cannot separate a man from his past.
Being a one-time Democrat is not a reliable litmus. At least, not in the South.
Phil Gramm, for example, was a one-time Democrat. And, oh, how I wish he were still in the Senate.