Senator Larry Craig has shamed himself and Idahoans yet again by reneging on his promise to resign. Most Idahoans no longer want Larry Craig as our senator. We are not allowed a recall petition or recall election as we are with other elected officials. We do not feel he represents us anymore, and we do not want to pay him another 15 months salary so he can continue shaming our state. We can no longer count on Larry Craig’s word, to trust him to do what he says he will do.
Senate Republicans are saying Craig is an embarrassment to the Senate and an embarrassment to the Republican party. Craig announced his intent to resign, causing our Governor Butch Otter to interview replacement candidates. Reportedly more than three dozen candidates were interviewed. This represents a great deal of time for our governor and all those candidates that Larry Craig has now caused to go to waste.
Larry Craig has cut a deep and wide wound across Idaho, and his decision to stay in office will throw salt in that wound every day for the next 15 months. Idahoans need Larry Craig to leave his office so we can heal that wound. Larry Craig has sealed his role in history as the worst Idaho senator ever. Yes, even worse than Steve Symms’ rumormongering, character assassinations, and extramarital affairs.
The only solution remaining to force Larry Craig out of office is for Idahoans to appeal to the U.S. Senate that they expel him. Despite clearly losing his leadership positions and peer respect, Larry Craig claims he still has influence. We know this is an obvious lie, and that Larry Craig is now doing what is best for Larry Craig. He no longer represents Idahoans, he no longer serves Idahoans.
We must appeal to the other 99 United States Senators to please hold a vote and expel our Senator Larry Craig from your body. Please allow us to regain our national dignity and start fresh with a new senator (we already have a replacement). I do not know if supportive comments are enough, if an online petition is enough, or if a letter-writing campaign is enough to convince the U.S. Senate that this is what the majority of Idahoan want them to do. How can we appeal to the Senate to do that which Larry Craig is too weak to do himself?
Please expel Senator Larry Craig from Congress, and please do so as quickly as possible.
Please.
Popularity: 10%
Related posts:
It WAS all he had to say about it!
:@:)
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If no Idaho Republicans are strong enough to convince Craig to quit, it is time to leapfrog to the U.S. Senate. They alone are the final lever to force Craig out of office.
Looks like someone has started an online petition to present to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, though I do not think that is the correct avenue:
http://www.idahopower-less.com/
Unfortunately, the Senate won’t remove Larry for his Disorderly Conduct conviction. Sen. Spector mentioned that the disorderly charge doesn’t rise to the level of moral turpitude. Thus, he will be able to ride out the issue. Additionally, most of the ethics committee hearings will be done behind closed doors and they will probably slap each other on the back and give a wink and nod while admonishing Larry for his conduct.
Politicians are too easy on each other because they feel like they have to circle the wagons to protect themselves under the guise of protecting the institution from harm.
To add insult here Craig is being admitted into the Idaho Hall of Fame. How about admitting him to the Idaho Hall of Shame instead?
While its embarrassing for Idaho its good for the country that Craig stays since it will hurt the republicans in 2008. Not the extent that Mark Foley hurt them in 2006 but it will hurt.
A guest in the chat box compelled me to post again.
I agree with his sentiment that if Craig retires now it will give Risch (the obvious replacement) a leg up in the reelection. But since Idaho would elect anyone not named Osama Bin Laden with an R next to their name (see total idiot Bill Sali as an example) its already a foregone conclusion Risch will win. So better to get him in now and get him some experience.
On the other hand, as I said in the earlier post it hurts national republicans for Craig to be there so let him stay.
I’m really torn. In the end I think let Craig stay. Its time for the dems to control things for a while.
I respect other’s opinions and how they arrive at them. I am probably too naive to just address Craig on Craig’s merits, not on what evils could lurk around the corner if Craig is replaced. I hope others will not advocate if Craig should go or not based on anything other than Craig’s own actions.
Seriously….how many seperate posts do we need regarding Senator Craig and the continued bashing that goes with them? Also, I would like to ask Joe, how he comes up with ” the majority of Idahoans” want him out of office. Obviously this is only your opinion, although you don’t state it as such. Did you get these numbers from a “state poll” or just the poll you did here that usually only gets roughly 60-80 votes. Surely you haven’t polled every Idahoan so you can’t possibly know what the majority wants. Seems to me you’re merely stating what YOU want. Please show us where you get the idea that this is what the “majority” wants for our state.
http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReportUC.aspx?g=1992179b-4ccd-4081-a13a-29ad7a735f46
Survey USA: 55% in Idaho Say U.S. Senator Larry Craig Should ResignThirty-four percent of the 475 respondents said Craig should remain in office.Over 19 consecutive months of tracking Craig, his SurveyUSA Job Approval among Idaho Republicans ranged from 71% to 82%. Today, among Idaho Republicans Craig’s approval is 46%
i can see how each of these posts are distinct, you are proly gettin sick of the subject tho? what posts have you written then?
That poll was taken soon after the story first broke. I don’t think the number would change for supporting Craig it probably got worse. Instead of asking how much is a blog going to pile on ask how much it takes for craig to quit?
Most of Neal Larsons radio listeners are saying Craig needs to go. Its not scientific but a conservative barometer.
That’s also ONLY a poll from 475 registered voters. That’s hardly the majority of the state. You’re going to need to do a little better than that. Less than 500 people and only half of them think he should resign. (the margin of error is 4.6% it noted)
I just don’t think the story is worth 4 seperate posts. I’m sure the majority of the people on this site have never bothered to follow all the good things Craig has done while in office, yet let him be involved in a scandel and it’s “off with his head”.
The holier than thou attitude that exudes from this site just amazes me, like each of you are so perfect in the way you conduct your lives. I’m sure each one of us have a skeleton or two in our closets that we’d be embarrased to have come out.
