Senator Larry Craig Accused of Being Homosexual
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I want to first say I am not accusing anyone of anything and I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with homosexuality (I’m planning to vote against the anti-gay-marriage proposal on this November’s ballot).
However, this is big new that’s breaking on digg.com, which means it will soon break across Idaho, so I am reporting what I’m reading.
Apparently Mike Rogers, a gay activist who has correctly outed other three other gay Republicans in the closet without mistake, is reporting that our own Senator Larry Craig is gay.
The digg story is here, the Daily Kos story on it is here and here (the Daily Kos is admittedly a liberal blog), and Mike Roger’s blog and accusations are here.
Among Rogers’ accusations is the following:
“I have done extensive research into this case, including trips to the Pacific Northwest to meet with men who have say they have physical relations with the Senator. I have also met with a man here in Washington, D.C., who says the same — and that these incidents occurred in the bathrooms of Union Station. None of these men know each other, or knew that I was talking to others. They all reported similar personal characteristics about the Senator, which lead me to believe, beyond any doubt, that their stories are valid.”
What does Larry Craig have to say about these allegations?
I’m sure (hope) our local news will be reporting on these allegations today or tomorrow.
What do you think?
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Comments
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0 
0 I was thinking of this last night, and comparing it to the Spokane Mayor Jim West who was staunchly Republican and turned out to be gay.
I think these “log cabin” Republicans know what side their bread is buttered on and so they have to vote in lockstep with the conservative party, even including the anti-gay legislation. They’re just doing what they gotta do to stay in favor with their party that keeps their jobs. It would be nicer if that weren’t so, but I don’t think I can fault them for that.
I can even understand keeping himself in the closet for so long, because when Larry Craig started his political career admitting homosexuality would have killed his political aspirations in Idaho immediately.
I don’t know if Idaho has come so far as to accept a gay senator now, but I know I don’t care.
If Larry Craig admits to being gay now, I wouldn’t care about that admission and I wouldn’t care that he kept it secret until now.
If Larry Craig denies being gay and sometime in the future it turns out he was, then I’ll be upset that he couldn’t be honest with us when he had the opportunity.
It’s not like it’s 1980 anymore.
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0 0 Do you suppose this means that Vandersloot won’t be sending Larry a Christmas card this year?
The late Dr. Tommy Thompson related to me years ago that he and Larry Craig had been room mates in college (I forget where) but he didn’t mention any gay tendencies in Larry, and he surely would have, as Tommy was a bit of a homophobe.
I wonder which of our local news media will be the first to jump on this story.
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0 0 I wonder which of our national news media will be the first to jump on this story. I’ve looked and looked and looked for any mention of this story in any local or national media, checking liberal (Washington Post, NY Times, LA Times) to conservative (WS Journal) and haven’t seen a lick. Nothing in any Idaho paper, aside from the Spokesman-Review, which buried it. Nothing in the Utah papers, which certainly would be all over this story, if it had any legs. Coming so soon after the Foley scandal, you’d think the media would be flying this from the flagpoles, especially with an angry denial which even the Spokesman-Review didn’t get. Or a no-denial. Aside from the Blogosphere, no one seems to be touching this story. Surely, if this story had any legs, we’d see them by now. If anyone has spotted anything to the contrary, let me know. Rogers’ record aside, I doubt his veracity. What he offers on his blog is vague at best. He’ll have to try hard to convince me he’s right. And I’ve never even voted for Larry Craig.
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0 0 meso, can you say how you knew the late Dr. Tommy Thompson in this format?
I, too, have checked a lot of papers for further info on this story. I haven’t seen anything. I doubt the local media will move on it fast at all for a couple of reasons: 1. This is ALLEGED until Craig confirms it is true or someone with whom he had an “encounter” confirms it. 2. Just to be clear, my understanding was Foley was sexually inappropriate with minors. However, if I have understood the info correctly here, Sen. Craig has NOT been rumored to have kept company with minors. If I misunderstood, someone please correct me.
I can’t speak for the media, but I’m sure in weighing the pros and cons of the story - what does the public have the right to know vs. what MAY be just a rumor-there are many factors to be considered. If it were you and you were falsely accused of something (and I am not say Craig has been either falsely accused or it is an accurate story - I don’t know as I need more information), how would you feel to read about allegations about you in the local newspapers? How would you like to be the lead story on the local tv stations?
Granted, Craig and others in public service have put theirselves in the spotlight and are targets for all sorts of questions to pork barrel spending to allegations about their personal lives. But, what I really wonder is: WHAT DOES CRAIG’S SEXUAL PREFERENCE CHANGE OR MATTER TO YOU, IF IT IS WITH ADULTS? CAN HE STILL DO HIS JOB?
