Republicans clearly would like the airport men’s room scandal involving Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho) to go away. They’ve stripped him of his leadership posts — and some fellow GOPers are calling on him to resign.
But so far Craig seems to want to stick it out. So the question becomes: for how long?
The political career of Senator Larry Craig of Idaho appeared to be collapsing today as fellow Republicans called for his resignation and party leaders ousted him from his committee leadership posts amid the fallout over his arrest and guilty plea in connection with an incident in an airport restroom.
A statement by the Senate Republican leadership said Mr. Craig “has agreed to comply†with a request to step down as the top Republican on the Veterans Affairs Committee, the Appropriations subcommittee on the Interior and the Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee on public lands and forests.
“This is not a decision we take lightly, but we believe this is in the best interest of the Senate until this situation is resolved by the Ethics Committee,†the statement said. It was issued by Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the party leader; Trent Lott of Mississippi, the whip; Jon Kyl of Arizona, the conference chairman, and other prominent Republicans.
Mr. Craig will still retain membership on the committees, but he will have no more power than a freshman senator, even though he is nearing the end of his third term and was himself in the party leadership not so long ago.
Craig yesterday began losing political allies faster than Michael Vick has lost invitations to speak at ASPCA conventions. Politicos? Leaving him… The White House? It’s inching away, too:
Two of Craig’s fellow Republican senators called on their longtime colleague to resign from the Senate.
“I believe that he pled guilty, and he had the opportunity to plead innocent, and so I think he should resign,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said in a Wednesday interview on CNN’s The Situation Room. “My opinion is that when you plead guilty to a crime, then you shouldn’t serve.”
McCain, a GOP presidential candidate, added, “That’s not a moral stand. That’s not a holier-than-thou. It’s just a factual situation.”
Republican Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, who faces a re-election contest in a moderate state, also called on Craig to quit, saying, “Sen. Craig pled guilty to a crime involving conduct unbecoming a senator.”
The White House also voiced “disappointment” with the situation, and called on the Senate to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
The swift action by Republican leaders suggested a desire to quickly distance the party from Craig, despite his decades of service, party loyalty and friendship with many of his colleagues.
The situation has erupted at a critical time for the Republican Party, heading into a competitive presidential election season after it lost control of the House and Senate. Because more vulnerable Republicans than Democrats are up for re-election, and because the Iraq war is proving a political drag on the GOP, some political analysts say the Democrats have a shot at expanding their majorities in Congress.
Meanwhile, a check yesterday of some conservative talk radio shows suggested a shift in terms of damage control.
The shock of the story has worn off. Now some conservative talkers are saying Craig’s defense sounds fishy — but telling listeners to make sure they don’t forget about Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky, the possible return of Hillary Clinton, and that mean, old mainstream media that is (they say) blowing the story out of proportion and demonizing Craig.
For instance, yesterday one nationally syndicated conservative talk show host spent nearly 20 minutes reminding listeners of Mr. Clinton’s Oval Office scandal with Ms. Lewinsky and recounting that scandal. He said the average American doesn’t know Craig or care about Craig but that the scandal brings back memories of 8 years of Clinton. He then warned what could happen if Hillary Clinton won the White House.
Another conservative talker accused the mainstream media of “demonizing” Craig and said Craig’s explanation might seem strange but it is plausible. He accused the mainstream media of hypocrisy — playing the gay card against a conservative while at other times defending gays. He said the media was recounting unproven allegations. He also called a top gay blogger a loony leftist.
And gay reaction? The AP:
Sen. Larry Craig’s “I’m not gay” declaration met with disdain Wednesday from gay activists, many of whom knew for nearly a year – long before his recent arrest – of allegations that the conservative Idaho Republican solicited sex from men in public bathrooms.
They view his case as a prime example of hypocrisy – a man who furtively engaged in same-sex liaisons while consistently opposing gay-rights measures as a politician.
“He may very well not think of himself as being gay, and these are just urges that he has,” said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. “It’s the tragedy of homophobia. People create these walls that separate themselves from who they really are.”
In Washington, some of Craig’s fellow Republican congressmen began calling for his resignation, as did the Log Cabin Republicans, the largest gay GOP group. The White House expressed disappointment in the case while avoiding a statement of support for Craig.
Craig proclaimed his innocence, and his heterosexuality, on Tuesday after revelations that he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct following his arrest in June at a Minneapolis airport men’s room where an undercover officer suspected him of soliciting sex.