I can hear it already….”oh, but he’s an elected official. He should be held to a higher standard than everyone else”. That’s BS and you know it. We are all human and every elected official since the beginning of time has made a mistake. Nobody is perfect and nobody should be held to a standard of perfection. So lets just lay this particular argument to rest already.
its called statistics, you dont need to interview everyone a sampling works statisticlly the same
if you are done with this argument then have a nice life look forward to reading your comments on other articles others want to keep talking bout this its upsetting he sure claims he had higher standards in his election campaigns
#12 is right….most “statistics” are quite biased one way or the other.
(talk about a run on sentence there #13) yikes!
why ask for poll numbers then if you dismiss them as biased when they are not waht you want? 51% is good enuf for republicans to steel elections shuld be good enuf to say majority any new polls out yet
During a commerical from listening to Mr.Rush Limbaugh today, I switched over to hear what Neil Larson was talking about, which I often do. Neil was conducting a poll asking callers if Sen.Larry Craig should be inducted into the Hall of Fame or not. Mr. Larson was quite shocked that the majority of his callers voted Yes, he should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. One caller noted that “Christians” should stop judging everyone. Well that alone upset Neil, however, after he found out the results of his poll, he then took it upon himself to CHANGE his original poll question, now stating that MOST of the callers that said yes, still believed he should be removed from office. I personally don’t think that was fair on Mr.Larsons part to do such a thing, as the majority of the people voting, give him a reason as to their “yes” answer. And I took it that most of the people that did say yes, also believe he should remain in office. Gotta love Neils flip flopping!
just 2 cents worth from a “dittohead”…
(let the flaming commence)
Burn Chimmychanga, Burn! 8^)
I have 3 quick things to the criticism a few posts earlier, but first I want to agree that the Larry Craig subject has dominated posts lately, and I hope we all get newer poll numbers from an official source soon. But,
1-What other Idaho news story has dominated national headlines the past month? You have to admit Larry Craig’s situation is unprecedented for Idaho.
2-Actually there were only three recent articles on Craig. When the story first broke, I chose to start the discussion in an existing, year-old article about the blogger outing Craig, rather than publishing a new article. I intended each of these 3 to be about different subjects, but I can understand how you see them as the same.
3-We have also been publishing articles on other topics! Feel free to comment on our hundreds of other articles if you do not care for this one. Or better yet, write a new one yourself on a topic you are interested in.
http://idahofallz.com/article-archives
Interesting read about Larry Craig from O’Reilly. (This is especially for Guest 007 who notes the holier than thou attitude on this site and gives Craig a pass on his behavior)
WHAT’S DO MARION JONES AND LARRY CRAIG BOTH HAVE IN COMMON?
They are both selfish. Ms. Jones and the senator did not do the right thing because they are only thinking about themselves.
First, the Olympian: At the Sydney Australian games in 2000, Miss Jones won three gold matters, two bronze in the track competition. This, of course, led to millions of dollars in endorsements for her. But over the years, suspicions grew about drug use concerning her. She denied it:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARION JONES, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: I never have, I never will, I’ve been blessed with an incredible amount of talent. My work ethic is second to none. And I don’t feel the need to take any performance enhancing drugs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
But now, Marion Jones says she did indeed use illegal drugs to enhance her performance. She faces two felony charges. And after seven years, she’s finally admitting that she cheated.
Think about the other athletes whom she beat. They suffered greatly to get in shape to compete at that level. And they were cheated by Marion Jones.
The International Olympic Committee has to re-award the medals in those races. Jones is out. Everybody else has to move up.
And then, there’s Senator Craig. Only two people in the world know what happened in the Minneapolis men’s restroom, Craig and the cop who arrested him. Unless that officer recants his sworn testimony, Craig will always be under a cloud. Thus, there is no reason for the senator to continue in office.
A month ago, he said he resigned, but now he’s changed his mind. Why? He’s not running for re-election in 2008. The Republican Party wants him out. And the late night comedians continue to pound him.
The country is not better for having Craig in the Senate. That’s for sure. And his continued visibility must be very tough on his family.
Now what drives both Ms. Jones and the senator is selfishness. Jones wanted fame and money, Craig wants to keep his power. Even though other people around them are getting hurt, they would not do the right thing.
Every human being does bad things. All of us are sinners, but there comes a time to own up and right the wrongs. But Americans aren’t taught that any more in school. And the media glorifies greed. As Michael Douglas said in the movie “Wall Street”: greed is good.
No, it’s not. Selfishness harms a person and a nation. The cases of Marion Jones and Larry Craig prove that beyond a reasonable doubt.
I just love Mikes comparisions! They are completely opposite of each other, like comparing apples to oranges! Craig’s behavior hurt NOBODY, nor did he profit from it! Whereas Marion’s hurt quite a few people, as well as profiting quite well from her crime. You’re unbelievable Mike!
And there is a “holier than thou attitude from many on this site”. Like everybody in office is supposed to be super human and make no mistakes. We all make mistakes Mike, yes….even you. We’ve all done or said things we wished we could take back….yes, even you Mike. Stop being so judgemental and let the man get on with his life.
And Craig certainly is not in the same class as Marion Jones was in regards to their crimes.
One more thing…..I suppose you have ALWAYS thought only of others, never yourself? You’ve never been selfish a day in your life huh? yeah right!
The last refuge of a scoundrel is to blame everybody else instead of themselves and take personal responsibility for their actions. If Larry Craig were sitting in the Senate and one of his Democratic colleagues got caught I suspect Mr. Craig would have called for his ouster and noted the person should resign.
The fact that 007 continues to give Craig a pass on his behavior and tries to insinuate that since we all make mistakes we should excuse Craig makes me wonder if 007 can be any closer to the moral relativism that is enveloping the Democratic party. Moral relativism attaches no blame or judgments to anything. Nearly all behavior is acceptable and condoned without comment or concern. I hope these extreme views are not representative of the Republican party. It is really amazing to see how many Craig loyalists will stay on a sinking ship to the very end. Noble indeed….but dangerous to the body politic. However, I think most Idahoans have made accurate judgments on Larry’s behaviors and see them for what they are: selfish and greedy power acquisition. Unfortuantely for them, all that Craig supporters have left is to lob bombs at naysayers to Craig. They can’t or won’t address the merits of Craigs behaviors because there is nothing there to defend except bad behavior, lies, and deceit.