Finally, for me, it is really hard to think of losing a senior Senator, given the committee assignments and the potential good for the Senator’s home states he/she can do. I can’t remember all of the committees Sen. Craig is on, but I’d really hate to see a scandal damage his career to the point ID losses a more Sr. Senator. Whether or not he is gay, is really not my business, as long as it is not with kids.
And that reminds me I still have to write about one of my pet peeves, why hasn’t ID passed a Jessica’s Law? I have links that go directly to the governors of every state that has yet to pass it. I’m horribly embarrassed that the Intermountain West states (MT, WY, ID and UT) still have NOT passed a versuin if Jessica’s Law. What is wrong with our law makers that no legislation has gone through? Perhaps more importantly, what is wrong with us that we haven’t demanded it?
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0 0 Neal Larson had this guy Rogers on the radio the other day. i don’t know if his reporting on Larry is true but t\rogers was all over the place and refused to answer to some fairly straight forward questions. One thing was for sure, he offered no solid proof and kept dodging larson’s questions by throughing out red herrings during the interview. I didn’t know if Larry is gay, and don’t care. This guy was openly hostile to republicans and it was clear he likes to stir the pot just to cause trouble.
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0 0 It seems to me that it is the Republicans who are pandering to the likes of Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and Bill Bennett, to name a few, and stirring the pot to get out the vote. This right wing, religious power base seems to despise those who eschew their “family values”, Ozzie and Harriet lifestyles. Gay Republican congressmen who vote the party line may well retain this constituency of right wing nuts; but at what cost….their moral sense of right and wrong, their dignity, their honor?
Larry Craig has served his country and certainly his state with a modicum of professionalism but his following the party line and voting to deprive a minority (to which he apparently belongs) of the same rights that the rest of us cherish seems outright dishonest. Like Joe said, this isn’t 1980. I think Idahoans can accept a gay senator. I’m not so sure they can handle a dishonest hypocrite though.
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0 0 Well finally a bite from the mainstream media. Corey Taule in this morning’s Post Register reports this denial from Craig’s press secretary:
“Let there be no doubt - his story is not true, his sources are purely fictional, it has no basis in reality.”
And this denial was issued from Craig’s office (though not heard from Craig):
“This story is ridiculous, almost laughable. It has no basis in fact.”
So the ball is squarely in gay activist blogger Mike Rogers’ court to produce some evidence. Time to put up or shut up.
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0 0 Sigh … I guess IFZ.com is dishing out the dirty laundry now.
No offense, Joe, but printing this story is just wrong. I personal don’t care if our representatives are gay or not, I care if they are effective leaders. Whom you go home to at night shouldn’t matter.
Our current obsession with finding out every politician and celebrity’s skeletons is absurd. Let the man be gay (if he is), for God’s sake!
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0 0 Ehhh, the Statesman printed this story and it was dugg to the front page at digg.com when I saw it, so I figured it was worthy of mention.
IFz is different things to different people. Some people want to discuss our dying downtown, others want to debate religion, others want to discuss ideas to improve our community, and others want to discuss local politics.
And that’s the beauty of IFz, if you don’t like one story, there’s others you will like. So long as it’s something important to locals, I think it should be published, especially if our other media ignore it.
You have the power to focus the direction of discussion by commenting. You fed this discussion with your comment. If you don’t like it, don’t feed it.
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0 0 “our dying downtown”?
Why did I say that? Our downtown may not be as vibrant as we want (or maybe as I want), but it’s certainly not “dying”. There are very few vacancies, which would qualify the term “dying”.
Sorry for saying that, that was pretty dumb of me.
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0 0 A Boise reporter has spent four months investigating Craig’s homo or hetero sexuality. Report should be out soon.
I am more upset now that Craig wants to grant amnesty to 12 million illegal aliens breaking the law.
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0 0 Yeah, who cares if Craig is gay? Not me. I care more that Craig is in bed with special interests and has tunnel vision on the immigration bill. He is so busy trying to help out farmers at the expense of our country….this is what really makes me sick.
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0 0 ya, those dang farmers, they helped to build this country and continue to feed all the spoiled brats complaining with their mouths full about the farmers…
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0 0 Wake up agwriter…..farmers and consumers alike want cheap labor prices…this keeps food prices low. But at what cost? I for one would be willing to pay more for legal guest workers that were monitored rather than the illegal immigration mess that impairs this nation’s security. We will all end up spending more in the long run than if we spent a little bit more now to put a dent in the problem.
