So here is what disgraced Senator Larry Craig did. He placed his bag down in front of the airport bathroom door. He went tap, tap, tap with his foot. He reached over with his left hand and touched the leg of the fellow in the next stall. After that he did...well, nothing. The officer confronted him and accused him of soliciting, and Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and paid the fine.
Here, to get a little perspective, is what Congressman Barney Frank did several years ago. He answered a personal ad in the Washington Blade in which a male prostitute, Stephen Gobie, drew public attention to his "hot bottom" and "large endowment." Frank began to pay Gobie for sex and even invited Gobie to move in with him. When the arrangement soured, Gobie revealed to the press that he had been running a full-service prostitution ring out of Frank's Capitol Hill apartment.
Why then is Craig on the ropes while Frank continues as a Congressman in good standing? Certainly the difference isn't homosexuality, which seems to be a common factor in both cases. Nor can the explanation be found in the gravity of the offense involved. Craig's is much less serious, since the worst he did was proposition another adult to have sex, not exactly the first time in history that this has happened. Frank, by contrast, was employing a male hooker for paid favors and providing operating facilities for a D.C. prostitution ring.
I suppose the difference is that Craig has been a champion of moral values--which makes him vulnerable to the charge of hypocrisy--while Frank is a libertine which means he gets to do as he pleases. (Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy are also given free passes for similar reasons.) Another difference, as far as the mainstream media is concerned, is that Craig is a Republican. If you're looking for two-faced people who abuse their power, Craig may not be the greatest offender here.
Reader Comments ( Page 6 of 12)
76. While not all republicans assume we are the religious police for the nation, we do believe that strong family values and sitting down to dinner with the family at the dinner table at night would probably do alot to keep the fabric of a once-great nation together. (It might even help with communication in your family more than that counselor you go see.)
While my personal beliefs don't allow for homosexual behavior, I believe that we are in a country that allows me to believe that...and for you to believe as you will. I think that's called Free Agency.
My worry isn't as much what happened in the Bible (although that is important and guides my life), but instead what happened in the history of the Roman Empire, once the gates were opened and all sorts of perversions and ultra-liberalistic beliefs permeated Roman government. Everyone was so busy eating, puking, and screwing the neighbor's wife and goat, that the government was a void, which nobody listened to anyway.
Didn't a libertine already help to erode the basic premises this country was based on when the words "under God" were deleted from the Pledge of Allegiance to Flag of the United States (except California)?
Why did "under God" cause so much damage? If you review the deeds and other documents written by our founding fathers (Jefferson, Franklin, etc), you'd see where they spent the first half the deed declaring how Providence and God were responsible for their fortune, etc. prior to assigning the title. It didn't mean that the State required that God be mentioned, nor did it define the religious preference of the next land holders...and it didn't cause the nation to fall.
I guess what I am trying to say is, "if you don't want your kid to pray in schools, then tell him to color during the two minute "quiet period" while others are being silent and undemonstrative as they choose to pray." There is no need to force others NOT to have a religion because you don't, just like many of you have said we're the morality police and are forcing things the opposite way.
This country is a mixture of peoples and beliefs, and we all need to play nice or LEAVE. As a military member, if I committed adultery or a homosexual act, I would be subject to military law, convicted of a FELONY, labeled a sex offender and dishonorably discharged...not so much for normal citizens, or even the president. Why NOT? If you need to be of such high caliber to go out and die for the rights of all citizens, shouldn't all elected officials (and for that matter ALL SPORTS FIGURES) need to maintain that standard of conduct? Boy, that would be refreshing. Hell, let's throw in celeBRATies, too. Then we could save the forests by eliminating the need for tabloids! Whew! Why didn't Sen. Gore suggest THAT in his movie?
Lightning Rod at 5:24PM on Sep 1st 2007
77. DINESH....SOMEHOW CAN MAKE CHOCLATE OUT OF DOODY IF IT COMES OUT OF A DEMOCRAT..AND REVERSE THE PROCESS IF ITS A DEOMOCRAT. What is the bottom line here..Craig is Married, and not supposed to be going with men or women....and crusing toilets...is really low class for a senator, who is a hypocrite..who is anti-gay rights, marriage etc. He is a horrible hypocrite... Barney Frank (if the store might be strue what Dinesh claims) was blackmailed by an alleged prostitute. If Barney invited the guy to live with him, then he must have been in love with him...and probably never new he was a prostitue nor, that he was doing anything illegal.. I am sure if he did run such a ring, the guy had is own private phone, and no clients ever came to the apt.....The story might have been made up only to blackmail BARNEY..and not true at all. DINESH always takes the wrong side of most issues....that is what he is paid to do.
DR Tim PATERSON at 6:24PM on Sep 1st 2007
78. Says rightwing cheerleader Dave:
"The big difference is, that no matter what the odd behavior, Democrats circle the wagons to protect their perverts, we Republicans do everything we can to oust our perverts. There is no hypocrisy, every time a Republican does something morally wrong, it ends his career, and if it were a couple hundred years ago, Craig would have been physically driven out of washington by an angry mob."