I’d have to side with 007 in the regards that Craig’s punishment is not fitting to the crime here. Everyone wants to kick him out of office for something that was hardly a crime. Sure, if he were to molest a minor like many priests have done in the past, or said scout leaders, I can understand kicking him out of office.
But they certainly aren’t inducting him into the Hall of Fame for nothing. Obviously his track record speaks for itself, and having had a slight lapse of judgement and a couple poor decisions that affected nobody, is certainly no reason to get rid of the man. Let him finish out his term.
And like 007, I too sense a bit of holier than thou attitude among many on this site. Some of you can be so judgemental, like your so perfect.
Craig has apologized a number of times. Be the bigger person and forgive the man. Let him move on with his life without judgement from posters like Mike. And let those of you without sin, cast the first stone.
thank you.
The fact that there is wide dissent among the conservative community should tell us that this is not such a simple issue as some would make it out to be (example: “what a bunch of hubaloo over toe-tapping”).
The multiple ways Craig exhibited lack of judgment in this episode concerns his Idaho constituents and conservative peers, what other circumstances has Craig exhibited lack of judgment? Could he have divulged national secrets to any of his gay trysts?
The real issue is that we can no longer trust him, and that is why we are divided. Some continue to trust him, and some cannot trust him any longer.
The trust issue is also why our “holier than thou” attitudes are an irrelevant argument. Sure we all have our own skeletons in our closets, but we are not purporting to have the sound judgment to represent Idaho. Dig up Craig’s past campaign speeches. How often did he claim he had better judgment and values than his opponents?
Lets look at the “hurt others” question a bit differently……Will we be getting our money’s worth from the Mr. Craig in his remaining time in office? I’m thinking he will me mostly ineffective from this point forward. Should we pay for that?
Excellent point Jester. You are correct. We will be paying for that during the rest of his term. Craig will certainly be ineffective as he is not allowed to vote in committees and this precludes him from having influence to attach favorable riders or provisions to bills that would bring the State more monies/projects.
so how did Clinton carry on with his responsibilities and be effective when his personal life discrepancies were brought public? and they were quite major if compared to the personal discrepancies of Senator Craig…
oh, and how about the infamous Kennedy murder scandal, how does he carry on doing political duties effectively?
seems like a double standard here, which happens quite often in politics no doubt
perhaps an explanation on these inconsistencies would help those of us who see the blatant inconsistent standards with regard to judging and blaming and effective leadershiping
just thought I would throw that out there cause I would hate to be in politics, no matter what good one does, one little slip up and you are thrown outta there, unless your name is Clinton or Kennedy
maybe we expect too much from politicians and we the people need to take our country back
I certainly do not know the “effective work ratio” Clinton had before and after his impeachment, but he was not stripped of power the way Craig has.
I don’t know about Kennedy, probably he succeeds because his murder happened so long ago, wasn’t it like 30 or 40 years ago now? It does not make it right, but I think it is a different circumstance than Craig.
Thank you Community Resident!! Very well put! Of course quickly knocked down and dismissed by Joe (& I’m sure others, soon to come), but I like the way you think!
Point well made!
The Clinton “issues” as we all know there were more than one, had NO effect on his professional job in office. Wake up and smell the cigar!
Not meaning to get off topic here but I think lack of Integrity and Honor with not only Wide Stance Larry but other Idaho Politicians. I went to honor Spc. Vincent Kamka on his final trip home today. Spc. Kamka’s reception was very large and sincere. The only elected offial I seen there was Mayor Jared Fuhirman and if I’m not mistaken Sen. Mike Crapo was in town today, I know Tom Luna was. personally I think that if Honor & Integrity was water, the entire Idaho Congressional Deligation couldn’t muster enough to fill a thimble. Spc Vincent Kamka, 1st Bn. 505th PIR 82d Airborne deserved better. God Bless You Vincent Airborne…All the Way!.
Kennedy got a pass because of his family and money. As for Clinton, remember the attack on the USS Cole and US Embassies bombed in Africa? What did the US do? Nothing. Clinton was embroiled in the Lewinsky affair at the time. Remember the CIA officers on the ground in Afghanistan that were awaiting a “go” on the mission to kill Bin Laden. According to the Path to 911, National Security Advisor Sandy Berger was trying to contact Clinton to get approval to take him out. None came because Bill was busy with personal business and refused to be bothered. Bin Laden slipped away and well….you all know the rest of the story.
My main concern about Craig being recalled / expelled is who his replacement would be. I’m afraid that Otter would appoint Risch. I didn’t care for what he did to Idaho when he was the acting gov. and I think it would give him a big advantage come election time.
? so here is another question about the Craig issue- why is there no question about the ’sting’ law-enforcement officer in Minn.? and why isn’t his credibility brought to light? do we all believe law-enforcement officers to play fair, honest, and remain non-intimidating?
has anyone ever encountered a law-enforcement officer who intimidated us and made us feel guilty for example about driving 5 miles over the speed limit?
my point is that just because there was some kind of ’sting’ operation going on where is the explanation on that whole business and why do we take the officer’s word, even though some of the conversation was recorded, there is way more to the story than we will ever know.
Thanks to our fair and balanced media reporters, we only get a tainted view of the whole issue… am I wrong? or does anyone doubt what we see and hear on the TV, should we always take the “Dan Rather’s world” of reporting truth?
when do we start to use our own thinking and resolve, where is the common sense?
why don’t we ask what the heck kinda ’sting’ operation was that going on anyway? and who the heck was the undercover officer working for? what is his story? why didn’t the media report the background for that, doesn’t anyone want to know, and now does anyone want to use the public bathrooms in airports anyway?
watch out, you might be a victim of a ’sting’…
maybe they are setting up ’sting’ operations in grocery parking lots or the gym where you are working out, who knows what will be next…
just something to think about
has anyone ever encountered a law-enforcement officer who intimidated us and made us feel guilty for example about driving 5 miles over the speed limit?
