Flushing Craig

I join Republican Senators McCain (AZ) and Coleman (MN) in calling upon Senator Craig to resign.

Stepping down from his position as ranking member on the Veterans' Affairs Committee is a step in the right direction. Craig has also resigned from his role as a co-Senate liaison for Romney's presidential campaign. It's not nearly enough.

Senator Craig was arrested in June for engaging in lewd conduct at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. On August 8, Craig pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct. The Senator paid more than $500 in fines and fees, and a 10-day jail sentence was stayed. He also was given one year of probation.

The Idaho Statesman has investigated allegations that Craig engaged in homosexual conduct:

In an interview on May 14, Craig told the Idaho Statesman he'd never engaged in sex with a man or solicited sex with a man. The Craig interview was the culmination of a Statesman investigation that began after a blogger accused Craig of homosexual sex in October. Over five months, the Statesman examined rumors about Craig dating to his college days and his 1982 pre-emptive denial that he had sex with underage congressional pages.

The most serious finding by the Statesman was the report by a professional man with close ties to Republican officials. The 40-year-old man reported having oral sex with Craig at Washington's Union Station, probably in 2004. The Statesman also spoke with a man who said Craig made a sexual advance toward him at the University of Idaho in 1967 and a man who said Craig "cruised" him for sex in 1994 at the REI store in Boise. The Statesman also explored dozens of allegations that proved untrue, unclear or unverifiable.

Craig now denies any wrongdoing, regrets his guilty plea, and blames the Statesman for his legal and political problems:

He denounced the longstanding probes by the Statesman -- he called it a "witch hunt" -- for inspiring him to plead guilty to the offense even though he said he was actually innocent. He said he had been "viciously harassed" by the newspaper. "I am not gay," he said twice. "I love my wife."

[. . .]

Craig also said he would not step down as senator and still planned to serve his state in Washington, and walked away without answering questions from the media.

Craig needs to reconsider, stop blaming others, apologize, and resign from the U.S. Senate. He can make all the denials all he wants. He plead guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct - thereby admitting to the truth of the charges. If he is actually innocent of the criminal charges, Craig should resign for bad judgement in choosing to plead guilty.

I feel badly for Craig's family, not Craig.

Comments

[gary fouse]

Larry Craig-The Comeback Kid?

My initial post on the adventures of Larry Craig was written shortly before he announced that he was going to resign his Senate seat. The good news was that the Republicans had leaned on him suffiently to convince him that "it was over". Well, not quite. Now the esteemed Senator from Idaho (and the Minneapolis Airport Men's room) is reconsidering. Apparently, he has received encouragement from Senator "Snarlin" Arlen Spector, that weasely guy from Pennsylvania who still calls himself a Republican. Now with the support of Spector, Craig is proceeding to immortalize himself in political folklore. It's not going to be pretty.

As of this writing, Craig has hired top gun criminal defense attorney, Billy Martin (No-not the former Yankee skipper-he's dead). Martin is fresh off of pleading out Michael Vick to dog-fighting charges, and now is being paid to think of a way to undo Craig's previous plea and fight charges that he solicited sex from an undercover cop in an airport bathroom stall. Good luck.

Now the Senator has made yet another goof. Calling Mr Martin on his cell phone, Craig left a recorded message with strategy instructions for the attorney, informing him that "Snarlin" Arlen was advising him to fight and that Martin should hold a televised press conference to try to turn the events in a different direction. (I am paraphrasing). Nowhere on the message is there any statement of innocence-just spin strategy. So, you say, that is attorney-client privileged communication. How is it that we even know of this conversation? Because boob Craig was leaving his message on a wrong number! The owner of that number has turned the tape over to the news media-and away we go!

Folks, is this the kind of guy we want in Congress leading our nation? Is this the kind of guy the Republican Party wants in its ranks? Hardly. Spector aside, this is the time for the Republican party to stand up en masse and announce that this clown has got to go. If they can't do that, then they deserve whatever punishment they get at the polls in 2008. Let the Dems explain why Barney Frank, Ted Kennedy, and William "Cool Cash" Jefferson still hold office with the full support of the party. Remember the White House tea party they held for perjuror Bill Clinton on the day of his impeachment for lying about how he was playing "hide the baloney" with a young intern? For the Republicans, they need to send a clear message that they will not tolerate the Mark Foleys, the Larry Craigs and, yes, the David Vitters (who is still in office).

As for Craig, he has revealed himself to be a pathetic, self-centered, narcissistic liar, who has no business being a US Senator. If he decides to hang in there and run for re-election, I doubt that the voters of Idaho will mimick those of Massachusetts and reelect a dishonest reprobate as their senator.

gary fouse
fousesquawk

[jay hariton]

Why do so many republicans have such a difficult time keeping their pants on? They make Clinton look like a Boy Scout. I guess that's what you Red State types call FAMILY VALUES. If you live by the sword you die by the sword.