It's just now come out that Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested in June in the men's room of a Minnesota airport and charged with "disorderly conduct" by an officer investigating complaints of "lewd behavior" there.
Prepare for Senator Craig to be referred to as a "prominent" or "leading" Republican extensively in the next few days, along with mention of Mark Foley and old whatshisname, the evangelist from the Mountain States, but nary a mention of Gerry Studds, Barney Frank, Jim McGreevy, or any other prominent Democrats caught up in gay scandals.
The really fun part would be to see Bill Moyers comment on this. After all, he was the one who was tasked with damage control when Walter Jenkins, a top aide to Lyndon Johnson, was caught doing something similar to what is alleged against Craig -- but Jenkins' men's room was in a YMCA.
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Comments (68)
Repression can be very dama... (Below threshold)1. Posted by mantis | August 27, 2007 5:58 PM | Score: 3 (7 votes cast)
Repression can be very damaging. I blame society.
1. Posted by mantis | August 27, 2007 5:58 PM |
Score: 3 (7 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 17:58
2. Posted by Piso Majoda | August 27, 2007 5:58 PM | Score: -2 (4 votes cast)
All these queer pols should just get together for one big circle jerk and invite the press and get it over with.
I'm tired of mopping up the floor.
Piso
2. Posted by Piso Majoda | August 27, 2007 5:58 PM |
Score: -2 (4 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 17:58
3. Posted by jp2 | August 27, 2007 6:20 PM | Score: -2 (6 votes cast)
I wonder why this story was sat on for so long?
Anyways, I hope he and his wife can pull through all the gayness and cheating.
3. Posted by jp2 | August 27, 2007 6:20 PM |
Score: -2 (6 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 18:20
4. Posted by BarneyG2000 | August 27, 2007 6:25 PM | Score: 0 (6 votes cast)
"..to what is alleged against Craig" Jay
I guess he allegedly pleaded guilty?
4. Posted by BarneyG2000 | August 27, 2007 6:25 PM |
Score: 0 (6 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 18:25
5. Posted by Moe Hongisto | August 27, 2007 6:26 PM | Score: -5 (13 votes cast)
I'm pretty sure the main reason Republicans bear the brunt of folks' frustration with their politicians when they get caught up in these types of scandals is because of their hypocrisy. By being gay-tolerant/friendly, the Democrats - who almost (well, half) as often get caught up in similar shenanigans - aren't as much a target of anger from the voting public. After all, they're not being hypocritical. The GOP acts holier-than-everyone, condemning everyone who is not like them, enabling all kinds of violence and hate against minorities - ethnic, religious, sexual - so we expect that they won't get caught doing the things they condemn.
5. Posted by Moe Hongisto | August 27, 2007 6:26 PM |
Score: -5 (13 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 18:26
6. Posted by John in CA | August 27, 2007 6:33 PM | Score: 5 (7 votes cast)
Just heard an account of this on the radio. According to the account, Craig handed the arresting officer a business card identifying himself as a U.S. Senator and asked, "What do you think of that?"
For that alone, he should resign. It's the old "Do you know who I am? Well, do you?" That's almost as disgusting as what he was trying to do in the bathroom stall.
He should go, now.
Ted Stevens should be right behind him.
6. Posted by John in CA | August 27, 2007 6:33 PM |
Score: 5 (7 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 18:33
7. Posted by Jay Tea | August 27, 2007 6:35 PM | Score: 1 (7 votes cast)
Well, Barney, his guilty plea involved "disorderly" conduct, not "lewd." So, legally, "alleged" is still the proper term.
Unless you have better info, of course...
J.
7. Posted by Jay Tea | August 27, 2007 6:35 PM |
Score: 1 (7 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 18:35
8. Posted by lowmal | August 27, 2007 6:37 PM | Score: 2 (8 votes cast)
"enabling all kinds of violence and hate against minorities - ethnic, religious, sexual - so we expect that they won't get caught doing the things they condemn." Posted by Moe
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nice blanket statement you got there..