Nope, never happened to me. Everyone I’ve been pulled over by has been friendly and professional, whether they ended up giving me a ticket or not. Am I just the lucky minority?
I posted a comment in another thread yesterday about another Republican busted for the exact same behaviors as Craig, the cop was running the sting operation in Florida, it was all the same except this cop gathered a little more evidence. For instance he asked the politician “what he wanted”, etc.
The Idaho Falls police ran a similar restroom sting a few years ago at the Peter Park just south of the art museum. Didn’t hear anyone crying foul then.
I don’t think Risch being appointed Senator if Craig finally leaves really makes any difference. Risch has been in politics for 30 years, so he’s got the ties that bind to propel him into office regardless of him being appointed or not.
Again, I think the matter should just be on Craig. Our senator is on probation. He has humiliated Idaho, created the new popular phrase “I have a wide stance”, he tried to use his elected position to get out of trouble, he has lost his power, and he has gone back on his word.
Larry Craig has become the poster boy for the stereotypically corrupt politician.
I cannot imagine how anyone can trust Larry Craig anymore.
Joe, you ARE the “lucky minority” on this one. I’ve been pulled over and intimidated by a number of cops over the years in a number of different states. Just because it hasn’t happened to you, doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.
There are alot of officers out there that abuse their power and have that “God complex”. Sure, I’ve been pulled over by some very nice, professional officers, but there are many of them that DO intimidate, just because they have a badge.
I have to admit, if I am out driving and a cop is following me, or I pass a cop, I get a little nervous and wonder if I did everything right. Did I push the limit at the last red light, did I come to a complete stop at the Stop Sign, am I driving too fast, am I staying in my own lane? I must know in my own mind that I did something wrong. So yes, if I did get stopped (thankfully it has only happened once), I would be nervous and feeling guilty.
Technically, Craig did not go back on his word. I never heard him say that he was going to resign on September 30. All I heard him say was “I intend to resign”.
My question is, what did Craig do that was illegal? Everything that I have read about it, I can’t figure it out. Is it illegal to try to “pick up” someone in a public place? IMO, it should be about where they want to complete their encounter, not where the initial encounter took place. We will never know what Craig’s final intentions for their meeting were. I would say that the majority of the people have tried to pick up some one at bars, grocery stores, parks, libraries, work, airports, internet, and yes even in churches at some time in their life. Read all the articles on where to meet people that are published on a regular basis. If it’s a male hitting on a female, he gets a pat on the back, a wink, and a go for it attitude. If it’s a female hitting on a male, it is still acceptable. But, when a male hits on a male, or a female hits on a female, then eyebrows are raised, flags are thrown up, and the whole affair is considered improper, immoral and disgusting. Double standard????
The sting operation that Joe posted yesterday had a comment in it that stated that charges were being considered for “crimes against nature”. My question is what are the crimes against nature?
Craig’s downfall should be because of his attempts at trying to conceal his arrest and pleading guilty, not because of his sexual orientation. I wonder what the fall out would have been if he had plead not guilty and it became public knowledge. I would be willing to bet that public opinion would be about the same. But, IMO, his downfall should be because of his voting record on environmental issues, definition of marriage, and numerous other issues that has put Idaho at the back of the pack.
If I recall correctly, the sting operation at the IF Park was about the solicitation of children, not adults, and if adults were caught and arrested, it was because they were carrying out the act in a public place. But my memory is a little hazy on this. I had even forgotten about it until Joe mentioned it above.
Yea! Idaho Native gets it, I appreciate your comments and clarification, it is helpful as we put things into perspective instead of jumping to judgement and hanging,
there is indeed so much about this case that we will never know
I would behoove Joe to take a moment and research the facts a little bit better before writing an article that says he demands something for all Idahoans when he hasn’t asked all Idahoans what we demand
I’ll have to agree with posts 34 & 35 on this one.
put things into perspective instead of jumping to judgement
Craig has pled guilty, lost an appeal, been stripped of effective power by his peers, and announced he intended to resign over this matter. I do not think “jumping to judgment” is an accurate description.
It does not matter if Craig’s actions were illegal, if homosexuality is immoral, if the cop was sloppy, or if the media was on a witch hunt. That was all chapter 1 stuff, what I described in paragraph 1 was chapter 2 stuff, and we are in chapter 3 now.
You really think I should go around asking all Idahoans what they think on this issue? Why, so you can still find an excuse to disregard the writing on the wall? You tell me to research the facts but fail to provide a single one of your own? I think you should take your own advice.
I wrote this article based on the poll showing a majority of Idahoans want him out, and from all I have witnessed, especially the wide difference of conservative opinions.
Even Mr. Conservative Cheerleader Bill O’Reilly has said Craig is a bum. We’re in chapter 3 here, where we know Craig will not leave and can only be forced out by the U.S. Senate. Is there another step somewhere in there that I missed?
Making an appeal to the U.S. Senate to expel Senator Craig ain’t gonna do it. If they wanted him out, he’d be gone already — they’ve certainly tossed a few others out for their inappropriate behavior.
So, why isn’t the Senate showing him the door? I, obviously, am not a member of the Senate because I’ve never been indicted for anything, so these are only opinions:
1) They’re hoping Larry will just go away on his own. We know how well that’s working.
2) A Republican is a Republican is a Republican. And he said he’s not gay.
3) Democrats can’t get enough gumption to go beyond speechifying about what they’d like to do to President Bush, and, let’s face it, Larry is small potatoes compared to Dubya. Besides, they know a Republican will take his place, so they win nothing, other than embiggening in a very small way their (occasionally true) argument that the Repubs have driven their party into the ditch. And the Dems should know. They’ve been in the ditch plenty themselves.
