Breaking: Senator Larry Craig Reconsidering His Resignation From Senate
By Logan Murphy Monday Sep 03, 2007 8:10pm
On this evening's Countdown, Keith Olbermann quotes a breaking Associated Press story that Republican Senator, Larry Craig is reconsidering his resignation from the Senate. Keith talks with The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza about this puzzling development, and the political repercussions for the Republican Party. Suffice it to say, this would be a dream come true for Democrats...
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Update: Apparently Senator Arlen Spector's little pep talk had an effect on Craig.
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This adds to his credibility.
Nice strategy, kinda like the confession.
hahaha, yes, welcome back sir.
I have a hard time believing in any deity that could create people as stupid as Larry Craig.
H&c on Faux has spent the first 20+ minutes defending their reich-wing [closet gay] hero.
He changes his mind as much as a woman, maybe he is gay!
This is even better. Now if we can only get him to drop out of the race once more because Ross Perot told him someone would ruin his daughter's wedding, and then get back in the race.
Good for him. Fight the good fight Mr Craig. Any attempts to clear your good name will only make the other side look better by comparison.
This is good...
These ReThuglicans sure now how to fight to the bitter end.. I wonder...
Will the folks of Idaho want this guy to represent them?
If they do then they are welcome to him as he truly represents the ReThug party.
Pervert.
Egomaniac.
Liar.
Perfect for the state where machine guns and a paternalistic, blood-thirsty God are quite, quite popular.
In the last couple of days, Senator Arlen Spector said that Craig's GOP compadres really ought to give him a second chance, and should defend him if he withdraws the guilty plea.
I wonder if this will now be a coordinated campaign by the GOP to circle the wagons and defend Craig, and keep him in the Senate.
But -- what do they possibly hope to gain by that? It is a safe Republican seat, and this can't help but damage the party the longer it goes on.
-- Bokonon
Good. I think the best chance we could possibly have of getting a Democrat in Craig's seat is if Craig stays.
"i pled guilty, but im not guilty!
i resigned, but im not resigning!"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0Ag8J2NMYmc ..... sombody call the WHAAAAAAMMMMBULANCE......this asshat needs a ride.....
i think he's just realized he can do some outing of his own.
Republicans sure get a lot of mulligans lately.
So... What was all the foot tapping and hand waving in the bathroom stall in aid of?
i think craig wants people to believe he's mentally ill. he would rather be thought of as being nuts than being gay.
These guys operate on sheer chutzpah..
How do you fight people who are have lowered the bar so low no one can crawl back under it?This guy's like a multi headed Hydra...he can't be killed.
Super Majority '08/'10 ?
What will you do for the Constitution?
Curtilingus @ 14:
Mulligans? Bush could shoot a baby in the head and Fox wouldn't even blink.
EVEN if he was totally gettin railroaded, this is a selfish and wrong thing to do. He rationalized that he didn't want to bog down the party by dragging them through the controversy, or distract from his important job with a legal fight. Now its OK? WTF changed?
Poor advice, unless the repugs just want another ring in the circus to distract us.
FLIP FLOP!
This could turn out to be Craig's Last Stance. I'll be opening for Totie Fields at the Thunderbird in Las Vegas.
CG @ 21:
Much like his orientation.
:lol: ha :lol: ha :lol: ha :lol: ha :lol: ha :lol: :lol: ha :lol: ha :lol: ha :lol: ha :lol: ha :lol: :lol: ha :lol: ha :lol: ha :lol: ha :lol: ha :lol:
The news about Craig will be stomping all over Patraeus's b.s. report next week. THANK YOU you derranged, confused closet boy!!!!!!
A little OT but I just watched a CBS infomercial selling the success of the surge and holding Iran accountable for all our problems there.
Oh wait, that wasn't an infomercial, that was Katie Couric's evening news.
Whorrible.
He is inocent though. The thing that is funny is the Republicans thowing him in front of the bus. :lol:
King Coody @ 22:
He has quite a "wide" stance as he explained,which is why when he sat down his foot touched the cops in the *cough* OTHER cubicle.Hey..could happen.
wonder whats the bet in vegas.
