The libs are in full rapture today with the disclosure that another Republican was caught in a compromising position. Wasn't the mantra during the Clinton impeachment hearings that he was being impeached for "sex" (although he said it was not sex) and we should leave his private business to him?
Now that we have an Idaho senator who did...well, I'm not exactly sure what he did but make overtures to a cop that could've been construed as asking for sex in the gay world, I guess. Even a hooker can't be arrested unless she discusses money.
If Jim McGreevey admitted to having anonymous sex at truck stops throughout New Jersey and never faced arrest, how can this case lead to an arrest? Craig "lingered," played footsie and made some questionable hand gestures. That is not a crime and he never should have copped to one. Note that the TPM folks are in agreement.
That's not the point of this post, however. The point I wish to make is that it becomes all the rage to slam GOP politicians every time sex scandals are discovered and the crescendo is double if it's a gay scandal because of the so called "hypocrisy."
But libs and gays are the first to scream that you're born that way and I tend to believe that as well. If he's gay -- and all indications are that he is -- it's not hypocrisy to have his feelings on issues. Hypocrisy is John Edwards railing on about poverty and then have $16-million invested in a company he worked for that foreclosed on Katrina victims. Senator Craig not supporting the majority view of gay activists and liberals does not make him a hypocrite, it makes him a man with differing views. It's kind of like Michael Steele in the last election, he was accused of not taking "black positions" on issues. If he has a well-thought out position and he's a black man, it's a black position regardless of what the majority thinks. If Senator Craig is anti-gay marriage or whatever, that is his opinion and the fact that he is gay means nothing regardless of his thoughts.
Isn't the entire point of gay activism to get them the same rights in hiring, marriage, etc? Then why do liberals take such glee every time a GOP politician is outed as gay? Isn't ones sexuality supposed to be ones own business? Aren't people supposed to be judged on the content of ones character and not on the color of their skin or sexual orientation to paraphrase Dr. King? Hypocrisy is the actions those who support gay rights are taking as we speak.
Update: Craig says he's not gay and says he should have pleaded not guilty but wanted to make it "go away".
Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 2)
16. Actually I could care less if someone has Sex in the restroom or not as long as it is discrete.
It seems like lawmakers cared and made it against the law. Senators should know the law and don't make themselves vulnerable by doing something which could jeopardize them. I am sure it is incredible embarrassing for the Senator already. Sure he had no business talking against gay rights but I take every word of a politician with a grain of salt anyway. However his action don't speak for the action of every republican nor will I remember his name tomorrow. Hey I didn't even know his name four days ago.
Sandra at 7:56AM on Aug 29th 2007
17. Not that it makes it right, Sandra, but it's discrete when it's a private consenual act, and if it's an enemy that discovers it and creates a scandal from it, then a pox on their house. It's never discrete to touch a stranger in a public restroom, or anywhere else. Isn't it odd that it's the Republicons that made this sort of indiscrete behavior fair game, but now it's Republicons that keep getting caught? Rudy made a public spectacle of his affair and divorce, a Republicon so-called defender of marriage preacher was caught doing methamphetamine with a male hooker, a Republicon congressman whose wife proclaimed during the attempted Republicon coup de ta of President Clinton that she would never stand by her man turns out to have been buying hookers at the same time, and she's still standing by him, Republicon Foley gets caught seducing teenage pages, Newt told his cancer stricken wife as she lay in her hospital bed that he was divorcing her, now a Republicon senator who said President Clinton was a bad man gets caught trying to seduce a strange man in a public restroom, after an earlier investigation involving teenage pages. Thank the Lord we have Hillary, who has no such allegations against her, and the worst you can throw at her is that she stood by her sinning husband and held her one and only family together.
Fred Staggs at 10:30AM on Aug 29th 2007
18. "What did he do that was illegal?" ??? What the hell?
For someone with such strong opinions on the matter you'd think you'd know the answer to that question.
He engaged in lewd conduct in a public place. Which is, um, illegal. That's the official charge, which was reduced to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct. And he pled guilty, which means he admits that he did something illegal. Most conservatives and liberals can agree that sex in public places isn't appropriate. Except for you apparently, Scott.
Congratulations. You are the one person in America defending Senator Craig. You're doing a hamfisted job of it, but still. You should email him; I bet you could get a position on his staff. I'm sure the benefits are great.
mac at 11:09AM on Aug 29th 2007
19. If lewd conduct is hand signals and foot movements, we have major problems.
Listen, I'll say this slowly, I'm not defending the guy, I'm saying that he did not commit a crime and should never have been charged. He chose to plead guilty to save himself the embarrassment of media saturation and it didn't work.
I don't remember a single person on the left saying McGreevey engaging in anonymous sex was wrong when Craig has not been proven to have done so.
Personally i think his behavior is abhorrent if he was signalling for sex, the evidence is inconclusive unless some of you commenters can confirm that his actions were accepted gay sex signals.
Scott at 11:20AM on Aug 29th 2007
20. Scott, I agree a little bit with your sarcasm. Obviously I do not know the signs of lewding. However I always believed that where there is smoke there is fire. People always said what Clinton did was nobodies business. But I have to admit that I never really cared about his misconduct in that regard either. It is Hillary's job to care.
But if you thought Clinton and Monica were wrong then Senator Craig would be also wrong, wouldn't he?