4) Where’s Idaho? Isn’t that across the river from Omaha?
5) (said with a Scottish burr) No surrr, he’s deid alrrready.
Many of us addressed the sting operation: it was not done properly, i.e. the officer didn’t let Craig take it to the solicitation stage and arrested him too early. Mainly, the police were lazy and were just looking for quick ways to have the behavior stop. However, this issue doesn’t really reach Craig and has nothing to do with HOW Craig responded to this issue.
Craig’s handling of the issue, for me, is the most important and only piece to consider. I don’t look at the conduct in the stall. It was stupid behavior but realistically it was inconsequential. The heart of the matter is Craig lying to friends, family, and constituents about it’s existence and his attempt to bury the charge. Everybody was up in arms about a Nixon Watergate coverup, yet Craig’s poor attempt at a coverup is not focused on. Is it because we have gotten so used to pols covering things up that it no longer registers on our radar? Craig used the “intent” to resign speech masterfully. It was like all these celebs making a speech that they intend to seek rehab to avoid responsibility for their actions too. Everybody has a card up their sleeve to avoid consequences.
Harry Truman used the phrase “The Buck Stops Here”, Craig and so many other public types have gotten good at moving that dollar so it never stops on their lap….and we let them get away with it. Our society has become so permissive and desensitized that not much seems to matter anymore. We certainly get the government we deserve. Every day Craig continues in office is a stark reminder of our unwillingness to make clear and concise moral judgments for the betterment of our country.
I’m beginning to feel a little sorry for Craig. Here’s an obviously closeted man who has to resort to hook-ups in the men’s room. When he was a young gay man, this is where you went to find dates. These days, it’s perfectly normal for gay men to find company at bars & other social gatherings.
But Craig wasn’t comfortable enough within his own skin to break the habit of bathroom trolling. It must be so sad to live your private life like that. His strident denial of being gay was the “cherry on top”, one might say. In fact, several comic/pundits have already had quite a time pointing out his denial!
The reason he kept his “gay-ness” hidden all these years, is because he would have never made it to where he is (a US Senator)today, had he been an openly gay man growing up. Sure it’s sad, (not that there’s anything wrong with it), but it’s a reality. How many openly gay Senators do you know of?
Joe you said another Republican was busted for the same thing. I checked out the website you provided, and did not see an political affiliation. Looked to me as if he held a non-partison parrish council seat near New Orleans. Could you show where he holds office as a Republican?
Sure. Nowhere can I find the party ticket he was running on, so I see your point! However 3 clues reinforce his “Republican-ness” 8^)
First on DiFatta’s own website: Member, Republican State Central Committee (1996-2004)
http://www.joeydifatta.com/aboutjoey.html
I don’t think they let Democrats do that sort of thing. Maybe he changed parties since then? Possibly but not probably. His site does not list ANY party affiliations, strangely enough.
Second clue is one of the points in his “DiFatta Plan”:
Defend our conservative values from attacks by extreme liberal groups
Third I googled “DiFatta is not a republican” and couldn’t find a single result of someone saying this, which I imagine people would if he were not Republican.
BTW, I love this headline:
“IF LARRY CRAIG MATED WITH DAVID VITTER WHAT WOULD YOU GET? MEET JOEY DiFATTA”
http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2007/10/if-larry-craig-mated-with-david-vitter.html
There is an interesting graphic halfway down that page, if you are not easily offended.
Matt Lauer and his NBC Today show crew have checked into the Boise Doubletree hotel, and are expected to interview Larry Craig and his wife on Tuesday (tomorrow) morning, with the interview airing Tuesday evening on NBC.
Should be as interesting as when Hillary was interviewed saying her husband was the victim of a vast right-wing conspiracy.
Joe, The interview has happened, quotes from the interview have been on the net for hours. One interesting quote is he feels betrayed by Romney for kicking him off the campaign. “I was very proud of my association with Mitt Romney,” Craig said. “I worked hard for him here in the state. I was a co-chair of his campaign on Capitol Hill. And he not only threw me under his campaign bus, he backed up and ran over me again.”
Wow, right you are! This report says the interview happened last weekend actually.
“…Craig filed notice Monday with the Minnesota Court of Appeals that he intends to appeal a lower court’s decision to uphold his guilty plea to disorderly conduct.”
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071015/NEWS07/71015068/1048/SPORTS
Brother, going for the long shot still ehh? The appeals process is expected to take almost a full year, so Craig can keep hanging onto his seat with the transparent excuse of trying to clear his name.
I guess Larry Craig does not feel he has embarrassed Idaho and the Republican Party enough yet. Here goes the roller coaster on another loop.
Joe, well put.
and whoever coined “wide stance Larry”…..OMG that is one of the funniest things I have ever heard!!
CNN reported that Senator Craig has a wide stance on issues facing his staff and the staff of others.
(rim shot)
I said in another article: I commend Livsey for getting out of the way so the Idaho Falls Police Department can dive right into the changes they need to make.
I wish I could commend Craig for getting out of the way so the replacement Idaho senator can dive right into representing Idaho.
For all the negative things people have to say about Livsey you are right….he knew it was time to go for everyone’s sake. He didn’t make a big production out of it and so far has not gone around crying foul and blaming anyone. That shows real class that we will never get out of Hall of Fame inductee Larry Craig.
Good point Mike
Very good point, Mike.
The Associate Press (by way of the PR) reports that Idaho constituent help requests have dropped off sharply at Larry Craig’s senate offices, while our other senator and congressmen have seen relational increases in their help requests.
Is it because of the uncertainty regarding if Craig would be around much longer, or because Idahoans have lost faith in Craig’s ability to do his job anymore? If I needed a senator’s help, I know Crapo would probably get further in the senate than Craig would right now.