Maybe you forgot that whore-loving, diaper-loving David Vitter is still in office, and was CHEERED by his fellow Republicans when he returned to the Senate this summer.
Either than or you're a liar, like most GOP tools.
chumley at 5:29PM on Sep 1st 2007
79. It's not about sex. It's about truth and integrity.
Barney Frank says he's gay and votes for gay marriage. Take him or leave him, you know what he's about.
Craig and Foley hunt from ambush. They cloak themselves in conservative ideology while skulking about in toilets and chatting up young pages.
Does anybody--anybody without an agenda--imagine the lying ends there? Consider these mens' indiscretions, well and widely known: do you imagine either could resist the "lobbying" of anyone in a position to expose them?
Do you imagine that either one did?
And what did that cost the country?
S. Norman at 6:21PM on Sep 1st 2007
80. I made an error on my post..it should have read that he can make choc out of doory is it comes out of a REPUBLICAN....and vice versa. DINESH is a paid Republican weapon of mass deception like ANN COULter, who is a psychotic slut...and that is really a sicentific evaluation
DR Tim PATERSON at 6:26PM on Sep 1st 2007
81. One of the posters....saaid that too many people have come out of the closet.. well you havent seen anything yet....wait till BUSH comes out...with Jeff GANNON. The same poster wished CRAIG peace...I really do not think that the hypocrite deserves it.....
DR Tim PATERSON at 6:46PM on Sep 1st 2007
82. How stupid can somebody be to ask such a dumbass
question. This HOOVER Fellow must like to put up
little strawmen/B.S. just to be writing to bait somebody into arguing with him. Conserative and or Republican-minded people just can not stand for people to be free and have fun. So what Bill Clinton got a blow-job,ole Barney Frank stuck his frank in a shit hole and this is Bad,Wrong or immoral? Just because they (Bill&Barney) go to the beat of a different drum,does not mean it is wrong
or right, they just wanted to have some fun! Barney Frank was known to be GAY and Monica asked If she could suck it! If that two-faced progressive-poligamy minded Red-neck speaker of the U.S. House had not shut down
the govt.(I'm going to take my toys home and not play with you anymore Billy Clinton)he would not have been working in the Whitehouse all alone!
THis is a fact, stop trying to be perfect and make everybody be alike, two-footed or judgemental about how somebody ought to live. Dinesh D'Souza you need to stop being a suck-up wannabe 'white boy' by acting like them! Live and let live. Sen. Craig has a problem like the so called catholic sham-men(priest) playing around with little dumb-ass white boys like the Ancient Greeks in the Gyms and they called it 'Puppy Love'. Answer this joke of a question: What does Henry the Eighth,Thomas Jefferson,John Kennedy&Stom Thrumond have in common? Ans. All politically succesfull men
that did not use Viagra to be doin it all time
to be women who were not their wives,matter of fact
Jefferson & Thrimond were just plain ole rapist(as if those women could say NO!) D. D., Had you been born in the U.S.,grew up and attend public schools
you could appreciate how diffrent we think...you have a British inferioriy status, on the other hand
we kick their assessv and we are free to be whom ever we want to be so go f---k yourself with such
nonsense. Mr. Smarty-pants,you could'nt spend a night in a big city jail and not have your two holes
with additional fluids put in them. But I bet you I
could!
Paul washington-Lacey at 8:43PM on Sep 1st 2007
83. Barney Frank's actions were at a time when many Americans were not as caught up in the social issues involving morality as they are today. Further, Frank represents a decidedly liberal democratic district. As you mentioned in regard to Senator Kennedy, many Americans almost expect that kind of behavior out of the northeast. Craig is from Idaho, one of the most conservative states, and times have changed. He was a leader in Romney's organization - certainly pro-family values is a benchmark of that campaign. Americans may chuckle over a sordid affair that involves someone we half expect to be involved in such behavior, but Americans hate a hypocrite. Further, this was not the first time the senator has had to defend himself against similar charges. Finally, the Republican Party of late has become ensnarled in a host of scandals - corruption in office (Ney, and counting), sexual (Foley, Vitter, and counting), and has lost focus as well as momentum.
Mike S at 9:13PM on Sep 1st 2007
84. The difference between Craig and Frank is that Craig's behavior scares straight people. Frank is a gay male who had sex with another gay male. Some straight people might find that behavior offensive, but it does not affect their world in the same way as Craig's behavior. They fear that they (if they are male) or someone they love will be approached in a public restroom by someone like Craig. They feel that men who approach other men in bathrooms for sex deserve to be arrested, beaten or even worse. These are the people who voted Craig into office.
crm at 9:42PM on Sep 1st 2007
85. The Republican party has hijacked "family values" and "moral values" pretending they are the all mighty. Democrats are less guilty of hypocritacal behavior, whether illegal or not. While not condoning what Barney Frank did, he was single, was not promoting anti-gay legislation and did not plead guilty to a crime in order to "make this go away quietly." I think Sen. Craigs biggest mistake was he kept the guilty plea a secret from his WIFE! And why, why, why do you friggin moralistic republicans have to always go back 15 years and say "why was so and so not removed from office." This issue is about Sen. Craig, NOT Clinton, NOT Barney Frank. Is there anyone out there that can say Clinton did not pay for what he did? Get over it already... move on. Hypocritcal behavior is the problem, not the act of sex; straight, gay or otherwise. I find it laughable that the Right Wing thinks their family values is better than my family values but you all are doing it in the bathroom stalls and with drug using prostitutes, ie: Ted Haggart. So shut the h**l up about Barney and Clinton.