Another point to bring up that is backed up by statistics…the American farm is no longer run by the mom and pop operation. It is a big business and operated by corporations that are not beholden to the United States…they are beholden to their share holders and making money. We have to reign this in and exert control over business that is willing to sell out the country to make a buck. Unfettered capitalism is NOT a good thing in my book. Sen. Craig his priorities and in my opinion, he appears to be beholden to the campaign buck given by ag corporations that line his pocket so he can stay in office. So, who is the spoiled brat now? In my view, it’s Craig. He has a tin ear to the concerns about the immigration bill and is blindly marching lock step.
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0 0 Lo and behold it turns out Idaho Senator Larry “Lewdy” Craig (yes he has legally earned the title now so keep your lawyers on leash, Lewdy) was arrested for lewd conduct in the men’s room of Minnesota airport.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1887377/posts
Now then this is the same Lewdy Craig who denied reports of being homosexual, calling the allegations “completely ridiculous” and having “no basis in fact”.
Looks like Lewdy Craig has been living a lie.
What else has he lied to us about?
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0 0 Its embarassing for the state but I can’t help but laugh at what this is going to do for the republican party and its “moral standards.”
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0 0 And Larry’s response is apparently to deny again.
KPVI was apparently first to run Craig’s official response:
“At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions. I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct. I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously.”
Riiiiight. Pleading guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct and taking a year probation was how he thought it best to handle it himself? Riiiiight.
Ok, from the story, here are three things the arresting officer stated Craig did to spur the arrest:
1 - Craig kept peeking through the man’s bathroom stall for two minutes. Hey straight guys, how often do you do that?
2 - Craig placed his bag against the stall door when he did enter the neighboring stall. Heck, I would probably put it there also, but the officer noted this was in context of other things, and often was used by men engaged in lewd activities.
3 - Craig kept tapping his foot and moving his foot closer to the officer’s, under the stall separator. The officer said this is a common signal between perverts.
4 - Craig actually moved his foot over so far as to touch the officer’s foot completely in the other stall. Anyone do this normally?
5 - Craig “swiped his hand under the stall divider several times”. Anyone do this normally?
Craig told the arresting officers he either didn’t agree or didn’t recall the events. Uhhh, he’s supposed to be so smart, which is it?
The dude is clearly a fraud, but let’s start hearing his apologists.
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0 0 Somewhere Jim Risch, Mike Simpson, and other potential 2008 senate candidates are celebrating. Even if Craig doesn’t resign this will undoubtedly drive him to retire.
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0 0 I agree. I hope Jim Risch or Mike Simpson can get the nomination and push Craig out to pasture. This has been a very long time coming. Larry has been in Washington too long as it is. His last stance on the immigration issue was blind allegiance to those that cared about profit over the United States security.
I truly hope the voters have a long memory and Larry Craig becomes a memory very soon as well.
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0 0 Another way to tell Larry is lying: his press release yesterday claims he was trying to handle this matter quickly on his own and without the advice of a lawyer.
Sounds like poor Larry got rushed into a bad decision, right? They must have put the spurs to him and taken him to court right after his arrest, ehhh?
Nope. He was arrested June 11, he went to court August 8. Larry had 24 days to think it over, consult with any of hundreds of attorneys he probably came in contact with during that time, and choose his best strategy.
He pled guilty because he knew the cop had witnessed enough suspicious behaviors to warrant arrest. Now that it’s public he wants to claim the officer “misconstrued” his actions.
More lies from Larry Craig.
Should a recall petition be started for his lies, for his getting arrested in such a low situation, for being on probation for a year?
Or is this acceptable for Idaho “leadership”?
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0 0 I know one thing. I’ll never tap my feet in the bathroom again.
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0 0 Me neither. Who knew that was a sign?
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0 0 What I’d like to know is: If he was arrested June 11th, why are we JUST now hearing about it?
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0 0 Yeah, that is pretty amazing that this sat still for so long. The point about the 24 days between arrest and appearance in Court was a good one. Larry plead guilty and now wants to back out? He had plenty of time and resources to defend himself. If indeed he rushed to a decision on how to plead it shows incompetence and poor judgment. Maybe Larry Lyon and Larry Craig can get together and ponder the error of their ways.
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0 0 Yeah the 24 days from arrest to pleading guilty was plenty of time for anyone to not feel rushed into a judgment.
For Larry to even offer the excuse that he wasn’t able to consult an attorney insults the intelligence of every Idahoan.
This is not like jaywalking or a parking ticket. Our senator committed a serious crime. What if you had taken your kid into that bathroom for a potty break, and our Idaho senator was in the next stall getting it on?
Should he resign?
Should a recall petition be started if he refuses to resign?
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0 0 Seems to me Joe needs to stop letting his EMOTIONS run this site and start being a little bit more professional.
I’m on an “intranet” at work and there are 4 other people here that visit Idahofallz.com. Being on an intranet means all of us have the same IP address. I go to visit the site this morning and find that I can’t make any comments in the chatbox. NOR can I log in with my username & password. After reading through the chatlog, I notice a co-worker of mine was the one having a “friendly” discussion with another poster in the chatbox.