The PR had a good analysis of Larry Craig’s situation, and reasons why he needs to cling to his office. I won’t recap it because I want you to go out and read it yourself, however I am more convinced after reading it that Larry Craig is staying in office for his own betterment, certainly not Idaho’s betterment.
The PR published “An Open Letter to Sen. Larry Craig” today from well-known local conservative Kathy Stanger. She put him down as gently as a baby, but affirmed it was time for Larry Craig to resign.
“As with many other tragedies, I humbly suggest that it is time for you to fall on your sword and end the battle.”
That was actually a beautifully written piece for an opinion page article! The question is how much longer Craig continues to serve Craig’s best interests.
A Craig aide has also just resigned, and the issue seemed to be the unwanted attention from Craig’s gay sex solicitation scandal. Interesting discovery that Craig has been paying that high-powered lawyer since February, not just this summer as most believed.
The PR had another front-page article on Lewdy Craig today, describing Craig as alienated from his Senator peers and with greatly diminished clout. Even conservative groups like the Idaho Values Alliance admit they cannot count on him to lead the charge on some of their cherished issues because Craig has zero credibility.
Lewdy Craig has gone from embarrassing himself and Idaho to painting himself into a sad, pathetic little corner. Will Craig limp along to the end of his term and continue embarrassing himself, or will he finally pull his head out and resign?
Larry Craig, you have become one of the worst Idahoans ever. Please resign before you make it worse.
I agree Joe; if only Larry had been honest about everything, from the beginning, things would be different; his “coverup” attempt and his ridiculous “wide stance” Larry comments have caused him to embarass himself to no end;
It is not about his being gay; it is about him being dishonest. It is time for him to go.
The Idaho Statesman published the verified accounts of five men who claim to have had gay sex with or experienced gay sexual advances from Senator Larry Craig. Four were willing put their names and identities up for public review. The modus operandi is similar in all cases. The statesman checked all dates and places and both the men and Craig were recorded in those places at those times.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/eyepiece/story/226703.html
Since Craig is unwilling to resign and Idaho’s supposed leadership is unwilling to lean on Craig to resign, let us hope the senate ethics investigation leads to expulsion.
For the record, to say it yet again, Craig being gay is not what bugs me, it’s these constant lies and that our senator has been convicted of a lewd crime and is serving probation that I want him out of office.
Mike Adams, a long time local Republican with undoubted conservative credentials, wrote this morning that he also believes it is time for Senator Craig to resign, that Craig is hurting Idaho in the long run by not vacating his seat.
Perhaps what is needed is something like the senior senators who came down from the capitol to visit Nixon and put it to him bluntly. Perhaps the ten or twenty most senior Idaho Republicans need to visit Craig at his Eagle home one weekend soon and put it to him bluntly.
Yeah, it might happen if they get an inkling that Craig’s presence is helping the Dems in the Senate race. Otherwise, they will let this pathetic excuse for a senator finish his term….in disgrace.
Obviously other folks in the senate don’t feel as strongly about him leaving office as many of you do. Otherwise he’d be gone by now. Evidently his private life isn’t affecting his work, so what’s the problem?
I’m sure many of you have not so stellar private lives, but don’t let it affect your work. I’m sure many here have lied to bosses and supervisors regarding days off, or other issues. You people are trying to crucify the man for having a private life. If he doesn’t want to admit to being gay, who cares? Look at his track record over the years, the good far outweighs the bad and he’s never let his personal life interfere with his civic duties.
So many “holier than thou” judemental folks on this site. Let the man be already. IF it were true about those other 5 men, why did they wait so long to come forward? Don’t believe everything you read. you’re just spreading more rumours and adding fuel to the fire. His private life is not affecting ANY of you on a personal level or as Idahoans. Don’t you have something more important to put your energy into?
Yeah, I want to open the Larry Craig School on How To Tell The Truth.
his personal life is none of your business. just like your personal life is none of OUR business. get over it.
He is our senator, when he commits a crime and is sentenced to probation, it is our business. When he conducts himself in a manner that brings shame to the state he supposedly represents, it is our business.
The guest who made the comments on posts 62 and 64 (assuming they were the same poster) is incorrect when they say that Larry Craig’s shenanigans are not affecting any of us on a personal level or as Idahoans.
Senator Craig’s political influence has been largely stripped away. Many of his colleagues will not even look at him or talk to him. He has been removed from his leadership posts.
The point that people are now making is that the newly elected group of representatives will be taking office in about 13 months. If Senator Craig would resign now as he led Idahoans to believe he would do months ago, the new appointee would have a 13 month head start toward earning seniority. Idaho has a hard enough time gaining influence because of its small size.
If Larry Craig were truly concerned with helping Idahoans, he would step down now. I personally believe that he is just staying in the Senate to pad his pension a little bit more. What kind of income will he receive the rest of his life, isn’t it more than $100K a year? My opinion that he should resign has nothing to do with his personal life or sexual orientation.
I’d like to know how Idahoan knows that Larry Craigs co-workers won’t even look at him or talk to him. Do you have a position in the Senate with him to see this happening first hand? (I seriously doubt it) So your “hearse” means nothing here.
The fact is, over the course of his term, he’s done more good than harm and he has every right to stay in office until his term is up. No matter what you people think about him. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t still be in office. You’re beating a dead horse. He’s not leaving. Let it die already!
Since guest would like to know how I know what goes on in the Senate, I have seen for myself Larry Craig being shunned on C-Span. There was no doubt left in my mind that he has lost most or all of his credibility with his colleagues. Now what do you have to say about that? Oh, I’m sure you’ll think of a way to criticize me instead of Fairy Larry.
On C-span?? Now THAT’s funny! You REALLY must know how his co-workers treat him then! My bad….ROFL!
That’s right, I forgot that C-Span is just a hoax that employs actors on a Hollywood stage to fake congressional activities. My bad.
By the way I apologize for calling Senator Craig a name in my previous post. That was not nice of me.
I’ve been out of the loop for awhile, but have been reading up on many posts and deciding which one to reply to. I’ll get to them all eventually.