Michael at 9:56PM on Sep 1st 2007
86. The idea that Democrats look good now, even after the hideous Larry Craig episode, is laughable. If you want to call the Republicans big spenders and spineless weasels, go for it. But hypocrites? Not really. Just about every time somebody pulls some sort of a sleazy stunt like Larry Craig just did, they get summarily drummed out of the party.
Democrats seem to condone and accept sleazy behavior and just want cover to make them feel better about the perverted sexual escapades of their party: Barney Frank and his basement brothel, Big Bubba putting the make on everything in a skirt that isn't his wife as well as some rather unsolicited advances, while in office, equating to harassment at best and rape at worst.
Then there's Ted Kennedy, another Democrat party animal, famously making "waitress sandwiches" along with another Senator from Connecticut (not Lieberman) and basically acting badly in every possible way one can imagine. There's Mass Congressman Gerry Studds, not just soliciting male pages, but engaging in illicit extra- curricular activities and receiving a standing ovation from Congress for it. (Ick.)
It's enough to make a loyal Democrat look forward to scandals where Democrats only hide $90,000 in their freezer or accept contributions from Chinese fugitive felon donors ("they're baaack...") who weren't satisfied trying to influence US elections like they did a decade ago in exchange for nuclear ICBM targeting technology, which is now working very nicely, thank you, and is aimed at our West Coast.
Dave at 11:41PM on Sep 1st 2007
87. Dinesh does not suggest that Craig be given a pass. He suggests, correctly, that what Barney Frank did was far more eggregious and that he should have been ofrced to resign. Period!!!
Bob at 3:30AM on Sep 2nd 2007
88. I'm a dyed in the wool Democrat, and I'm still puzzled.He never asked the guy for sex, It sounds to me like the offcer jumped the gun at the very least. Under the circumstances, I would have to give Craig the benefit of the doubt. Iam amazd his party turned on him so quickly and completely.
Harold N Gibson at 3:53AM on Sep 2nd 2007
89. I am not sure why he looks to Barney Frank for a comparison. He can just compare Republican responses to Larry Craig to those towards David Vitter who admitted to using prostitutes. Both acts were illegal but since Vitter's indiscretion was of a straight nature the Republicans ignored him. However, Craig is alleged to have solicited homosexual sex so the party attacked him immediately. Remember, the Republicans stripped him of his leadership roles and demanded ethics investigations (though they were silent on Vitter) while the Democrats said very little. This was a Republican generated scandal.
Jim at 4:25AM on Sep 2nd 2007
90. why do we arrest adults who want to have sex with other adults? even in a public restroom why not just let the adult who was "asked" to have sex say no?...i can understand if a person exposes himself in a public place that he might be arrested, but our culture is replete with public displays of open sexuality almost everywhere...we are bombarded with "how to" instructional television, movies and music encouraging us to "love the one you're with"...i have never understood the hypocracy of arresting prostitutes for selling themselves for money...if a person wants to make money selling themselves to another adult why should i hold them in judgement?...yes, i don't condone a "married" man or woman going out and trying to have sex with another person, but it happens absolutely every moment of every day...some would argue that a person like mr. craig be "held to a higher standard", but i think this is just political hackery and the ultimate hypocracy..our laws concerning sex are archaic and were put into place to make money..in most major cities it's a game...the police go out and arrest the prostitutes and then the prostitutes pay their "fine" and are released to go out and start over again...this process is repeated day in and day out all over our country..we all carry on and acted "shocked" that a man, even a senator would want to have sex outside of marriage...yes, he was stupid to risk his public, political life and reputation, but he is afterall only a person...what really kills me is hearing hilary clinton...herself a bastion of righteousness say smugly that mr. craig did the right thing to resign when her husband was notorious for using state troopers to arrange sexual liaisons for her then governor husband and was getting laid in the whitehouse on a regular basis..our political history is full of high powered political officers who have had "illicit" sexual encounters...god forbid that one even mention that our beloved president john f. kennedy was known to have many sexual affairs with women..it's almost laughable to hear washington rail on about a man who wanted to sneak around and maybe get lucky in a restroom...we don't even really know that mr. craig actually did "solicit" sex...the police officer said he did, but who really knows? and i say who really cares?...why not use the police time to actually "police" our streets for killers, muggers and other slime?..it seems an incredible waste of time and taxpayer money to have police going into parks and restrooms all over the country to try to "outlaw" behavior that has been going on since time began...
wayne at 8:06AM on Sep 2nd 2007