Byron Dorgan, Senator From Ethanol?

North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan announced yesterday that he would not seek reelection. What's he going to do with all that free time? According to a press release, he "would like to do some teaching and would also like to work on energy policy in the private sector." In other words, as Timothy Carney speculates, he'd like to cash out:

Perhaps Dorgan intends to go back to North Dakota and drill for oil or grow switchgrass, but far more likely it seems he wants to jump into the game of lobbying for subsidies and mandates for the hottest new renewable energy. The indications he will stay in DC are pretty strong:

His wife, Kimberly Dorgan, is a lobbyist for the American Council of Life Insurers, and the two share a 4-bedroom, 4-and-a-half bath home on a cul-de-sac in McLean, Virginia. And this is simply the way of Washington -- lawmakers don't stop talking about their home state while they're here, but many of them never really plan on leaving the Beltway.

So here's my bet: Dorgan will be consulting for a cellulosic ethanol company in the DC area by the spring of 2011.

Anyone want to bet against him?

More from Reason on ethanol and other biofuel scams here, here, and here.