Curtilingus @ 26:
“We gave Iraq a choice and they chose civil war.”
“We gave Iraq a choice and they chose civil war.”
He's innocent of pleading guilty, you honor.
vivek @ 29:
Do yoiumean the "over and under"?
I would like to know when Laryy Flynt is going to divulge his list. And when will he start a new "reward" for the closted homosexual affairs of the Rethugs? Let's just completely clean house of the hypocrites in '08.
Craig seems to be suffering from a horrible case of tergiversations. He pleads guilty, then wants to change his plea, resigns, and now he wants to unresign. Turrible tergiversations, turrible.
Ha, yes, I love it. The thought that somewhere after hearing this announcement Mitch McConnell's face stayed the same. he has the only naturally occurring 'botox-face'. his permanently sour expression has been his since the doctor slapped it onto him. this sort of news headache couldn't happen to a more deserving MINORITY leader. old fool.
Larry Craig has a picture of what the cop was wearing that day which he says will make the public understand.
I bet the RNC is busy tonight.
On second thought, the white supremacists, Mormons, ranchers and the whole redneck constituency of Idaho will never vote for a dem. I can't see that Craig defending his "Idahonor" makes much difference at all.
although baby jesus was consulted on this many times,
baby jesus does not condone this decision,
baby jesus said I'm re-evaluating your destination, not reconsidering resignation
GoodGod @ 25:
Could this be by design? General population will eat this Gay/bathroom sex stuff up.
Look right past the war and move on into football season......Arrrrrgh
Resignation Nullification Committee?
The MSM will be chewing on the Craig bone while Bush slips the Iraq report through the back door. We've seen it before.
Craig will need to prove he didn't know what he was agreeing to when he pled guilty. I had a run in on a traffic offense and the judge questioned me three times if I understood what I was pleading guilty for. I'm sure the court did the same for Craig especially since he had no lawyer.
Idaho! No sir. He da ho.
PLEASE STAY! Surely Idaho would vote for a Democrat over a man that performs fellatio on strangers in the public bathroom. Although he did survive the 1982 page scandal.
this is what happens when you only listen to people who tell you what you want to hear....
Maybe he's pissed at how he's been treated by his friends in the GOP and has decided to take a few down with him?
Larry's listening to Lindsay's comments obviously.
This is gonna be GOOD. Prolonging and deepening the consequences and humiliation Larry's got coming. What an embarrassingly compounded spectacle.
I don't know that you can change your plea after the case is over. You would have to claim to have been tricked, which would be difficult for anyone let alone a member of Congress.
Specter told him they are above the law and they could fix it.
A police officer doing his job ( there are kids in those airport mens rooms) against a perverted lying gop politician.
Geez.
I guess it's time to go through the survailence tapes of the of the "Potty Room" for the past two years to seee how many times Craig used that special bathroom. It wouldn't be hard to figure out the dates to check. Just check his records of when he submitted travel vouchers for his expence acccount. Check those dates for the video from the camera that points to that Potty Room and bingo. Serial gaymeister looking for head. It will show he has been a naughty nasty bad boy.
what I'm wondering is how they'd prove he actually did anything in the bathroom. I imagine that's where Larry's defense is going to come from. In a murder case, it wouldn't that far from reasonable down, really. I also imagine his 'political defense' or whatever implying the police set up and fudged the report, which is possible, but not provable either way. It's a little moot I guess and I imagine he's thinking if he comes out on top it'll stifle the Dems a little bit.
Wait, wait,wait!!! LOL, wait a minute !! I stopped the clip when K.O mentioned that the interview was with his adopted children, ! Is this confirmed ?
No wonder we are going down the tubes !
I bet this news gave Ben Stein a semi.
I love how he is defending he is not gay. Last time I check he didn't get arrested for being gay, but public indecency. We don't care if your gay!
DavidtheDuke @ 51:
That is pretty easy when you plead guilty. I don't see how it could possibly even get to court.
baby jesus @ 39:
LOL you keep this up ...and I just might think twice about you..BJ
I didn't know Ben was a trucker!
Chris @ 54:
His Repub base does. Bush isn't publicly indecent, he could rape a goat onscreen as long as it had a 9/11 flag on it.