I think we do need to cut some slack on Craig already. And if these new guys that have been on the news lately making these allegations were really true….why did they wait so long to come forward? Why didn’t they come forward when everything else was going down? I think there’s definately a witch hunt going on here.
And, I understand what Guest is trying to tell Idahoan.
You need to realize how our Senators & Congressman act during congressional meetings before actually putting rumours out there that his co-workers don’t like him or are ignorning him. First let us remember that these are just that….”Congressional Meetings”. Their not a bunch of guys on a contruction site laughing it up and joking with one another. And their not a bunch of folks sitting in an office or in a bunch of cubicles and gossipping around the watercooler. These are serious meetings that go on and you’re not going to see normal banter between these folks, like you would in a different setting like say a construction site or around a water cooler .
So for you to see a meeting where a colleague or two didn’t “LOOK at him or TALK to him”, that hardly justify’s what really happens during a typical “day at the office” for “fairy Larry” as you so elegantly put it.
I think there are too many homophobic people out there. Whether or not Mr.Craig is gay and whether or not he wants to admit it, is nobody’s business. If he wasnt to be married and put up a front for the world, so be it. There are far too many judgemental people in the world and we really need to think twice. NONE of us are perfect. We ALL make mistakes. Yes, even congressman, presidents, police officers, library workers, etc. None of us are immune. So lets think about that before continuing to crucify somebody over their personal and/or private life.
So…what about the issue I raised regarding seniority? The Craig defenders haven’t said a peep about that. He is the one who led us to believe he would resign. He should do what he said he would do. In the long run Idaho will benefit from the added seniority his replacement will accrue.
As for my watching of C-Span I saw what I saw and I will judge the body language for myself. I don’t care if anyone else agrees with me or not.
Check out this:
Craig really did make this great State look bad infront of the nation. In his position, it isn’t really just “his business.” I sincerely wish that he was just man enough to admit it and step down. The people really do not want his representation.
From what I see its only a few posters on this site that are worried about it. Most people I talk to at work, out with friends, family etc. don’t really care one way or the other. They all know he’ll be out of office soon, so they don’t let it bother them like most on this site do.
I’ve also got family in different parts of the country and most of them say it’s not even important anymore. It’s old news and has been forgotten already. The media sensationalizes it so much, they make out to be a bigger deal than it actually is.
I liked listening to the Paul Harvey show today, where he made a short statement about that punk that shot up those people in the mall. But he refused to speak the kids name or anything about him. THAT’S what we need to do with ALL the school and public shootings like this. This is the ONLY reason these punks do things like this, to get their 15 minutes of fame. If we don’t give it to them, these shootings would stop, or dramatically be reduced. Stop giving these punks 24 hour news coverage for weeks on end. Instead say absolutely nothing about it.
#73 – I saw that last night on the Julia Roberts tribute show, and even though I don’t follow politics closely and am tired of the whole Craig thing, I watched this and felt truly embarrassed for Idaho. Too have all of those movie stars laughing at George Clooney’s skit in the toilet was a little much for me. The Idaho Statesman’s recent article was also quite telling if the sources were true. I wonder if they really are on a witch hunt as many say they do all the time.
#74 – I tend to agree with you the media goes overboard on these things, but saying nothing about it might be worse for the victims. To not acknowledge what happened, their pain, loss and what they are going though sends the message it didn’t happen and it doesn’t “count”. There has to be a balance somewhere in the media, maybe a different angle of the story which focuses more on the positives in the recovery of the victims would be better than spotlighting the shooter.
Back to Craig……..
Idahoan…I don’t think they realize what C-Span is…..
Amazing that some people are “tired of it already” (the Craig story). Craig lied to the people of Idaho. He lied to everyone. I suppose some of you held the same opinion when Clinton lied too? Right.
It seems that we are to give him a pass and just forget about it because he will be out of office soon. Do many of you feel the same way about Bush? He is out of office soon too. But many want to impeach him.
While it is true that Craig did many good things for Idaho, how do we simply ignore his lying and scheming to avoid being caught. It is one thing to lie. It is another thing to avoid responsibility for his criminal conduct….which he signed on the dotted line that he was guilty….and then when exposed, he tries to avoid responsibility for his actions. He has to do better than state he is not gay.
So, then he tells everyone he intends to resign….not once but twice. Seems he lied about that too. Anyone see a pattern here to be concerned about?
One final thing, if the people of Idaho accept this as the normal course of conduct what message do we send to our Congressional delegation? Do we tell them that it is okay to lie to all of us and they can continue to serve us? I don’t want to be a part of that message.
Another reason that Larry should go: He can’t even get an amendment to stick on an issue that many Dems could try and support. The Dems want more alternative energies to be used to reduce the carbon footprint—okay, how about more water for hydro-electric? Seems like a no brainer. Yet, Craig couldn’t get it to stick. What a loser he is! And a disgrace to Idaho!
http://kpvi.com/Global/story.asp?S=7529845
KPVI reports the senate ethics panel delivered their view of how Craig acted in that bathroom, and they say “…Senator Larry Craig acted improperly in a men’s room sex sting.”
“In a letter Wednesday, the Ethics panel says Craig’s attempt to withdraw his guilty plea in a June arrest at a Minneapolis airport was an effort to evade legal consequences of his own actions.
The letter says Craig’s actions brought discredit on the Senate.”
How did Craig respond?
“While I am disappointed and strongly disagree with the conclusions reached by the Senate Ethics Committee, from the outset i have encouraged the committee to act in a timely fashion and they have done so.
I will continue to serve the people of Idaho.”
http://www.kpvi.com/Global/story.asp?S=7868903
What a liar, what a schmuck. We never hear about him serving Idaho anymore, has he been doing any bills, making any appearances around Idaho? Anyone ever ask him why he couldn’t stick to his word to resign?
