The Long National Gay Bathroom Sex Nightmare

I thought it was over. On Saturday, Larry Craig resigned from his Senate seat, effective September 30.

Now, it appears that our long national gay bathroom sex, foot tapping, hand signals nightmare is NOT over.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 -- Senator Larry E. Craig of Idaho opened the door Tuesday to returning to the Senate, creating another twist in his unfolding political drama and raising the possibility of an ugly showdown with national Republican leaders.

Dan Whiting, a spokesman for Mr. Craig, an Idaho Republican, said Tuesday night that Mr. Craig had not ruled out reversing his plan to step down Sept. 30. After intense pressure from Republican colleagues in the Senate, Mr. Craig announced Saturday that it would be best for “the people of Idaho” if he resigned after the disclosure of his guilty plea last month to disorderly conduct charges stemming from his arrest in June in a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport bathroom.

“As he stated on Saturday, Senator Craig intends to resign on Sept. 30,” Mr. Whiting said in a statement. “However, he is fighting these charges, and should he be cleared before then, he may, and I emphasize may, not resign.”

...Mr. Craig has been encouraged by Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee who is a former prosecutor, to contest the charges.

...Late Tuesday, Roll Call, the newspaper that covers Congress and first broke the story of Mr. Craig’s guilty plea, posted on its Web site an audiotape of a voice message the senator apparently intended for a lawyer of his, Billy Martin, on Saturday morning as he was heading to the news conference in which he announced his intention to resign. In the message, Mr. Craig indicated he could reconsider resigning.

“Arlen Specter is now willing to come out in my defense, arguing that it appears by all that he knows that I’ve been railroaded, all of that,” the senator said. “Having all of that, we’ve reshaped my statement a little bit to say it is my intent to resign on Sept. 30.”

Why am I not surprised that Arlen Specter is involved in this?

I can understand why Craig would aggressively seek to fight the charges.

I can't understand why he would flip flop on his resignation. Just throwing out the possibility that he might reconsider stepping down is an utterly selfish move.

Craig is keeping the scandal alive and potentially damaging his party.

From the Associated Press:

All three of Craig's adopted children said Tuesday they believe their father's assertions he is not gay and did nothing to warrant his arrest.

Jay Craig, 33, told The Associated Press that he, his brother, Michael Craig, 38, and his sister, Shae Howell, 36, spoke candidly with their father about the June 11 arrest.

"Our conclusion was there was no wrongdoing there," Jay Craig said. "We understood the direction he was taking (by pleading guilty) and there was nothing illegal that happened there that would even convince somebody what he was doing was illegal. He was a victim of circumstance, in the wrong place at the wrong time when this sting operation was going on."

In a separate interview on Tuesday, with ABC's "Good Morning America," Michael Craig used similar language about his father.

What is that?

Why mention that Craig adopted his children?

Does it matter that he's not their biological father?

Apparently, the AP thinks it's an important part of the story.

Putting the adoption stuff aside, it's a major mistake for Craig to try to hang on to his seat.

I know there's a double standard when it comes to conservatives and scandal. Their Dem counterparts aren't forced to resign when they find themselves in the midst of trouble. The Dems circle the wagons and protect their colleagues, allowing them to get away with all sorts of wrongdoing and perversion.

Granted, it's terribly unfair.

But in the end, I believe that Craig is putting himself before his constituents and his party.

He doesn't seem to care that dealing with this scandal would leave him little time to do the people's work. It's all about him.

I think Craig needs a serious check on his ego.

Read more.
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The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has weighed in on the Craig story, producing another idiotic editorial, "Politics and morality."

The Board is outraged over the hypocrisy in the Craig case.

Obviously, Craig, who opposed gay rights as a senator, erred in his behavior - if the charges are true - and in not disclosing the conviction to his constituents and colleagues. But where's the outrage in his party about Louisiana GOP Sen. David Vitter? The party says the case is different because there are no charges after revelations that his phone number (when he was a House member) appeared among those called by an escort service.

That's hollow inasmuch as Vitter has acknowledged having committed a "very serious sin." Just what sin do people think he's talking about?

The Vitter and Craig cases can't be compared. There are distinctions.

Vitter isn't engaged in legal battles to clear his name.

Moreover, "a serious sin" isn't necessarily illegal or a crime.

Another difference, Craig was charged by police and he pled guilty.

By the way, just how many elected officials, Dem and Republican, does the Board think have committed "serious sins"?

There's a lot of sinning going on in Washington. Is that the standard for resignation? If so, no one would be left.

I really don't like the hypocritical Board crying, "Hypocrisy."

Clearly, the homosexual dimensions heightened party angst in the Craig case. That's politics. But it's also hypocrisy and sad all around.

No, that's not clear at all.

Craig was caught in a sting operation. It doesn't matter what it involved. Instead of homosexual activity, it could have been heterosexual in nature. It could have been drugs. It could have been dogfighting.

I object to the Board using Craig's bad behavior as a way to take a swipe at Republicans, depicting them as intolerant.

It's an unfair, unfounded accusation.
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UPDATE:

WASHINGTON -- Lawyers for Sen. Larry Craig asked the Senate ethics committee Wednesday to reject a complaint based on the Idaho Republican's guilty plea in a police undercover operation in an airport men's room, saying the events were "wholly unrelated" to official duties.

"Assertion of jurisdiction over this matter by the committee would be literally unprecedented and would create deleterious consequences for the Senate as a whole," the lawyers wrote.

The letter was hand-delivered to the ethics committee hours after Craig served notice that he was reconsidering his weekend pledge to resign his seat.