Guy just didn't enjoy his fifteen minutes.
Wants another ride inside the barrel.
How much fun can you ask for? The thugs really do comedy of the absurd to the hilt.
DavidtheDuke @ 51:
there's a stain on the officer's shoe...
First Craig pleads guilty to the charge. Then he says he's innocent. Then he resigns from the senate for the act that he now says didn't occur. Now he says he may withdraw his resignation because being innocent he shouldn't resign which begs the question, if he didn't do anything wrong, why resign the first time?
Ok - my head is spinning now. These Republicans make my head hurt.
ashton @ 55:
He doesn't have to fight in court. Just deny in public, since that is his jury now. He'll just keep blathering he pled guilty to win back/more support and sympathy or whatnot.
He's not really keeping his senate seat. He's just sending out the signals.
Just goes to prove my slogan...
Republican is the new gay.
The fact that this guy can't make up his mind up on shit all proves that he just needs to go away... seriously. How the fuck does he even get up in the morning? Would you like someone representing you change his mind more often than an eight year old kid with ADD changes channels on a TV?
DavidtheDuke @ 62:
If he wishes to change his plea, that indeed must be done in court. He can deny all he wants to in public. With a guilty plea on the records, it will be tough convincing anyone. He has tried the denial route with not much success.
ashton @ 55:
Depends. Depending on Minnesota's procedures, if he can demonstrate that the guilty plea was not voluntary or otherwise improper, he could get back into court.
Rush Windbag and the Rabid Hamster Hannity spent a total of six hours on the radio today telling the world that Craig did nothing wrong when he "didn't really" solicit sex from an undercover (male) police officer in a lavatory stall at an airport.
Maybe that changed his mind. You know, "You really, really LIKE me!!!"
ashton @ 66:
It didn't sound like they used a waterboard to get the plea out of him.
This should keep the gay Republican agenda in the news for at lest another week or two. :lol:
If you are truly progressive, truly liberal and fair-minded. (All of which are good things to me.) You'll get past the political glee of this guy's weakness or hypocrisy or whatever it is and conclude thus: THERE IS NO CRIME HERE.
QuakerDave @ 68:
Those two guys have that defence down to a science.... just in case.
The crime is a leader showing such poor judgment and indecision.
He's in a position of public trust and if we don't start holding these guys to a higher standard, then what?
One suspects that Larry Craig has forgotten [or has remembered] the lines to that Drifters song that he grew up with [circa 1962], the ones that say
"They say the girls are something else, on Broadway
But looking at them just gives me the blues"
i would like him to come out and tell the truth and nothing but the truth.
Ed @ 3:
Yeah, I have to concur on this one. :lol:
He could have saved himself a lot of trouble simply by pleading no lo contendere. (Assuming, of course, that MN still has such a plea available.)
tom ivory @ 72:
How many times have you heard a politician say "I did nothing illegal." to excuse a transgression that was immoral or inappropriate?
This guy must have had some guilt over something going through his mind or he would have fought like a madman, not confessed to make it go away.
Don't forget Arlen in this.
Specter's name always pops up because of all his presidential ass-kissing, and feigned independence.
Remember, later, that he wants his old buddy Larry back in the Senate. Specter has no problem with a Senator pleading guilty to a crime and then wielding his power to hide it from the public.
He's gonna pull a Bud Dwyer. Stay tuned to C-Span 1, 2, or 3. Leave him alone. Last thing we need to see is another politician make an ass out of himself on TV.
Mein Got! Idaho's going to throw him an ANCHOR in the next election! Glug glug glug.
by the way, yeah that was Specter and the curly-lashed Lindsay cheering him on like that scene in Young Frankenstein where daddy Frankenstein tells him how beautiful he is inside.
I've been wondering about that "wide stance". Try it yourself...sit on the pot with your pants at your knees or your ankles you can't go "wide". Now if your pants are still on, or off completely, that's another story.
Craig is a sh*&house trawler, and a liar... He will get bagged again..just like George Michaels...