Yes, conservatives are to blame for every instance where people are wronged....
Do you really believe what you say, or does it just spew forth with no concern for reality?
So friggin' typical..
8. Posted by lowmal | August 27, 2007 6:37 PM |
Score: 2 (8 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 18:37
9. Posted by John in CA | August 27, 2007 6:38 PM | Score: 0 (4 votes cast)
It's incredibly more difficult to be hypocritical when one takes no firm stance on any type of moral conduct.
But hey, to democratics, it's not hypocritical of Breck Boy to run around the country campaigning on Two Americas, when in fact, John Edwards is the other America.
9. Posted by John in CA | August 27, 2007 6:38 PM |
Score: 0 (4 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 18:38
10. Posted by jp2 | August 27, 2007 6:41 PM | Score: 1 (5 votes cast)
Jay - very much like the strategy of bringing Democrats and Bill Moyers into this scandal as quickly as possible. After all, isn't Craig trying to get a gay hookup in a public restroom really about them?
10. Posted by jp2 | August 27, 2007 6:41 PM |
Score: 1 (5 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 18:41
11. Posted by jim | August 27, 2007 6:43 PM | Score: 0 (4 votes cast)
John in CA: are you saying that because Edwards is rich, he's a hypocrite for stating the poor have a harder experience of living in the US than the rich?
How is that hypocritical?
11. Posted by jim | August 27, 2007 6:43 PM |
Score: 0 (4 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 18:43
12. Posted by Phil | August 27, 2007 7:04 PM | Score: 2 (4 votes cast)
Jim-
No. Edwards is a hypocrite for talking about how rich people don't pay their "fair" share of taxes, yet specifically setting up an S corporation with himself as the sole employee, to lessen the tax impact in the years he made big fees on lawsuits.
Or,
Complaining about poor people getting foreclosed on, when he made hundreds of thousands for six months work. for a company that forecloses on people
12. Posted by Phil | August 27, 2007 7:04 PM |
Score: 2 (4 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 19:04
13. Posted by Jay Tea | August 27, 2007 7:17 PM | Score: 0 (4 votes cast)
Funny, jp, I brought up Republicans before I brought up Democrats. Dang, I KNEW I did something wrong...
J.
13. Posted by Jay Tea | August 27, 2007 7:17 PM |
Score: 0 (4 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 19:17
14. Posted by Kevin![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://wizbangblog.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| August 27, 2007 7:29 PM | Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
Larry who?
14. Posted by Kevin![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://wizbangblog.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| August 27, 2007 7:29 PM |
Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 19:29
15. Posted by mantis | August 27, 2007 7:31 PM | Score: -1 (5 votes cast)
I guess the the Singing Senators may be looking for a new lead. "Real Man" John Ashcroft will probably start the search soon.
15. Posted by mantis | August 27, 2007 7:31 PM |
Score: -1 (5 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 19:31
16. Posted by FreedomFries | August 27, 2007 7:33 PM | Score: -3 (5 votes cast)
Hey Jay, Craig wants one of your GI Transgender "Pat" dolls w/ an extra set of genitalia.
16. Posted by FreedomFries | August 27, 2007 7:33 PM |
Score: -3 (5 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 19:33
17. Posted by mantis | August 27, 2007 7:48 PM | Score: 0 (6 votes cast)
Since you brought up Walter Jenkins, Jay, here's what Barry Goldwater had to say about using it against Johnson in the campaign:
"It was a sad time for Jenkins' wife and children, and I was not about to add to their private sorrow. Winning isn't everything. Some things, like loyalty to friends or lasting principle, are more important."
What a long way we have come, from Goldwater's principles to John McCain's black baby. Real men, indeed.
17. Posted by mantis | August 27, 2007 7:48 PM |
Score: 0 (6 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 19:48
18. Posted by Jay Tea | August 27, 2007 8:12 PM | Score: -1 (5 votes cast)
But you forgot the really, REALLY important one, mantis: did you hear Dick Cheney's daughter is a LESBIAN?!?!?!