Anyone ask why this Idaho Republican party continues to support this liar?
where is the proof that larry craig committed a sexual act in public? craig should stand his ground and not give in to people who accuse him of a sexual offence because he simply moved his foot to avoid urine on the floor of a mensroom.
has any man screaming for craig’s removal ever used a dirty restorom and NOT tried to find a clean spot to put their feet?
A cultural anthropologist spelled out four hardcore social behaviors that Lewdy Craig broke while in that restroom. Things like making eye contact through the door when everybody checks for feet to see if a stall is occupied. I think I already mentioned it above. There is little doubt that Craig is a lying homosexual. We are just outraged that he is such a blatant liar and went back on his word to resign.
Can you deny that he went back on his word to resign? Despite his legal appeals petering out and the Senate ethics panel admonishing Craig for his behaviors?
larry craig is not gay and he has a wife and a family. the police officer who “outed” him probably was gay. how can a straight person interpret moving one’s feet to avoid urine as a homosexual mannerism? craig has an anti-gay stance so natually he is targeted by homosexuals who want to keep the issue alive until he resigns.
Craig never said for sure he was going to resign. He said “I intend to resign”. Big difference. This was pointed out a long time ago. How many of us “intend” to do something and then never do it. Does that make us a liar?
I’m upset that Craig is using his campaign money to fund his legal bills. Am I the only one who feels this way? I think money needs to be refunded.
This guy is an embarrassment to Idaho. It will be good for this state when he is gone and forgotten. I don’t care if Craig is a homosexual. What I do care about is that he is a liar and hid this incident for months.
Oh brother! I can’t even believe THIS story arose from the grave again. Jeez…let it die already. We all know Craigs a dirty old man. Who cares!
It “arose from the grave” because the Senate ethics panel issued their conclusion that Craig is a lewdy old man, and the local news media reported on it. Typically we call that news, not “something from the grave”.
Actually, there was more to this Craig rebuke, I only read the KPVI report earlier, but apparently there was much more in the AP story.
“The Senate Ethics Committee (made up of 3 Democrats and 3 Republicans) said
”
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iSAwKwijW5TwsQBUfSKfcrFIeYwgD8UPPJVG0
Now if these dumb politicians can apply common sense to this scandal, why can’t Larry Craig? Why can’t the rest of Idaho’s politicians?
We’ve gotta laugh at all those folks who donated money to Larry Craig’s campaign, who knew they secretly supported gay rights defense?
Lary is gayer than a bowl of sausages.
“Do we need a constitutional amendment? Is that the most important issue facing the country today — gay marriage? We were off last week, so apparently, we must have caught bin Laden.” –Jay Leno
RIMSHOT
“You know what’s interesting about this whole thing? According to polls, 51 percent of Americans do not approve of gay marriage, but 70 percent of Americans do not approve of President Bush. So gay marriage is actually more popular than he is.” –Jay Leno
RIMSHOT
“Recently, the highest court in South Africa handed down a decision ordering the country s parliament to extend marriage rights to all gay couples. So just to reiterate, American is now less progressive than South Africa.” –Jon Stewart
RIMSHOT
“The Bush administration renewed its call for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. So I guess they feel the only time that guys should be on top of each other naked is in an Iraqi prison.” —Jay Leno
THATS ALL FOLKS ILL HERE TILL TUESDAY TIP YOU WAITRES!!!
Ha! Those rimshots were great.
dguy, I’ve known quite a few gay men who are married and have children. Larry Craig’s ‘children’ are adopted stepchildren, anyway, but that’s beside the point.
I can’t imagine anyone hanging around in a public bathroom hoping Senator Craig will show up, all for the purpose of seeing if he’d fall for the old “I’ll make you do many things you’ll have a hard time explaining later” trick.
It’s as Mike said, it doesn’t matter if he’s gay. Who cares? I care that he deceived the public by saying he intended to resign when his privately recorded phone call said he had no such intentions…then he spent campaign dollars on his lame-o defense (although I kinda agree with the ACLU that what he did should not have been illegal, at the same time, I don’t want to have the final product of those actions going on in my public restrooms).
Ugh. And of course he’s hanging in there, because to leave would be to admit he was wrong and I can’t believe he’ll ever do THAT.
He deceived the public about an embarrasing situation. Dont be so quick to judge! I’m sure quite a few of you would have done the same. Look at the mans track record regarding everything else. He made a stupid mistake, who cares? Nobody is perfect. His track record in serving Idaho speaks for itself, but like everything else in life, the commonfolk only wish to crucify a public figure for one stupid mistake. It’s called sensationalism and you people buy into it every single day! Quite sad I must say.
It’s salacious on the face of it. It’s comeuppance for the rich and powerful. It’s schadenfreude to the max.
It’s like I said when Bill Clinton lied about Monica, under oath…I’d have done the same. None of your business what other adult I had consensual sex with.
Sauce for the goose and gander, it seems.
Thank YOU, Nemesis!!!! I really enjoy getting to learn a new word. I’d heard this word before but never bothered to look into its pedigree. Tonight, I was compelled to check it out. Maturally, Wikipedia came to the rescue. MOST interesting!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schadenfreude
http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=8770404 the latest. First he pleads guilty then says it ain’t so.
Ach, I’m too nauseous to figure out what to fix for my dinner, now! I can’t wait until the election is over, and I hope I never have to hear his name again.
isn’t there anyone out there who is friends with this man? Friends would have been kind enough to persuade him not to continue to make such a durn fool of himself. Where the heck have his friends been? This has gone beyond the pale of comedy into the realm of tragedy and it’s fast heading for farce.
Seems to me…that when all of this started, IE; other senior officials and those sex scandals, including gay ones, were mostly put off, but not this one. I think personally, its an attack against the Gay culture. Way too much points to this, and I’m a left winger.
Larry Craig is a state Senator in Idaho, a married man with children, who first pled guilty. Word got out and he pleads innocent. And you’re referring to this as an attack on Gays? You’re kidding right?