Great let him drag it out, so to speak. Let's see what all the repubs say and do. Remember how much the hate flip floppers unless it serves them! Keep it all in the news and maybe his past 25 years will come out for all to see. Speak up whoever might have evidence--all we have to lose is a [R] U S Senator and the Repub party.
So what’s happening with the Republican Florida playground bathroom sex guy who was afraid of black people?
Please sir, may I have another?!
Please sir, may I have another?!
...
He likes it. Arlen doesn't want his "Teabag" buddy to leave.
Vic @ 82:
He was wearing MC Hammer pants. You can go wide in any position.
I actually think that pleading guilty to a misdemeanor is not sufficient grounds to force a resignation. Craig should be allowed to serve out his term and allow the good people of Idaho to choose whether he should continue to represent them.
tom ivory @ 72:
So a conservative can't be fair minded ? Weakness is weakness, but don't be a fricking hypocrite !
all i can see is that this spineless excuse for a man is getting a lot of positive feedback from his "yes" men and his mindless constituency and now he can't even stick with a decision to step down which was only about one one-hundreth of what he should have done and now he's trying to bail on that too. but then again, look at his actions and this latest is par for the course.
Ever hear of winning the battle and losing the war, Senator Craig????? You may, and that is a pretty big MAY, be able to get of "legally" on a "technicality" but that isn't going to square you with your Idaho voters. There is no way you are going to be able to explain away your monkeyshines in the public toilet to the rubes who voted for you to keep queers out of Idaho!!!!
Ever watch Jackie and Dunlap???? They may be from Tennessee, Senator Craig, but that is what you are up against. Try explaining to any redneck who has ever been in a public restroom, why you stared into an occupied stall for more than a minute. Try to explain why your foot drifted into another persons stall. Try to explain you wiggling fingers to the good old folks in Idaho. Try that "I was just picking up a piece of paper off the toilet floor" with them. I'm sure they will buy that one.
Everyone knows public bathroom etiquette, even if they don't know the word etiquette. You go to the bathroom, you use the bathroom, you wash your hands and get the hell out of the bathroom. Even 6 year olds know how to behave in a bathroom, Senator. So you may win your "legal" battle, but I doubt many people in Idaho are going to be anxious to shake your hand, and none of them are going to want to go into a public toilet where you may be lurking.
Curtilingus @ 87:
Except "Can't touch this" really means "touch this!"
Oath of Allegiance to the Republican Party
I'll plead guilty on all counts, but I'll admit to nothing,
Whenever I am caught, I'll insist I don't recall,
I'll never let my country's interests supersede my party's,
And whenever it is needed, I'll pretend to take a fall.
I'll be both gay and a gay basher; private sinner, public saint,
And be ready in one breath to mutter "Yes I am" and "No I ain't."
I'll spread hate and lies and gossip 'til the Democrats are sore.
For Ignorance is Strength! Slavery's Freedom! Peace is War!
Fantastic, let the Hypocracy go on a little longer.
tom ivory @ 72:
Sure there is, Disorderly Conduct.
http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/getpub.php?type=s&year=current&nu...
Disorderly Conduct is the catch-all that cops use all over to deal with people being a public nuisance. You may disagree with the laws being on the books, but by the laws of Minnesota and how they are interpreted, the cop had every right to slap Larry Craig on the wrist with this minor charge. So yes, a crime was committed.
tom ivory @ 72:
the crime was not in the action disgusting, yes, but crime no. the real issue with the incident was the fact that this man has spoken against the gay lifestyle for entire term, degraded them and their lifestyle and then he is unmasked and he's caught soliciting in a public restroom. his own party wanted him out and he bent (no pun intended) to their wishes and now he wants to backtrack.
he just is one noble person and the kind we all would like to have representing us in congress. point of fact was it a crime, perhaps not, but would you want him casting votes for you. kinda slimey.
Hey, if Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton can run over pedestrian and get away with it, then why can't Craig flirt with an undercover cop in the bathroom and pretend it never happened?
It's America baby, we get our news between the ball scores and movie reviews. If you don't like it, write a song and sell it on iTunes.
DavidtheDuke @ 51:
Why did he say that he was not a Gay many times while I never hear about the signal? Forget it. No-one in America knew what gays do to get easy sex.