J.
18. Posted by Jay Tea | August 27, 2007 8:12 PM |
Score: -1 (5 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 20:12
19. Posted by jp2 | August 27, 2007 8:20 PM | Score: -1 (3 votes cast)
Getting better by the minute...
"Craig stated "that he has a wide stance when going to the bathroom and that his foot may have touched mine." (RollCall)
Still looking forward to comments on Craig from a Wizbang writer. Can't wait.
19. Posted by jp2 | August 27, 2007 8:20 PM |
Score: -1 (3 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 20:20
20. Posted by mantis | August 27, 2007 8:30 PM | Score: 1 (5 votes cast)
But you forgot the really, REALLY important one, mantis: did you hear Dick Cheney's daughter is a LESBIAN?!?!?!
Yeah, that too.
20. Posted by mantis | August 27, 2007 8:30 PM |
Score: 1 (5 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 20:30
21. Posted by mantis | August 27, 2007 8:34 PM | Score: 1 (5 votes cast)
Which is not to say that it's wrong to talk about Mary Cheney, just that it's wrong to try to use her to turn bigots against her father. After all, the fact that she's a lesbian is not a secret, nor an embarrassment.
21. Posted by mantis | August 27, 2007 8:34 PM |
Score: 1 (5 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 20:34
22. Posted by Brian | August 27, 2007 8:38 PM | Score: -1 (3 votes cast)
Well, Barney, his guilty plea involved "disorderly" conduct, not "lewd." So, legally, "alleged" is still the proper term.
Well, it depends what the facts are as listed in the charge he accepted in his plea. Just because he pled to a lesser charge doesn't mean they change the facts to conform to that plea. If the facts being reported are the ones that he accepted in his plea, then those facts are no longer alleged, even if he was charged with nothing more than littering.
22. Posted by Brian | August 27, 2007 8:38 PM |
Score: -1 (3 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 20:38
23. Posted by Jay Tea | August 27, 2007 8:51 PM | Score: -1 (3 votes cast)
Thanks for proving my point, Brian. Until the precise details come out, it ought to stay "alleged."
I'm not saying it didn't happen that way, just that I'm not going out on a limb and insisting that it did. Not without seeing the details -- and I don't care about them enough to find 'em out on my own, I'll let others do the legwork (so to speak) on it.
J.
23. Posted by Jay Tea | August 27, 2007 8:51 PM |
Score: -1 (3 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 20:51
24. Posted by Jay Tea | August 27, 2007 9:04 PM | Score: -2 (4 votes cast)
Also, mantis, I seem to recall something about "draft the Bush twins" going around a LOT...
J.
24. Posted by Jay Tea | August 27, 2007 9:04 PM |
Score: -2 (4 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 21:04
25. Posted by HughS | August 27, 2007 9:30 PM | Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
Mantis
just that it's wrong to try to use her to turn bigots
Your comment might carry more weight if you specified which "bigots" because Kerry and Edwards were aiming at a wide audience. There are not an insignificant number of "bigots" in the Democratic Party. Why else would they bring it up twice in debates?
25. Posted by HughS | August 27, 2007 9:30 PM |
Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 21:30
26. Posted by mantis | August 27, 2007 9:31 PM | Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
I remember that too, and it was pretty stupid. Don't remember that coming from the other guy's campaign, though.
26. Posted by mantis | August 27, 2007 9:31 PM |
Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 21:31
27. Posted by mantis | August 27, 2007 9:36 PM | Score: 1 (3 votes cast)
Your comment might carry more weight if you specified which "bigots" because Kerry and Edwards were aiming at a wide audience. There are not an insignificant number of "bigots" in the Democratic Party. Why else would they bring it up twice in debates?
It doesn't really matter which party's votes you're driving away from your opponent, does it?
That said, it seems that the Republicans rely much more heavily on the religious anti-gay vote than do the Democrats, wouldn't you say?
