Craig Says “I’m Not Gay” …
… and I could care less.
What I do care about is the blatant character assassination going on from both within the GOP and from without. Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) was arrested back in June for allegedly soliciting sex in a men’s room of the Minneapolis Airport. Craig subsequently plead guilty to a charge of lewd conduct.
Sen. Craig states that he pleaded to the lesser charge to make the thing go away. Given the total lack of evidence that has been reported you or I wouldn’t have plead to anything. However, I do understand that Sen. Craig is a public figure and he probably thought that this would go away. Of course it never does.
Now it is true that Sen. Craig has been accused of living in the closet for some time. I also believe that anyone who attacks the gay community is:
- A bigot. (I’m not talking about criticizing the walking down Castro Street buck naked, grabbing your boyfriend’s ass type of behavior either)
- Makes their own personal life fair game.
I have read accusations that Sen. Craig has engaged in a little gay bashing of his own. If this is true, and it turns out that he’s a “closet case” then too bad. However, as things stand right now there is no evidence of any wrongdoing on Craig’s part and the press should report the facts rather than speculate as to Craig’s lifestyle.
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UPDATE -
Just as we were going to post I received confirmation that Craig has been stripped of his seat as ranking member of Veterans’ Affairs and on two appropriations subcommittees. In addition, Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) have all called for Craig’s resignation. This concerns me on two counts. First of all, Craig is innocent until proven guilty. Second, we have the rank hypocrisy of GOP members not policing their own on issues such as earmarks and borderline corruption coupled with the likes of Rep. Allan Mollohan (D-WV) and Rep. Jack Murtha (D-PA) being given a relatively free pass by the media and their fellows in Congress.
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In a related note, I was amused at the filing of a complaint by a group calling itself Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. If there was a “truth in labeling” statue, the name of the group would be Liberals for Defaming Republicans. Check out their website and see who they complain against. It sure isn’t Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton.
Do you honestly believe that if a Democrat Congressman (Gerry Studds) had sex with a minor that they would be complaining? Of course not!
Technorati Tags: LarryCraig, gay, Idaho, hypocrisy, politics, Idahopolitics
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Comments
By the way, how come no links to Ron Paul? He may be quirky but at least he brings dialogue to this debate, no?
Sooooo, it’s O.K. for some, not others, or does being “open” exonerate? As in Barney Frank?
He was not charged with being gay. But the “conduct” suggested it.
I thot “disorderly conduct” was a misdemeanor & not that big a deal. Maybe a warning, maybe a fine.
(Unless you are noisey & live in the city limits of you know where.)
What did Kennedy get for DWI? There were movies, for pete’s sake. “Oh, I’m sorry…going to rehab” for a short time doesn’t make it better.
Surely, it has to do with the “correct” party affiliation, politically. And having the last name Kennedy doesn’t hurt, either.
O.J. was found not guilty but we all know he’s not innocent. This isn’t a court of law and all is fair. The mere appearance of impropriety is enough. As you noted, Craig apparently has a history:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2007/08/idaho_statesman_raises_questio.html
The more troubling query is how quickly Romney through him under the bus….