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Craig: Not Gay, May Stay

Here’s the headline of the day:

Craig rethinking resignation, spokesman says

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, is reconsidering his decision to resign after his arrest in a Minnesota airport sex sting and may still fight for his Senate seat, his spokesman said Tuesday evening.

“It’s not such a foregone conclusion anymore, that the only thing he could do was resign,” said Sidney Smith, Craig’s spokesman, in Idaho’s capital.

“We’re still preparing as if Senator Craig will resign September 30, but the outcome of the legal case in Minnesota and the ethics investigation will have an impact on whether we’re able to stay in the fight—and stay in the Senate.”

Yes, yes: Larry! Stay and fight, Larry! Stay and fight! Don’t let them shove you out—did Trent Lott go quietly when they tried to shove him out? No! So why should you? Stay and fight, Larry!

Comments (29)

1

Jeez. First he's guilty, then he's not guilty. Then he's resigning, then he's not resigning. Can we replace that picture of Kerry in the dictionary next to "waffles" now?

Posted by K | September 4, 2007 6:27 PM
2

"I am not gay. I have never been gay. I might be a little bit homosexual, but I am certainly not gay.

Especially not this week."

Hope he fights it. This sounds right to me:

Former House Democratic counsel Stan Brand, of the Brand Law Group, Craig’s counsel for Ethics Committee issues, challenged the GOP leadership’s request for a Senate investigation and asserted that the Ethics panel does not have the authority to look at Craig’s conduct.

“The Senate, in its history, has never asserted jurisdiction over purely personal conduct — here, a misdemeanor that doesn’t relate in any manner to performance of official duties,” Brand said. “In resolving his situation fully with the Senate before he leaves, we’d like the committee to make that clear so he doesn’t leave under any type of cloud.”

Posted by RonK, Seattle | September 4, 2007 6:39 PM
3

What about Bill "she sucked me off in the oval office" Clinton? The gov't goes after private conduct all the time. Do we care or don't we, and could we please pick a policy before we waffle-iron ourselves to death?

Posted by Katelyn | September 4, 2007 6:47 PM
4

Next thing you know he'll be walking down the street in a too-short skirt with no underwear and shaving his head and saying y'all. Attention whore. Enough already! Out with you! On all levels!

Posted by Michigan Matt | September 4, 2007 6:51 PM
5

The reason we have a Democratic party is to serve the interests of Larry Craig, and anybody, anywhere, who is oppressed by those who would use their power and privilege for personal gain.

The Republican attack on Mr. Craig is pure partisanship, plain and simple. They're going after this man not on any defensible principle, but because it serves their anti-gay political agenda.

Posted by elenchos | September 4, 2007 6:59 PM
6

Most boring political story of the year so far.

Posted by BallardDan | September 4, 2007 7:08 PM
7

He can pull off the "I'm not gay..." defense if he simply adds on to the end "...I have a scat fetish!". After all, the GOP is fine with Baby Man Vitter, they certainly can accept a straight shit lover.

Posted by yucca flower | September 4, 2007 7:26 PM
8

My only hope is that this story can stay in the news cycle long enough to distract us from the September report on Iraq.

If Craig goes in and out again and again (of the closet, the Senate), we may just forget all about General Petraeus and the clusterfuck we've wrought long enough to sustain another few years of the 'surge'.

Posted by brie | September 4, 2007 7:29 PM
9

Dan,

Not sure if you saw this already. It's a heart-wrenching and very eloquent op-ed in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel from an 18 year old gay kid. Well worth the read.

Posted by Ryan | September 4, 2007 7:33 PM
10

Why would anyone want him to represent their state in the Senate? The man can't make a damn decision!!

Posted by Suz | September 4, 2007 7:47 PM
11

it's ridiculous that he'd have to resign over this scandal. sure, he's a hypocritical jerk, but when has that ever kept someone out of elected office?

Posted by josh | September 4, 2007 7:58 PM
12

It would be a crime if Larry resigned over this. He is 100% Str8!!

Stay, Larry. Take Arlen's advice and keep on tickin after you got a licken!

Posted by jonathan | September 4, 2007 8:14 PM
13

Fabulous!!! I'm making popcorn...

Posted by D in Providence | September 4, 2007 8:31 PM
14

It's a little late now, but it occurs to me he could have made the excuse that he thought he was trolling in the women's restroom, but went through the wrong door.

Posted by Jude Fawley | September 4, 2007 8:35 PM
15

should have just said he was tapping his foot to the music on his iPod

Posted by -B- | September 4, 2007 8:45 PM
16

If he stays, there will be hearings--the Republicans have already said there would be--and that means all past allegations get voiced, and all the whispered secrets get investigated. And I doubt any Republican wants that going on as the election moves toward full tilt.