My girl friend mention that Alan Spector was nut when he started and all were warned not to sit next to him.
Why Pennsylvania did voted that nut in congress all these years. This is a goods reason to make a 2 turn limit for all politicians.
no longer a proud american @ 90:
Yes!! The effing hypocrisy pisses me off too~! I can forgive not being perfect, but shit, don't ask me to do what you are incapable of doing yourself!
Karen (93)
very well done....
He's not gay. People just won't stop stuffing their C%$ks in his mouth.
Karen @ 93:
And War IS Peace!
Leftwestwing @ 101:
Yes, you're right! He is NOT gay, his boyfriend is!
C'mon, Larry, sh*t or get off the pot.
tom ivory @ 72:
There is a point here. However, the GOP has chosen to live by the sword, holding themselves up as "moral" and supporting "family values", and obtaining power on that basis.
Not to mention that they and theirs created the climate where it is necessary for a gay man who wants to be in right wing politics to hide his sexuality with a beard of wife and children and get the sex that is satisfying to him anonymously in airport bathrooms.
Plus, quite frankly, we are at WAR with these fucks, and this is a victory. By hook or by crook this is a step closer to fixing the damage and obtaining justice for the atrocities of the last 6.5 years.
V V
Larry says his actions were truly mis characterized.
Everyone thinks he wanted anal sex when all he really wanted was a blow job.
This clearly has the allure of movie rights, a book tour and a TV series. On FOX, the series will be called "Lurk", and every week a Republican male guest will play Larry in a different stall to attract new viewers each week. Coulter will be the first male guest to play Larry.
The word on the tape that proved he is guilty is entrapment.
>I have a hard time believing in any deity that could create people as stupid as Larry Craig.
Hey, he represents Idaho. Those dipshits think Fox News is the truth.
i support this. he's here, he's queer get used to him.
we need to rally to his defense. what the hell did he do? at worst, he asked a guy for a bj. should that really be a crime?
This guy is one seriously confused Republican Cocksucker, in both the literal & figurative sense.
flip flop flip flop flip flop ....uggghh i thought it was dumb when they repugs said it and it sounds dumb when i say it.
i don't like this kind of politics but the man is a hypocrite.
people have pointed out that he is gay before he finally got busted.
who gives a shit what his kids think.
his hypocrisies created this whole fucking mess.
go away larry.
Larry Craig will beathe rap in court because Spector
will make sure a repuke Judge will hear the appeal!
This is a gift to the Democrats. He's the new punching bag since Gonzales is gone. They can use him to point out Republican corruption since he plead guilty to a crime. And he depresses the Republicans because he is a living reminder about how many of them are actually in the closet and they need anti-gay laws to protect them from themselves.
People who still think that no crime was committed need to review the Minnesota statutes to which someone posted a link above. Even if he did nothing more than peer into an occupied bathroom stall, it counts as lewd behavior, which is what he plead to, I believe.
And I don't think that he plead to anything sexual at all, did he? Maybe some of the legal eagles on this board can address that question.
Oh....I do hope SOMEHOW he's able to retract his plea, and ends up having to explain himself in court. Then it'll really be a hoot...
Sgt. Karsnia (the airport cop that busted him) seems to be a pretty sharp cookie.
Pass the popcorn.
Charles @ 44:
Ruthless People @ 10:
No, I'm in Idaho and I can tell you that it won't happen. The people of this state would elect Bugs Bunny in drag if he was the one with the (R) after his name regardless of who was running against him. It wasn't always like this. I'm not sure what happened, but its damn sad.
He's not gay....
Can't wait to see him and arresting police officer take the stand in the he-said he-said trail that will be forthcoming. Now that's political theater! LOL!
Personally, I don't think his sexuality (gay, straight or bi) should be an issue, and if being a hypocrite were cause for removal from public service, politics would look very different from anything history's ever known. But I do think that the vehemence with which members of his own party have derided him says volumes about the values of the Republican party.
This trial will rule
So he changed his mind now all the republicans like Romney who threw him under the bus will change their minds too?
Of course, changing minds is Romney's specialty . I bet its going to be awkward at the Senate breakroom...except for Arly, he had that cocksuckaz back.