But detailed accusations against Craig had been available since last year through an Internet-based activist who had a hand in outing several Republican politicians, including former Rep. Mark Foley, the focus of a House page scandal, and former Rep. Edward Schrock, linked to a gay dating site.
And then last night at a work event, I turned to a colleague who is also politically-connected and asked, “So what do you think about Larry Craig?†He just shook his head and said, “Wasn’t his press conference today unbelieveable?â€
My jaw dropped.
“No he did NOT!â€, I protested. My friend: “Oh yes he did. He must have said ‘I’m not gay’ three times.â€
“No he did NOT!â€, I said. This time I continued: “And let me guess, his wife was standing next to him?†Well, of course!
I just shook my head. “So by the end of the week, I bet he is an alcoholic, goes to rehab, and was molested by his priest,†I deduced. Unreal.
One of the nation’s most prominent gay politicians, Rep. Barney Frank, said Craig shouldn’t resign:
“What he did, it’s hypocritical, but it’s not an abuse of his office in the sense that he was taking money for corrupt votes,” Frank told the Associated Press.
“I think people should resign when they have clearly done the job in a way that is dishonest.”
Frank went on to tell the AP: “It’s one thing to say that someone can’t be trusted to vote without being corrupt, it’s another to say that he can’t be trusted to go to the bathroom by himself.”
And there were broader interpretations, too. The GOP and Craig aside, on Hardball David Shuster gave a brutal analysis of what he said was President George Bush’s horrorific week. SEE VIDEO HERE. Meanwhile, the AP concludes that the summer has been dreadful for the GOP:
When it comes to scandal, Democrats could be forgiven for thinking they hit the political jackpot this summer. At Republicans’ expense.
First came the disclosure that Louisiana Sen. David Vitter’s telephone number was listed in the records of an escort service.
Then Sen. Ted Stevens’ home in Alaska was raided by federal agents as part of a corruption investigation.
Now Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho is recanting a guilty plea that grew out of a police undercover operation in an airport men’s room, adding, “I am not gay” for emphasis.
“This is a serious matter,” said the Senate Republican leadership, an understatement for the ages.
No doubt, none of this has been good for what some Republicans like to call “the brand.”
In Idaho, Republicans were reportedly in a wait and see mode.
In an editorial, the Philadelphia Daily News found the whole scandal, the way Craig has handled it and the way GOPers have reacted to it a mess and reprehensible:
Larry Craig’s pathetic plea that he is not gay (and never was) might comfort homophobes, but it was a performance not worthy of a U.S. senator.
The Idaho Republican has a lot of explaining to do, and he’s not doing it very well……
….In trying to explain his behavior, Craig sought the warm embrace of others who detest gays.
“Let me be clear – I am not gay and never have been,” he said. (Just to clarify that he’d also never been the subject of some sort of gay “intervention.”)
His denial came too late for his Senate Republican colleagues, who reacted swiftly to the report of a possible homosexual in their midst.
Senate GOP leaders initiated an ethics investigation. Their action is merited because Craig pleaded guilty to a crime. But one wonders why serious allegations against others in their ranks have not so far generated the same prompt attention.
…In the House, several veteran GOP lawmakers are retiring. In the Senate, they are self-imploding.
Craig apologized the other day for “the cloud placed over Idaho.” He got it wrong. The only thing clouded is his own judgment.
The Hartford Courant’s editorial didn’t mince words:
With Republican Sen. Larry Craig’s arrest in an airport men’s room and his subsequent guilty plea, another congressional advocate of family values has been exposed as a hypocrite.
What’s likely to happen?
Most likely Craig will resign within a month. The GOP will then look for someone strong to run in his place — and news reports suggest the Republicans can probably retain the seat.
But it’s one more black eye for the GOP. And the question is whether there will be a spillover to the White House which will likely face controversy (no matter what) when the report on the “surge” progress is delivered next month. Plus, President George Bush is looking for someone to replace resigned Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Will he be more inclined to pick someone less controversial since not only his clout but the clout of the Republicans in Congress is bound to diminish due to this latest scandal?
Despite the conservative talk show host’s contention, this is a story with “legs” and is “high concept” enough to be easy enough for most voters to follow.
In the media, sex sells. Add the sex element to a guy who took a hard line on sex issues and this is a story that will get considerable coverage — and be of widespread general public interest — for a while.
And that isn’t good news for the GOP.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.