It's going to be messy. The Republicans want this to go away in the worst way. Wonder what they'll do next.

Posted by Boomer in NYC | September 4, 2007 8:47 PM
17

I want him to stay; if he remains in office, he or whoever runs on the Republican ticket will likely be defeated in the next election by a Democrat. If he leaves now, the Republican govenor appoints a successor who then gets to run as an incumbent - a much stronger opinion.


Posted by StayOnDotOrg | September 4, 2007 9:28 PM
18

Remember, his words were an "intent to resign" on September 30. That was how he phrased it at the time. He didn't say "I resign".

Posted by Dave Coffman | September 4, 2007 10:45 PM
19

He's a lying twat! How can anyone trust a word that comes out of his "I might be a little bit homosexual" mouth? Piss off, I'm bored!

Posted by Mal | September 4, 2007 11:41 PM
20

How quickly we forget. When it was suggested that Bill Clinton must resign for his prickadillo, we all shouted: "No - it was only a b.j. Stay, Bill! Don't let those sanctimonious Republican assholes force you out." Now - despite the fact that Craig is equally duplicitous and hypocritical - why should he resign for not actually having done anything? He has expressed some remorse. Would you like him to stick his head in the oven? A little bit of gay rehab, and he'll be senatorial as new. Now, if we hear of Petraeus going down on a Marine, it'll be a whole new ball game. Surge, what surge?

Posted by KY. COL. of TRUTH | September 5, 2007 12:55 AM
21

Shrewd old guy - wants a better deal to go away.

Cushy something to help in his forced retirement- shall we chant - off shore bank accounts.

Plus, despite all, and he is truly fucked up, I don't think he is used to taking shit. And certainly not a classic wimpy quitter ... in the audio he is really taking back to the sting ray from the vice squad.

He has been KING of Idaho politics for many years, maybe he likes it.

Over thirty percent if Idaho voters think he was set up. Why should they trust big city cops - of course - why should any of us trust big city vice cops ??? Good question and we all know the answer. We shouldn't.

Tap, tap back. Classic entrapment. Sen. Arlen Specter of PA, former prosecuter says fight, no case at all.

I have been having great fantasies about how well hung the cute studly cop is and just what he might do in a bed room, some wine, weed, and a horny three way ... oh, yah.

This saga is far from boring ... and might just have a thousand more legs.

I just wish his politics were not so wretched, god what a parody of the far, far right. Simply horrible.

Posted by JESUS GOMEZ | September 5, 2007 5:58 AM
22

Boy did this brighten my morning! This is just the gift that keeps on giving....

Posted by Providence | September 5, 2007 6:22 AM
23

I don't think anyone, anywhere, even his kids, actually believe he's not gay. But he shouldn't resign if he doesn't want to. If the GOP is going to start asking for resignations for shit like this they had better call Vitter and Allen too.

But I'd rather him stay around and try to get re-elected.

Posted by monkey | September 5, 2007 6:52 AM
24

I like the idea of him staying. It just gives more fodder to attack the GOP with. And besides, in the end it is up to the voters of Idaho to kick his ass out of office.

Posted by Just Me | September 5, 2007 7:37 AM
25

Minneapolis is a "big city"?

Posted by Lars Nativson | September 5, 2007 8:47 AM
26

uh, yeah, Minneapolis-St Paul is the 16th largest metro area in the US...it IS a big city with drugs, and crime, and porn, and running water and even electricity...

Posted by michael strangeways | September 5, 2007 10:20 AM
27

All the comments comparing this to the Lewinsky scandal are missing the point about why Dan loves these stories to begin with.
Clinton didn't go around ranting about how bjs were the from the devil and trying to get a constitutional amendment banning them. IT'S THE HYPOCRISY of the "family values" types that makes it noteworthy.
I don't think he should have to resign but does it surprise anyone that the Republicans do? They've been making people's private lives their business for a while now.

Posted by chi type | September 5, 2007 12:40 PM
28

He's not gay, he just likes to blow strange men in airport toilets. Geez, don't all straight guys do that?

Give me a freaking break. Who cares whether the fool is gay or not - the fact remains he's a repulsive, self-loathing hypocritical lying asshole.

But I want him to finish out his term, so Governor "I'm So Butch" Otter doesn't get to appoint a somewhat-to-the-right-of-Attila-the-Hun flaming theocratic loon to the seat.

Posted by Geni | September 5, 2007 2:37 PM
29

I agree with Suz @ 10. If he had stayed and fought in the first place, he could have at least given the illusion of strength, or whatever. But now, he's just shown himself to be totally wishy-washy -- why would anyone support him now, if he can't even stick to one consistent position over the course of a week?

Posted by bookworm | September 5, 2007 4:21 PM

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