Just a few thoughts on Larry "Wide Stance" Craig
Up to now I have refrained from writing about the latest sex scandal to hit the GOP, and I am not going to write extensively about it now. Anyone wanting extensive coverage about Sen. Craig's alleged conduct, arrest, guilty plea, and what has transpired since can read all the posts on Talking Points Memo (starting on August 27, 2007). I will just raise a few points here.
Point 1: Here is yet another case of a right winger, family-values champion apparently engaged in homosexual behavior. I will state once again that I don't care about the homosexual part. What I care about is the abject hypocrisy of these people.
Point 2: There has been a surge of Republicans saying Craig should resign. Also, he was removed from his committee posts by the GOP caucus. Why is this happening to Craig when nothing happened to David Vitter? Recall that Vitter is the (married family values proponent) Louisiana Republican Senator who was exposed as having multiple encounters with prostitutes (via the DC Madam). The only apparent difference is that Vitter was engaged in heterosexual activities. Vitter actually had illegal and extramarital sex, while Craig was busted for solicitation, not actually having sex. It would seem that for the GOP, extramarital affairs and illegal sex are O.K. as long as there is no homosexual aspect. Now that's "family values."
Kevin Drum had a post that suggested a more practical and political reason for this disparity in treatment between Craig and Vitter, namely that if Vitter resigned, his replacement would be named by a Democratic governor while Craig's replacement would be named by a Republican governor. Even if this is true, it shows hypocrisy by the "family values" party.
In any event, I find it interesting that high-ranking Republicans are so willing to quickly throw Craig under the bus. I mean to say, they have stopped just short of publicly disowning him. I'm not saying Craig should not be thrown under the bus, but I would like to know why these same Republicans did not react so quickly to the Foley Follies.
I guess maybe Craig's guilty plea might have something to do with it. That plea means that the standard GOP response of "there's been no charge or proof of wrongdoing" simply is unavailable.
Another possibility is that they are pissed that Craig kept all of this a secret and thus they were pretty much blindsided when the story broke.
Point 3: Today's news is that the Republican National Committee was going to publicly ask Craig to resign, but put such action on hold because word is that Craig might resign today. As Greg Sargent asked at TPM Election Central, "When's the last time one of the national party committees called on one of their own senior senators to resign?"
To me the RNC's willingness to publicly call for Craig's resignation strikes me as very odd. I admit that I don't currently have any hard facts or evidence to support my gut feeling, but it sure feels to me like this is an indication that everything the GOP does is all based on partisan politics and appearances.
I also have to say that I do not know if the DNC would not do the same thing.
Point 1: Here is yet another case of a right winger, family-values champion apparently engaged in homosexual behavior. I will state once again that I don't care about the homosexual part. What I care about is the abject hypocrisy of these people.
Point 2: There has been a surge of Republicans saying Craig should resign. Also, he was removed from his committee posts by the GOP caucus. Why is this happening to Craig when nothing happened to David Vitter? Recall that Vitter is the (married family values proponent) Louisiana Republican Senator who was exposed as having multiple encounters with prostitutes (via the DC Madam). The only apparent difference is that Vitter was engaged in heterosexual activities. Vitter actually had illegal and extramarital sex, while Craig was busted for solicitation, not actually having sex. It would seem that for the GOP, extramarital affairs and illegal sex are O.K. as long as there is no homosexual aspect. Now that's "family values."
Kevin Drum had a post that suggested a more practical and political reason for this disparity in treatment between Craig and Vitter, namely that if Vitter resigned, his replacement would be named by a Democratic governor while Craig's replacement would be named by a Republican governor. Even if this is true, it shows hypocrisy by the "family values" party.
In any event, I find it interesting that high-ranking Republicans are so willing to quickly throw Craig under the bus. I mean to say, they have stopped just short of publicly disowning him. I'm not saying Craig should not be thrown under the bus, but I would like to know why these same Republicans did not react so quickly to the Foley Follies.
I guess maybe Craig's guilty plea might have something to do with it. That plea means that the standard GOP response of "there's been no charge or proof of wrongdoing" simply is unavailable.
Another possibility is that they are pissed that Craig kept all of this a secret and thus they were pretty much blindsided when the story broke.
Point 3: Today's news is that the Republican National Committee was going to publicly ask Craig to resign, but put such action on hold because word is that Craig might resign today. As Greg Sargent asked at TPM Election Central, "When's the last time one of the national party committees called on one of their own senior senators to resign?"
To me the RNC's willingness to publicly call for Craig's resignation strikes me as very odd. I admit that I don't currently have any hard facts or evidence to support my gut feeling, but it sure feels to me like this is an indication that everything the GOP does is all based on partisan politics and appearances.
I also have to say that I do not know if the DNC would not do the same thing.
posted by WCharles @ 8/31/2007 12:29:00 PM
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