It looks like the police officer has the heck of a job looking for lewder in the restroom. Serious, don't they have terrorists and criminals to hunt and our country to protect?
Fred, why is it odd that Republicans get caught? Republicans are people too. They are not perfect and many people can measure up to their own standards. And by the way Ted Haggard was a pastor not a politician. When he was preaching he must have preached to himself. Otherwise I have no explanation for his preaching. I think people should step away from the assumption that being gay is bad then the world would be better off as we are all equal despite our sexual orientation.
Sandra at 11:52AM on Aug 29th 2007
21. Senator Craig did not, I repeat, did not plead guilty to lewd behavior or any other sex crime but to disorderly conduct. People plead out cases like this every day across the country as fighting the original charges would undoubtedly turn very ugly in a very public way. So he tried to makke it go away. I'm also a litle tired of the "Where there's smoke" analogy. Sometimes where there's smoke there's just more smoke. It appears there has been a more than decades long attempt to smear this man to no avail. If he really was so flagrantly trolling for gay sex for all these years and was under such scrutiny as he has been subjected to, why hasn't he been caught. This latest episode is far from being caught. It all seems rather flimsy. Tapping his foot? Please. Give me a break already.
Joe Edgington at 2:00PM on Aug 29th 2007
22. I'm sorry Scott, this one is just too funny...
I think he and Newt should start dating?
HAAAAA !!!!!
Manfred at 3:54PM on Aug 29th 2007
23. Not that there's anything wrong with it, right Manny?
Scott at 4:25PM on Aug 29th 2007
24. Sorry Man,
yeh Newt...or please pull my Cheney Dick......
I can't write anymore, I am too busy laughing about the pulsating man-boy cloud over Idaho. This is too good....
Manfred at 6:25PM on Aug 29th 2007
25. In what was widely seen another "blow" to their flaccid public image, Republican Party Strategists gathered today at a press conference at Motel 6 to formally announce their party's merger with NAMBLA, (North American Man-Boy Love Association) the controversial group that advocates sexual affection between underage boys and over the hill men.
With the recent arrest of Rep Senator Larry Craig (Idaho) for trying to get some love action with an undercover cop in the restroom at the Minneapolis/ St. Paul airport, party stalwarts were left with no other option but to cum clean, and spit out what has already become obvious to the nation: the Republican Party has become the #1 spot in the nation for repressed homosexual longings.
"Why fight it?" was the attitude of many legislators.
"Actually, not a single one of us joined the party for anything else," admitted defrocked Atty General Alberto Gonzales. "All this talk about God, going to church, being a Moral Majoritarian, it was all just a ploy to get our mitts on some hot young Sunday School carne assada and do the chalupa chupa. Heck, you can't even get an invitation to the funraisers anymore unless you bring some meth and a hot young boy with you. I quit!"
(Editor's note: This missive is NOT about the pros and cons of being gay, it's about putting other people down a la Jimmy Swaggart, when you're actually knockin' da boots with hookers and their daughters in cheap motel rooms, chokin' yur chicken in a hankie, then getting back in time for the show)
However all was not smooth on the other side of this political intercourse. Outraged NAMBLA members threatened to resign en masse if the merger is finalized.
Spokesperson Rod Constant stated, "Hey, puttin' the wood to a liquored up 8 year old is one thing, but joining the Republican Party?? We got some STANDARDS here."
More to come........ ......... ....
pat young at 8:26PM on Aug 29th 2007
26.
SCOTT--YOU NEED TO DIRECT YOUR QUESTIONS TO THE GOP.
THEY THREW THE GUY OUT ON HIS EAR AS SOON AS THEY GOT WIND OF WHAT HAPPENED. ISNT THERE SUPPOSED TO BE A PROCESS INVOLVED BEFORE A CONGRESSMAN RESIGNS.
SHOULDNT THERE HAVE BEEN AN ETHICS COMMITTEE INVESTIGATION. CRAIG COULD HAVE BEEN 'SET UP'
(I DON'T THINK SO) BUT MAYBE. SHOULDNT THE REPUBS GOTTEN ALL OF THE FACTS BEFORE TAKING ACTION.
THE REPUBS ARE SETTING A BAD PRECEDENT WHICH WILL COME BACK TO HAUNT THEM. THEY ARE ALSO EXCUSING VITTER'S BEHAVIOR, WITH NARY AN INVESTIGATION, A VOTE OF CENSURE OR TAKING ANY OTHER DISCIPLINARY MEASURES.
IS THIS HOW THE PARTY IS GOING TO DEAL WITH FUTURE SITUATIONS OF THIS KIND????HOW WILL THEY SQUARE THAT WITH THEIR PROFESSED COMMITMENT TO FAMILY VALUES???.
Pat at 10:08AM on Sep 4th 2007
27. One issue is whether or not Larry Craig is a hypocrite. This seems simple to resolve -- he is.
A second, related one, is whether or not people who proclaim that peoples sexual consensual actitivities should be left in private are also hypocrites when they both rejoice over and endlessly repeat their condemnations of the sexual activities of someone who they happen to dislike. This also seems simple to resolve -- they are too.
Larry at 2:01AM on Sep 4th 2007
28. Disorderly conduct. I guess if he had been arrested for sodomy he could have had the charged reduced to a citation for following too close.
David at 12:33AM on Sep 13th 2007