There is one thing we know for sure now. Senator Larry Craig's word is worth nothing. After it was discovered that he had been arrested and pled guilty to propositioning a male police officer for sex in a Minnesota airport restroom, he held a news conference and told America that he would resign his office on September 30.
But that was not to be. He decided to appeal his guilty plea, and then promised to resign if the conviction was upheld. The judge's decision is now known.
Hennepin County Judge Charles Porter wrote in his decision, "Because the defendant's plea was accurate, voluntary and intelligent, and because the conviction is supported by the evidence...the defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea is denied."
So that must mean Craig is going to resign -- right? WRONG! Craig again broke his word and said he is now going to finish out his term. This guy wouldn't be able to tell the truth if he was standing on a Bible (and he wonders why people don't believe him when he says he's not gay).
Personally, I'm glad he's not going to resign. That means we'll now probably have a nationally televised ethics hearing involving his homosexual restroom adventures, and if Democrats are lucky, it could drag on for weeks or even months, and keep the Republican's public immorality fresh in the minds of the voters.
There's nothing wrong with being gay, but it is fun to watch this hypocrite twist in the wind and blow the election for the next Idaho Republican. Get your popcorn ready and clean the TV screen -- this should be good.
Of all the dispicable things this guy did (and there are plenty), the one that really got my goat was when he handed the arresting officer his U.S. Senate business card and said, "What do you think of that?" As if being a senator amounted to having a "get out of jail free" card. When did being a public servant become a privilege rather than a responsibility? (I know, I'm being too idealistic!)
ReplyDeleteWhen this whole mess broke, it reminded me of Laud Humphreys, a sociologist whom I heard speak more than 35 years ago when I was a college student. In his book, Tearom Trade, Humphreys researched the demographics of men who engage in anonymous restroom sex. What he discovered does much to explain (without condoning) why Craig continues to insist that he's not gay, nor has he ever been gay:
As Humphreys gained entry into this private system of instant sex, he learned that many (over 50%) of these men did not consider themselves homosexuals, were in fact mostly happily married, carried on very important roles in their respective communities and preferred to have quick sexual encounters, with few words and with men, all the while maintaining the appearance of being typical heterosexual males.[Emphasis added]
Here's the article where I found this quote.
A similar phenomenon of denial can be found in the African-American community, where the practice of being on the "down low" is not considered to be gay behavior.