So, instead of Joe giving them a warning….he just decides to ban them. Now I have to pay for the comments SOMEONE else made. Whatever happened to free speech Joe? Sure its your site and you can do what you want, but how about putting a warning system in place. YOu could have just as easily said, “Hey guys, gals, posters, or people that keep my site up and running, please watch it, your crossing the line here as we don’t discuss religion on this site”. EVEN THOUGH, somebody posted a comment on the Seminary & Choir posting just yesterday! Did you ban THAT person Joe? I don’t think so. Personally I could care less if religion is discussed on this site, but don’t punish me for someone elses chat dialog or discussion, just because I’m on a network that has the same IP address as four other posters that visit your site.
Thanks alot Joe! This is the second time this has happened to me and quite frankly it’s getting old. You constantly let your emotions run this site. I’ve known quite a few posters that have stopped visiting this site because of this issue alone. Perhaps it’s time I take a break as well and find someplace that’s a little less controlling, and doesn’t feel the need to monitor every single word we type.
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0 0 It’s not my problem your business won’t feed individual IP addresses.
Either go talk to your supervisor and point out the offender so they can monitor that person’s visits to IFz, or send me your employment and the person responsible so I can contact them.
There is no such thing as completely free speech dude. All speech as some restrictions. I let a lot of raucous stuff go on here, but get upset if some jerks violate the 2 or 3 tiny rules we have.
Looking forward to your email.
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0 0 I will also be voting against the ant i gay marriage.
I wonder how Larry Craig will vote.
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0 0 See what I mean about letting your emotions run this site?
Seems your rules ONLY apply to everyone else and not to you, since you feel the need to call my co-workers jerks.
I’m outta here.
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0 0 I say they are jerks cuz they keep breaking the simple rules of one website. You say this has happened before, maybe the problem is more with your co-worker than with my emotions?
You don’t see or know my side of it. The website is for sale if anyone thinks they can run it better.
BTW, you can feel free to chat from home under a different IP address. I strongly encourage you to approach your boss or that co-worker.
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0 0 Jeez CR671, nice rant. I am also on an intranet and have been banned before. The way I handled it was to e-mail Joe and explain myself and he allowed me back. It was no big deal and I didn’t blame Joe for banning me in the first place. I believe he has a pretty thankless job running this site and sometimes he needs to be proactive to keep things under control.
As far as the person posting in the “Seminary and Choir” thread, their comments were not religious in nature so why should they be banned? Apparently at least one of the posters didn’t realize it was an old thread. I don’t blame Joe for limiting religious discussion. I wish it weren’t that way either. But almost every time the topic came up in the past, the discussion became counter-productive. If you have a problem with Joe I’m sure you could respectfully work it out if you tried. If you don’t like his rules you can start your own website. It’s a free country.
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0 0 Read the chat dialog in the chatbox and tell me what was offensive about that? Joe could have just as easily given those posters a warning. But instead he went off on them & then banned them. Which in turn affected me.
It’s ok for him to resort to calling names, but let one of us do it, and see what happens.
I appreciate the work Joe does on this site, but there are times like this one, that he lets his emotions get the best of him instead of acting in a more professional manner.
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0 0 The same thing happened to me. When I explained it to Joe in an e-mail instead of openly slamming him on his own website he let me come back. It was just a misunderstanding. Try to put yourself in his shoes. It sounds like he has had a lot of spam in the chatbox lately and he is just trying to stay on top of it. I for one appreciate all of the good things he does and nobody is perfect.
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0 0 CR6 : After your little tantrum you bid us all a very appreciated farewell. But within two paragraphs you are back. I am reminded of my two-year-old who follows me from room to room when he’s pitching a fit. It’s no fun to rant and rave when you’re all alone.
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0 0 I thought I heard that he was arrested in June, and but didn’t appear until August. If that’s so, he had almost 60 days instead of 30 days.
By the way Joe, good work. I appreciate the site. I have thought that sometimes my remarks have been pushing the envelope, but only a little.
CR671: Where do you work that you are allowed to use work time for visiting and chatting on this Site? Where I used to work, that was grounds for dismissal — using Company computers for personal use.
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0 0 Yeah, it was August 8 that he reportedly pled guilty. Three weeks is about the normal time frame from charge to court date.
It is even worse that we find out about this from a D.C. news source, as the whole nation learned about this, rather than being told by Craig first.
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0 0 Funny how so many people come out of the woodwork to throw in their “jabs” when somebody posts a problem or issue with Joe or his site. CR works for me at my company and he’s more than welcome to use whatever time he has to do what he wants online or off, as long as his work for me is done. I run a very small business with only 6 employees and he’s one of the best employees I’ve ever had bar none.