Oh please, please, please fight it Larry! You go girlfriend! I would love to see him decide to run again...on principle by God! I don't give a Peregrine falcon's dropping about where he wants to put his Senate Staff, but plenty of other people in Idaho might just have a teensy weeny little problem with having a gay (In or Out) Senator. Fight it Larry. The case was weak. Get it overturned. Run in '08. All I ask, is for all the gay posters who think it is wrong for this man to be driven out of office just because he is gay, to write letters to the Idaho Statesman about October 20th, 2008, defending this man's right to gay sex.
seevee @ 123:
The man tried to get it on in a public bathroom.
CD
I want him to lose the election.
Maybe he will come the rest of the way out of the closet and declare himself a Liberal Democrat.
We just might be looking at our next Republican presidential candidate!
Better than Fred Thompson, anyway.
seevee @ 123:
CD @ 124:
The issues is not that the guy is or is not gay. He is a hypocrite and a liar so we don't need him in our government. If he were a Democrat I would feel the same.
Retired Navy @ 126:
Sweetheart.....
This man is a Republican through and through....
Live with it....
Navy,
Duh!
Retired Navy @ 126:
No. wrong! He'll go through the same therapy Haggard went through that healed his homosexuality. Just pray the gay away!
A nolo contendere or no contest plea is not up to the defendant. The prosecutor must agree to it.
What it means is you will not fight the charges for whatever reason.
I believe that the only way to retract a no contest or guilty plea is the following:
The judge is not elected or appointed to sit in the jurisdiction where the charges are heard and sentenced.
The sentence imposed (whether or not negotiated) exceeds the time/fine allowed by law.
The motion to the court to retract must be done within a certain time frame, usually 10 days.
There might be some more to it. I'm not up on Minnesota law. However I do know that Mr. Craig does not fit the exceptions, regardless of what single bullet Specter has to say.
The greatest crime is the arrogance that Craig did NOT consult an attorney and then as an attorney and Senator pleaded quilty.
The tape I listened to is humiliating.
One would think that after such a long time in politics something would have rubbed off via osmosis.
The tragedy is that this is the caliber of our leaders.
The best thing in all this is that, in essence Craig and others whether they realize it or not, are saying that law enforcement lies.
Welcome to the world.
Republicans, they have no shame. They have no respect for the people. And actually, I guess the gullible ignorant idiots who still support the Republican party don't deserve any respect anyway. Too bad the rest of us get sucked into their messes.
You just can't make up this shit....
This nightmare novella just writes itself....
arlan specter
"Doh"
Larry Craig is a boring prick and needs to get over himself already.
Perfect! More canon fodder! whaddadumbass
Is there anything Larry isn't in denial of?
Well done Craig!! Anything that will potentially shorten the life expectancy of Mitch McConnell and Trent Lott is a good thing! Hope you can drag this out for months.
Vitam Vas @ 105:
larry was for being guilty...
before he was against it.
Please stay larry. If not for yourself, for America. Idaho is a pretty red state. We'd have little to no chance with your replacement.
You, on the other hand...
For America larry. For America.
dems should be fighting tooth and nail to keep him in the senate
first, because it will be their only chance to get a dem into that seat come the 08 elections
second, so that the repugs wont be able to use that tired spin of how they get rid of their morally corrupt while the dems embrace theirs
btw....vitters still has his seat...doesnt he
On behalf of gleeful Democrats everywhere, I say to Senator Craig, thank you for reconsidering you resignation and hiring lawyers to "clear your name." The very suggestion that you are gay--it seems ludicrous! It warms my heart to see another dagger poised to plunge into the black heart of the G.O.P. as we approach another election year. Senator Craig, you go, girl! (Vote for Hillary in 2008!)
Craig was a Congressman before a Senator. He has been around and involved in Clinton impeachment effort. There is NO way this guy should be intimidated by a false accusation. If indeed it was a flase charge. From the audio tape, craig was really stretching his "wide stance" in his answers to the police.
Larry Craig, you have had more prosperity in public life on the publics wallet. It was an fun ride (even attacking a President for sex between two consenting adults). Call it quits and move on. The public trust has been broken............................................
