Black Box Report

If he did nothing wrong, why did he plead guilty?

Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested in June at a Minnesota airport by a plainclothes police officer investigating lewd conduct complaints in a men’s public restroom, according to an arrest report obtained by Roll Call Monday afternoon.

Craig’s arrest occurred just after noon on June 11 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. On Aug. 8, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in the Hennepin County District Court. He paid more than $500 in fines and fees, and a 10-day jail sentence was stayed. He also was given one year of probation with the court that began on Aug. 8.

Let me be clear, Sen. Larry Craig's sexuality is not, or shouldn't be, an issue here. However, his rank hypocrisy is fair game:

The schadenfreude runs very deep here; a man who has consistently voted against basic civil rights for gays and lesbians while being, himself, a closeted gay man is a man whom it's hard to muster much sympathy for.

In a series of events reminiscent of recent GOP laughing stock Bob Allen (R-FL Restroom), Craig tried the classic "don't you know who I am?" gambit, with similar results:

Here's what they all have in common; They pretend it didn't happen. They try to buy people off to shut them up. They cry that they've been victimized. And then they continue to persecute everyone else by:

Voting YES on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage.
Voting NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes.
Voting NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation.
Voting YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage.
Voting NO on prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation.

They generously fund the coffers of the vice squads and the surveillance creeps— the very people who later catch them in the act.

Pam's House Blend was on this story early yesterday, and reminds us of the pitfalls that Bob Allen faced when confronted with his inadvertant outing:

He pleaded guilty, folks. This was kept under wraps for some time. The question is, will he take pointers from Florida State Rep Bob Allen when he discusses his public foray into man-on-man action for the press? It's all a big misunderstanding, you know. I wonder if there were any scary black men or lightning storms near the airport.

Despite Allen's failure to convince anyone that what happened didn't happen, Craig seems intent on following the same script:

If Craig's actions in the restroom were misconstrued and he was not involved in any inappropriate conduct, as he said in a statement Monday, then why did he plead guilty?

Craig says, in hindsight, he should not have pleaded guilty and "should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter." On the surface, it seems implausible that any educated professional — much less an elected official — would face criminal proceedings without hiring an attorney.
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Why did Craig not come forward after the June 11 arrest? Did he honestly think this would never become public?

Maybe he should have stuck with the "threatening black men" defense. AMERICAblog notes that Craig's hypocrisy doesn't just extend to his legislation:

Craig hates himself, and that is sad, no matter how you slice it. His explanations for the events in Minnesota are so ridiculous, they defy logic and credibility…..

By putting out such ridiculous statements, Craig makes it obvious - he'd rather be thought of as an idiot than be thought of as gay. He hates his own orientation that much. How truly sad.

Now, for most people, hypocrisy may be reason to vote someone out of office, but grounds for resignation? If we held every politician to that standard we'd have no one running the country. Unless of course you're part of the rightwing base - or it's prominent spokesman Hugh Hewitt - and you've just let slip that your Big Tent Republican party isn't quite that big:

Senator Craig Should Resign

Today. I realize that I did not say this about Senator Vitter, but Craig's behavior is so reckless and repulsive that an immediate exit is required.

I don't believe him. Read the statement by the arresting officer. He must think the people of Idaho are idiots.

But even if I did believe him, this would make his judgment too flawed to be in the United States Senate in a time of war. He has to go.

So, commit a felony by patronizing a hooker and no resignation is necessary, as long as the sex is heterosexual. But soliciting anonymous gay sex, no cash involved, just a msidemeanor? Un-acc-eptable. The Republican party is rife with the H-word, and this time I don't mean hypocrisy:

If one compares Vitter and Craig, and decides that the latter is guilty of "repulsive" behavior that requires an "immediate exit" because this is a "time of war," it sounds an awful lot like homophobia.

No, it sounds exactly like homophobia. Just keep your eyes on the ones who complain about the gay the loudest.