We need to stop with all the self righteous judgemental comments on this site. I agree with CR on this one (of course) Joe banned him for something someone else did. I personally didn’t see anything wrong with the discussion in the chatbox, only people expressing their views and/or opinions. But anyone that’s spent more than a year on this site as a regular would know, at times that’s frowned upon here.
As for PAH’s remark: We wouldn’t want him to defend himself would we? Sheesh!
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0 0 Hey, let’s stay on topic. If you go to the smoking gun website, http://www.thesmokinggun.com/, you can read the exact arrest report and a few follow up documents. Judge for yourself. Gotta love this site for putting the real paperwork up a lot of the time!
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0 0 Two Minnesota police officers, one of them the arresting officer, entered official statements that Craig approached them on June 22, eleven days after the arrest and about two weeks before Craig plead guilty.
Craig was described as rude and demeaning to the officers, saying he had been dragged down into a mess, and demanding contact information “for his lawyer”.
Two weeks later he plead guilty.
Yesterday he claimed he plead guilty without the advice of a lawyer.
Huh?
Today he claims he does have a lawyer, and will look into the matter?!?! He already plead guilty, he cannot appeal it can he?
Today he blamed the media (the Statesman) for harassing him to the point that he was so stressed out that he did not know how to conduct himself when arrested for lewd conduct? (yes, the charges were not lewd conduct but the arrest report was)
Mitt Romney dumped Craig from his campaign in a heartbeat. Leading Republican senators are calling for an ethics investigation into Craig’s wrongdoings. Letters are pouring in from all over the country, ALL opposed to Craig. Even uber conservative Bryan Fischer thinks Craig should resign.
But Craig thinks he can fight this and win.
Sooooo, how do we go about starting the recall petition?
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0 0 I think Craig will resign eventually over this. No recall necessary.
Also, my two cents on the religion thing. I think in this case religion has to be talked about to a small extent because what makes this particularly juicy is that Craig has been hailed so long by the religious right as bastion of morality and a fighter in the crusade against gays. Now he is exposed as a hypocrite. So you have to talk about the religion aspect a bit from that angle IMO. Its easy for it to devolve in religion bashing if folks aren’t careful but not mentioning religion in this topic would be like not mentioning religion in why the Pilgrims fled to the United States.
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0 0 Okeydokey, I see that point. I also restored the IP addresses if that workplace checks again. There are plenty of small references that I let go by, because they tend to be germane to the discussion, and mentioned in passing. It’s just a quick slippery slope down into a mudpit with it that we have to watch for.
I don’t know, Larry sounded like he wants to fight it out, drag everyone through an arduous process. What did he say, “it’s not over yet”?
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0 0 Its also funny that he blames the Idaho Statesman for this.
I think he quietly plead guilty in hopes that this would never get out. If he hired a lawyer and made a case out if it then it would be guaranteed to make the press. As is, I think he gambled that maybe no one would notice. And frankly I’m shocked it took this long to get out. I can’t believe no one at the police made an anonymous call to the media. But then again it goes back to what I’ve said about our local media’s inability to discover stories. All media are essentially blind and only find out the stories that people tell them about or are so big and obvious that they can’t be missed.
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0 0 Joe, you think we should impeach him. For what? Being gay? Attempting a liaison with someone he thought was gay? He got a misdemeanor citation for disturbing the peace/lewdness in public. If we don’t impeach Bush/Cheney for getting us into an unwinnable war that’s cost us billions and killed nearly a million people then this seems like a trivial impeachment cause celebre. Hey, Joe, this is what gay people do…attempt to hook up with other gays. Unless we’re willing to start impeachment procedings against every straight politician who attempts a connection with his office gal, then I say what’s the big deal. On the other hand I wouldn’t be averse to impeaching him for his voting record on gay rights issues. Hypocrites are the bottom feeders in my opinion.
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0 0 So Meso you wouldn’t have a problem with a couple guys hooking up in the stall next to where your 7 year old son is taking a leak?
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0 0 Whoa!
I just now for the first time listened to his press conference. Did you catch the slip Craig made?
He said he chose to plead guilty to a “lesser charge.” That means there was a pending higher charge meaning there is obviously more to the story than there appears. He obviously took a plea bargain in exchange to keep the real story from getting out.
He is right about one thing. This issue is not over. The truth is still out there and waiting to be told.
And LMAO at the comments from spectators at the end. “C’mon Larry be gay.”
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0 0 I think what he meant was that he had two charges and by pleading guilty they dropped one. The dropped charge was invasion of privacy for his 2-minute eyeballing of the cop sitting on the toilet.
