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December 2, 2007

This Guy Still Around?

Rick Moran
I hate taking up space reporting on the foibles of Larry Craig, the Idaho Senator whose adventures in restrooms landed him in hot water. But the case is instructive in that it demonstrates what's wrong with the GOP leadership in Congress and the party in general.

Will no one rid us of this meddlesome Senator?

You may recall Craig first promised to resign, then recanted, and was stripped of his committee chairs by the GOP leadership. And despite pressure from colleagues, Craig refused to give in - even after his guilty plea was upheld in court. He has broken every promise to step down and the Republican leadership in the Senate seems powerless to get rid of him.

Now after an exhaustive investigation, the Idaho Statesman has gotten the goods on Craig who, despite denials to the contrary, has apparently been living a secret life as a gay man for years:

Four gay men, willing to put their names in print and whose allegations can't be disproved, have come forward since news of U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's guilty plea. They say they had sex with Craig or that he made a sexual advance or that he paid them unusual attention.

They are telling their stories now because they are offended by Craig's denials, including his famous statement, "I am not gay, I never have been gay." Those words, spoken on live national TV on Aug. 28, are now memorialized on a just-released-for-Christmas Talking Senator Larry Craig Action Figure.

David Phillips is a 42-year-old information technology consultant in Washington, D.C., who says Craig picked him up at a gay club in 1986 and that they subsequently had sex.

Mike Jones is a former prostitute who told the world he had sex with the Rev. Ted Haggard last year. The former Colorado Springs evangelist at first denied it but eventually confessed. Jones says Craig paid him for sex in late 2004 or early 2005.
Three other men accuse Craig of either soliciting sex or performing gay sex.

What this shows is that Craig is a liar. He has lied to his family, his constituents, and to his colleagues. Somehow, the Republican party must find the will to pressure him to resign his office - not only for the good of the party but the good of the people he represents.

If he is allowed to finish his term, it will be black mark indeed for the GOP.

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