27. Posted by mantis | August 27, 2007 9:36 PM |
Score: 1 (3 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 21:36
28. Posted by SPQR | August 27, 2007 9:38 PM | Score: 1 (3 votes cast)
If so, mantis, why is it that Democrats ridicule conservative gays and threaten outing and other intimidation toward such?
28. Posted by SPQR | August 27, 2007 9:38 PM |
Score: 1 (3 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 21:38
29. Posted by Imelda Marcos | August 27, 2007 9:40 PM | Score: -2 (6 votes cast)
You just don't get it, dirtbag bigot. It's not the sordid facts demonstrating that Craig is gay -- it's the hypocrisy entailed in his personal behavior. The sex scandals of Barney Frank, Gerry Studd and others completely lack that hypocrisy.
29. Posted by Imelda Marcos | August 27, 2007 9:40 PM |
Score: -2 (6 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 21:40
30. Posted by mantis | August 27, 2007 9:45 PM | Score: 2 (4 votes cast)
Because a) They see it as very hypocritical when closeted homosexuals in office promote anti-gay agendas, and b) Republican constituencies won't re-elect outed Republicans (the betrayal!). I'm not condoning it, but that does seem to be their reasoning. You do realize it's almost always gay people doing the outing of gay conservatives, right?
30. Posted by mantis | August 27, 2007 9:45 PM |
Score: 2 (4 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 21:45
31. Posted by C-C-G![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://wizbangblog.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| August 27, 2007 9:55 PM | Score: 3 (5 votes cast)
Bottom line, his actions, which got him in trouble with the law, should also lead to his swift expulsion from the party.
It matters not if the conduct in question was heterosexual or homosexual... doing things like that in a public place--regardless of the gender of the other party--is wrong and has no place in the party that stands for traditional family values.
I say Craig should resign or be shown the door.
31. Posted by C-C-G![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://wizbangblog.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| August 27, 2007 9:55 PM |
Score: 3 (5 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 21:55
32. Posted by HughS | August 27, 2007 10:03 PM | Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
Mantis
It doesn't really matter which party's votes you're driving away from your opponent, does it?
It does in the South. Democrats in the South have remained the same in spite of the many national monikers they have been given: Yellow Dog, Boll Weevil and Blue to name such for a few decades. There are certain issues they will not wander far from: religion, sexual preference and crop supports.
32. Posted by HughS | August 27, 2007 10:03 PM |
Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 22:03
33. Posted by Jim Addison | August 27, 2007 10:04 PM | Score: 1 (5 votes cast)
Craig should resign immediately. He is a disgrace to the Senate.
mantis should also resign immediately, as a disgrace to the internet.
33. Posted by Jim Addison | August 27, 2007 10:04 PM |
Score: 1 (5 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 22:04
34. Posted by civil behavior | August 27, 2007 10:06 PM | Score: 0 (6 votes cast)
The party that stands for traditional family values
Uh Huh.
Tee hee hee.
34. Posted by civil behavior | August 27, 2007 10:06 PM |
Score: 0 (6 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 22:06
35. Posted by SCSIwuzzy | August 27, 2007 10:07 PM | Score: 0 (4 votes cast)
So Imelda, you're OK with sex with subordinates and minors so long as they are out of the closet?
Good to know.
35. Posted by SCSIwuzzy | August 27, 2007 10:07 PM |
Score: 0 (4 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 22:07
36. Posted by SPQR | August 27, 2007 10:12 PM | Score: -1 (3 votes cast)
Mantis, that does not explain why Democrats ridicule the sexuality of openly gay conservatives where there is not any claim of hypocrisy.
36. Posted by SPQR | August 27, 2007 10:12 PM |
Score: -1 (3 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 22:12
37. Posted by HughS | August 27, 2007 10:13 PM | Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
CB
Uh Huh.
Tee hee hee.
By default, and your poor attempt at humor, you just remind us of the fact that you have no values...
37. Posted by HughS | August 27, 2007 10:13 PM |
Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
Posted on August 27, 2007 22:13
38. Posted by HughS | August 27, 2007 10:18 PM | Score: 0 (2 votes cast)