Unless I’m mistaken and there was more, but I think that is what he meant.
This was the top story for five minutes on NBC, probably other networks also.
Should some senior Idaho Republicans pay a visit to Larry, in the manner senior Republicans visited Nixon and told him to give up the struggle?
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0 0 meso,
I know this is off topic, but I didn’t know you knew Tommy Thompson. Maybe we can talk another time about one of the most generous men I’ve ever met.
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0 0 Joe, I have to tell you I saw the writings last night in the chatbox. IT was filthy, and I would ban them forever
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0 0 Biggest hypocrite, EVER.
I think Karma got him…finally.
There’s NOTHING wrong with homosexuality, but there is with lying and being a hypocrite.
Way to represent Idaho well, Larry.
Now all us Idahoans are homophobic hypocrites.
I have NO sympathy for him, but I do for his poor family.
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0 0 Why does everyone believe Larry Craig is homosexual? Hasn’t anyone besides me considered he might be bi-sexual?
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0 0 Bisexuality doesn’t exist. You are either straight or your gay. There is no in between. You can choose to go against your primary attraction but that doesn’t mean your suddenly equally attracted to both sexes. It just mean your environmental conditioning is such that your not adverse to trying new things. Trysexual would be a better term for it.
As to Craig, I think he is gay but he was brought up to believe being gay is morally wrong (religion) so he chose to go against his primary attraction and live a hetero lifestyle. But he has trouble resisting the urges of true attraction so he ends up in bathrooms. Which is where lots of gay married men end up.
So there is choice involved but choice is what do you do about your primary attraction. Its not a choice of what is your primary attraction.
Part of me feels sorry for Craig for the tormented life he must have led. But any sorrow is drowned out at disgust over his hypocrisy.
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0 0 OK4Now,
Tommy was one of my good friends, and yes, he was one of the most generous, caring human beings it has been my pleasure to know. It would be my pleasure to get with you and reminisce about the guy. God knows there’s a world of stories about that unique doctor.
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0 0 Meso,
We’ll figure something out so we can celebrate the life of a wonderful human being again. So that I don’t disrupt the flow of dialogue here, I’ll ask Joe to give you my e-mail address and at least we can exchange thoughts that way, for now.
Thanks!
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0 0 Disturbing Thoughts,
In Post #52 you wrote,
“Disturbing Thoughts said:
August 29th, 2007 at 12:08 am
Bisexuality doesn’t exist. You are either straight or your gay. There is no in between. You can choose to go against your primary attraction but that doesn’t mean your suddenly equally attracted to both sexes. It just mean your environmental conditioning is such that your not adverse to trying new things. Trysexual would be a better term for it.”
Since you appear to be an expert, please cite your sources to back up your opinion. I’d like to read more.
I realize the new word is “Metrosexual,” but couldn’t edit my comment.
Looking forward to reading more of the scietific studies of what you know to be the truth. As well as maybe your own practice experience seeing patients, since no one is bisexual, per you.
I don’t agree with you Disturbing Thoughts, but I am willing to read your sources and your own personal professional experience working with people who are what you say they are, and aren’t what you say they aren’t.
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0 0 My bet is that Craig resigns this coming Tuesday, September 4th.
He has internationally humiliated himself, his family, the Senate, and all Idahoans.
He has tried to use his position to weasel out of his own trouble.
He was obviously up to no good in that restroom (read his reactions to the cop busting him).
His explanation was weak, and he did no good for himself by blaming a newspaper for his troubles.
His own homies are distancing themselves from him.
He has now lost his leadership positions on several committees.
I think he will resign next Tuesday. My thinking is that people he knows and trusts are talking to him and helping him understand he is finished politically.
If he does not resign, a recall petition can start any day now. I think he will give it over the holiday weekend and resign on Tuesday.
Do you think he will resign, and when?
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0 0 Joe, just curious. Is there anything special about Tuesday?
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0 0 So, if he does resign Tuesday (or I think tomorrow), when do you think it will be effective? Gonzales resigned yesterday, but not effective for a few weeks yet.
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0 0 Larry LaRocco is posting over at Huffington:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-larocco/working-to-win_b_62547.html
Anybody know this guy?
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0 0 Technically, Larry Craig has not resigned. He said that he “intended” to retire on September 30. Supposedly he has hired a high power attorney. (I heard somewhere that it is the same lawyer that Michael Vick had.) Let’s say that this lawyer is able to get everything overturned and expunged and the cop’s testimony refuted. Do you think Craig would change his “intentions”? I have noticed since his speech yesterday that supporters are coming to the forefront now. This could turn into a sticky legal mess. In any case, I don’t think it is over.