We as Americans have an august body of 100 individuals, out of a population of over 302 million, who presumably are selected because they exhibit superior qualities of wisdom, integrity, experience, and political acumen – that is our U.S. Senate. It is incredulous that any other heterosexual senator would be arrested in a public restroom away from their home state, and be fingerprinted, photographed, admit guilt to a soliciting for sex charge, AND also not disclose this matter to family, friends, or colleagues. It is simply not imaginable. And then months later, when the matter is exposed, claim innocence. That dog just don’t hunt.
It will be very interesting to see how long Senator Larry Craig remains hanging, twisting in the wind, and attracting attention to a right wing zealot homophobia that has in the past so successfully used the politically volatile issue of gay marriage to energize their religiously conservative base.
While Spector may have a point about Craig's chances of acquittal if the situation had been handled differently, fighting it now is delusional. That boat has sailed.
Even if it were possible to re-open the case, Craig's taped interview with the police officer implicated him. Had Craig kept his trap shut, a slick attorney possibly could have convinced a jury that the cop misinterpeted Craigs actions. Now, if Craig foolishly fights the plea bargain, the original charge of pandering could be made and he would likely be convicted. In any case a media circus is inevitable.
Besides, Senator Craig has been outted. But, I welcome him as the new face of the Republican Party. Welcome Sir to the Liars Party.
Maybe he's using Alberto Gonzales as his lawyer: laws don't mean anything to him; not even the constituion.
PS: as I type, I hear Gonales is re-writing the laws of Idaho to exempt Republicans from any wrongdoing.
PPS: Then they'll deny they ever existed. Lose every e-mail ever sent in Idaho. Claim Bill Clinton set a bad example for taking extra-marital sex into the Oval Office. They'll put America on red alert so all the sheeple are fleeing for their lives. I can see it all going down now. It's like a summer re-run.
This is a deliciously sweet strategy. You can count on my contribution to the Statesman. Even better, I'll defend his right to be bisexual. That will make Republicans (and lots of non-Republicans) even more uncomfortable.
From a purely political perspective, the Lieutenant-guv likely to replace Larry is just as repressive but may not have as much Idaho Libertarian bent as Larry, who worked to eliminate some of the most Orwellian portions of the Patriot Act. Larry has also been an advocate for some legitimate social causes such as adoption and the Minidoka Internment National Monument. Larry is repugnant and evil, but he may be less repugnant and evil than whoever is appointed in his stead. The chief advantage of his resigning is the loss of seniority. Here in Washington State we're hoping it will make a difference to preserving our salmon runs, which Larry has worked hard to keep on the edge of extinction. On the other hand, if he fights to stay, there is at least an improved chance for a Democratic challenger to succeed in 2008. In the past Idaho has elected progressives (at least by Idaho standards) like Senator Frank Church and Governor Cecil Andrus. It is not impossible for Democrats to get elected in Idaho, just very difficult. Larry could make it easier.
The police report says lewd behavior, but the actual charge was disorderly conduct. Is it really a crime in Minnesota to tap your foot in a public restroom stall and put your hand on, or even past, the bottom of a stall divider? This is pretty scary. I just thought it would be rude, unless of course, you are making a pass at someone, in which case it might be flattering, depending on the recipient. As for peering into a stall, this seems very hard to prove unless you actually stick your eyeball up to the crack. Larry may not have a case since he pled guilty, but there seems like room for reasonable doubt about the original "crime" to me. It would be different if he'd waved his penis under the divider.
The bigger story to me is how the morally bankrupt Republican leadership rushed to drop him like hot Idaho Russet. No presumption of innocence, no asking for his version of the facts, no question of whether there was really a crime, no defense of keeping big government out of private affairs, and absolutely no defense of the rights of consenting adults to have sex (or tap their feet). They are so homophobic that loyalty, due process, and civil liberties aren't even considered (but I guess that's no surprise). I respect Arlen Specter for not being one of them. If Larry tries to hang on, it will make them miserable. They can't help but look worse for prejudging his demise no matter whether they support or shun him, though I'm fairly certain most will do the latter. Democrats should just try to stay out of it and watch.
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