Craig
I like Noz’s suggestion that what we really need is a reenactment of the bathroom scene with bunnies.
Jack is proud that a Senator from his state of birth has closed the ‘Seamy Republican Bigwig’ gap of the Intermountain West, although I think we can all agree with Badtux that Louisiana still leads the nation with its combination of numbers of corrupt politicians and variety of activities.
A lot of people seem to be missing the point that what the Senator admitted to doing has less to do with the action or intent, but where it took place – in a public area. The fact that this took place in a public bathroom is what made it a crime. If he had done it in a bar he might have gotten spurned or scored, but he wouldn’t have gotten arrested.
A word of advice to public officials who get arrested – don’t try to impress the arresting officer with who you are. When you do that the officer has to spend a lot of extra time with a copy of the penal law to ensure you get charged with every possible offense. Instead of a misdemeanor appearance ticket, you are apt to end up with a dozen charges and major bail.
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“If he had done it in a bar he might have gotten spurned or scored, …” – Bryan
Or scorned, or in some kinds of bars, maybe even spurred…
Minor criminal activity and sheer stupidity aside, Craig’s greatest offense was a political one: he apparently engaged in some form of public gay sex after (during?) years of loudly advocating anti-gay legislation in his capacity as a senator.
If Craig’s worst crime were cruising public bathrooms looking for sex, he would be of no interest to me. If Craig were openly gay, that in itself would be of no interest to me either. But somebody needs to tell him: it’s the hypocrisy, stupid. He has chosen the route guaranteed to maximize the damage to his political career. Even the proverbial “modified limited hangout” would have been better… um, considering the circumstances, maybe that isn’t the best metaphor after all.
I can’t help being reminded of the time Jenna Bush, underage at the time, early in her father’s preznitcy, was attempting to drink alcoholic beverages in Chuy’s in Austin, in violation of the very laws her father signed as governor of Texas. Bush sent his minions to harass Chuy’s and its night manager… it didn’t work. (Dub Bush never understood Austin as well as he thought he did. Then again, most of the time, he didn’t have to.) But with Bush as with Craig, it’s the hypocrisy, stupid. And in response, I try to eat at Chuy’s in Houston a couple of times a year. (The fact that the food is very good doesn’t hurt my plan a bit.)
My general attitude is somebody else’s sex life is not my concern and I want it to stay that way. When they bring that life out into the public area, they are the problem, not the law.
He’s a Repub, so hypocrisy is a given. There are plenty of places he could have gotten his thrills that didn’t involve people who don’t need or want the aggravation. He broke the law, which by definition makes him a criminal. I don’t want to hear his cries of victimhood.
The Senate business card really ticked me off. I would have charged him with everything available and had every media outlet in town at the arraignment if he had pulled that crap on me. The guys in Minnesota were too forgiving.
From what I’ve read, unconfirmed, of course, Dubya’s Poppy got him out of a lot of jams involving cops, cars, drugs, booze and of course women. (No rumors about men, but if you want a rumor starter kit, there’s always Jeff Gannon.) I’d hate to be the officer that pulled Dubya over. Or out of the ditch. Or away from the bar. Or off of… oh, never mind. But like you, Bryan, I would not take kindly to intimidation in that circumstance. If something is illegal for me, it’s illegal for a senator as well. Or a governor’s son.
Regarding claims we’re piling on this poor man because he’s gay, no. We’re piling upon this poor man for being a closeted gay t-room queen who stridently claims he isn’t gay. It’s as if the Rev. Jesse Jackson held ridiculous news conferences where he claimed he wasn’t black, or if Senator Hillary Clinton held news conferences where she claimed she wasn’t a woman. That would be funny, and of course anybody with any kind of sense of humor would point and laugh. As for what Larry Craig does in the privacy of his own bathroom, well, that is of no concern to me. I do wish he’d keep it in his own bathroom, though, rather than in public where I do not wish to have to wait for a couple of closeted t-room queens to give each other blowjobs under the stall when I’m waiting outside the doors needing to take a dump.
– Badtux the Potty Penguin
Steve, the right way of using influence is through politicians, like district attorneys. Cops don’t want to, and don’t have to put up with it. If the media gets called to the arraignment, the DA can’t help without getting a lot of grief. Influence and sex are best done in private.
I’m with you, Badtux. There aren’t enough stalls in most airports and you usually are in a rush to catch a plane. Let them rent a motel room like everyone else.