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0 0 Idaho Native, Larry Craig has resigned. His resignation is EFFECTIVE September 30. Just because he didn’t leave office the same day he made his resignation announcement does not mean that he has not resigned. No matter what happens legally (and it won’t all be happening within the next 29 days), Larry Craig cannot “go back” on his “intentions.”
Of course Gov. Otter is in the process of replacing Craig. This is one of the reasons Craig did not make his resignation effective immediately. Time must be given for the selection process for a new senator to occur. Even though it sounds like the pick for the new senator is almost certain, it gives the Governor time if he chooses to take longer to consider a broad field of candidates for the job.
In addition, no reasonable senator or representative would leave office immediately when there is so much constituent work to be handled. Say what you want about Craig’s politics, but his staff was first class in helping Idahoans navigate through the morass of the hundreds of federal agencies.
The new senator will probably be named before September 30, thereby giving time for a transition from Craig’s office to the new senator’s office. Plus, new staff (some might be carried over) need to be hired, etc.
In other words, there is no way Senator Craig can go back on his resignation, as it is official. I’m glad he gave 30 days. Heck, most employers, even minimum wage ones such as McDonalds request two weeks’ notice when resigning. The least a U.S. Senator should give is a month 
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0 0 Anyone else find the whole notion that Otter is considering options to be a bunch of baloney. It was reported a few days ago that Otter had already picked Risch.
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0 0 I didn’t favor Risch, haven’t liked him since his infamous “Risch Wash” of decreasing property taxes and increasing sales taxes.
However, the PR had a good editorial this morning that examined the other potential candidates. They reasoned it out well as to why Risch actually is probably our best candidate to be appointed senator.
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0 0 As predicted earlier, it looks like Craig will try to regain his seat in Congress. I personally don’t think it will happen, but who knows?
As a nation, I think it is sad that we are so hung up on our elected officials sexual activities, and are willing to let the deaths of our young people go on. We talk about it, but no one in power comes out and takes a strong stance. But let one of our leaders have a sexual encounter that doesn’t fall within the moralistic parameters that we have set, and the nation as a whole is up in arms. Let out leaders lie to us and as a result more than 3000 U.S. lives are lost, and more than 100’s of thousand lives from other nations are lost and the attitude seems to be “collateral damage”. There’s something wrong with this picture.
I do not condone any of the sexual activities between an adult and a minor — I hope that there is a special place for these people where they will be punished for all eternity. But a sexual act between consenting adults is really no one’s business but their own and their families.
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0 0 I agree about sexual activities being private, but only to a point. Trying to pick up strangers for sex in public restrooms crosses the line in my opinion. Suppose a Senator has a restroom tryst and their companion decides to blackmail them, then what? When I was in the Army we were warned about people trying to gain influence with us by using love or sex as a way to get close. Do you suppose there could be relationships from the past that are being kept secret? What did the secret keepers get in return? I’m not saying it happened, but it’s not that unlikely.
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0 0 Nobody cares that Larry Craig is gay, or what he does behind closed doors. That is not the issue.
The issue is he committed a real crime. He solicited sex in a public restroom. He plead guilty after several weeks to consider it. He paid hundreds in fines, is on probation, and if he doesn’t watch his step could spend 10 days in jail.
This should not be the behavior of a respectable United States Senator. I don’t understand why some people are trying to make excuses for this behavior.
The other parts are despicable on Larry Craig’s part, and spotlight that Larry Craig will do what’s best for Larry Craig. Things like showing his senator card when asked for identification, trying to impugn an officer’s integrity to get himself out of trouble, blaming the media for his actions, and now considering going back on his word. Besides the other question of how many times has he cheated on his wife with gay partners?
Those things are despicable, but the real reason he needs to go are the blatant criminal act he has committed.
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0 0 I don’t like Craig one bit. However, he did not solicit sex in the bathroom. There was never any proof of that on tape or otherwise he would have been charged with solicitation. He was charged with Disorderly conduct and invading privacy (by peeping in the stall). The privacy charge went away in a plea deal.
I agree with the other points brought out. This has just been one avalanche of bad decisions on top of other bad decisions. Craig needed to know when to say when and bow out gracefully. Now he really is going to be remembered in an even more negative light.
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0 0 It just seems to me to be much ado about nothing. If we’re going to go after anyone it should be those politicians who are selling their votes to the highest bidders. We get all atwitter at the sexual proclivities of guys like Craig but don’t seem to give a damn about politicians who are beholden to big corporations and on the take.
I don’t give a rat’s tail what gay or straight (consenting adults) politicians do with their sexual urges, be it in the oval office, cheap motels or men’s rooms at airports. What I do give a rat’s pettuti about is dishonest politicians who vote to enrich big corporations in order to land lucrative jobs as a lobbyists for themselves upon leaving government service. Clearly 40% of our congressmen do just that.
Why does this remind me of the last days of the Roman Empire? The Goths hordes were at the gates of Rome as the Roman senators debated such vexing questions as the proper age for Roman women to lose their virginity (among other inane moral conundrums).
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0 0 Much of the Craig issue is really not about sex. It is about abuse of power, lack of judgment and lying to cover it up. (Gee, that sounds like the Clinton Impeachment doesn’t it?)
Craig abused his power by talking up his Senate credentials. He did not disclose the arrest to anyone and exercised purely illogical judgment in handling this matter. This makes people not trust him or his judgment. That is what this is really about. Larry may think it is about whether he is gay or not…alot of people don’t care about that. This also shows how out of touch Larry is with his constituency. He can’t even really figure out what people care about…this makes it tough to be a legislator for issues people care about. This also lends itself to why Craig was in the lobbyists hip pocket and why so many Senators tripped over themselves to give back contributions from Craig’s Political Action Committee because they didn’t want to get caught up in the mess Craig made for himself through his boneheaded and out-of-touch behaviors.
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0 0 I completely agree with Mike. I care the least that Craig is gay. Yeah it’s messed up that he’s gay and he’s voted so anti-gay, but that’s his and the gay community’s issue.
I think Craig made some stupid moves and decisions here, but I don’t think he’s a stupid man. I think he’s spending this last month letting the national Republican leadership know that Larry knows some of their dark secrets, and they had better treat him better if they don’t want him to name names and secrets.
His spokesman backed down a bit today on the “fighting for his job” rhetoric. Maybe Craig was just rattling some people with that. It’s difficult to imagine he really thought he could come back from all this.
I imagine Craig is setting up a cushy lobbying job which he will walk across the street into on the day he quits. But imagine if Larry published a tell-all book, comes out of the closet and tells some dark secrets? Sounds like a John Grisham novel.
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0 0 I heard a rumor today that Karen McKee from Pocatello resigned her state position (was on the news, with no explanation) because she is being looked at for Craig’s position. Anyone know if there is truth to this rumor or not?
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0 0 A woman Senator?!?! I don’t think that’s legal in Idaho. Next they’ll say we could have a woman governor or evem president. Harumphhh!
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0 0 OK, rumor was false. News reported the new position she took is in the governor’s office still in the area of education. Oh well….
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0 0 Another Republican busted for restroom toe-tapping:
http://blog.nola.com/times-picayune/2007/10/difatta_twice_detained_in_lewd.html
Detained twice for lewd behavior. First time a guy noticed DiFatta watching him urinate and held him until cops arrived. Before trial, the man suddenly dropped his complaint, wonder why?
Second time should sound familiar to Lewdy Craig:
In the second incident, Jefferson Parish deputies working an undercover detail in a men’s bathroom at Dillard’s at Lakeside Shopping Center in March 2000 stopped DiFatta after he indicated a desire to engage in sex with an undercover deputy in an adjoining bathroom stall, according to an interoffice memorandum written by Sgt. Keith Conley, one of the deputies involved in the investigation.
The report said DiFatta slid his foot into the deputy’s stall and tapped the deputy’s foot. In the report, Conley noted that such activity is common among men to indicate a willingness to participate in sex.
The deputy inside the stall, Detective Wayne Couvillion, responded by tapping his foot, and DiFatta reached under the partition and began to rub the deputy’s leg, the report states.
The detective asked DiFatta, “What do you want?” according to the report, and he replied, “I want to play with you.”
DiFatta also used a hand signal to indicate that he wanted to engage in sex and used language that indicated the same, according to the report. Conley, who is now the Kenner city attorney, confirmed the report’s authenticity Thursday.
The incident did not culminate in an arrest because the deputy in the bathroom with DiFatta terminated the investigation after several children entered the bathroom, the report states. Conley noted in the report that DiFatta appeared well-versed and comfortable with the routine.
Conley wrote that had the investigation been allowed to continue, it likely would have concluded in DiFatta’s arrest on obscenity charges, including a possible attempted crime against nature.
Conley confronted DiFatta outside the bathroom, and DiFatta apologized and said he would not return, according to the report. DiFatta also said he has a problem with such behavior and had sought counseling for the addiction in the past, the report states.
In both instances, DiFatta produced his commission from the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office identifying him as a captain. DiFatta said Thursday he did not show his commission either time until officers asked him for identification, all of which he keeps in his wallet.
Questions?
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Wow! So, do you suppose his anti-gay votes on those issues of gay rights were meant as a smoke screen so he could remain closeted and get re-elected in conservative Idaho, or were they votes of conscience? My gut tells me it’s the former. I may have a hard time voting for him again, not because of his alleged homosexuality but because of his apparent hypocrisy.