Posted by The Crux |
After party leaders pushed him to announce on Saturday that he intends to resign, Senator Larry Craig is reportedly re-thinking that decision; instead, he plans to fight his guilty plea and may not resign after all (Washington Post).
It makes sense. The taped discussion between Craig and the arresting officer casts doubt on the evidence underlying Craig's arrest (BN-Politics and WaPo). The officer didn't wait for an unambiguous sex-invite before arresting Craig for soliciting sex in an airport bathroom and encouraging him to plead down to misdemeanor "disorderly conduct."
A few days ago, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), a former prosecutor, publicly commented that Craig should fight the plea (CNN).
Republican leaders seem nervous over Craig's rethinking the resignation. After all those cries of hypocrisy against Republican leaders (because they quickly called for Craig's resignation despite having rallied round Sen. David Vitter after Vitter's dealings with prostitutes made headlines in June), you'd think party leaders would want to redeem themselves before the public, much of which now sees these self-styled "compassionate conservatives" as capable of eating their own.
Instead, another chorus of calls for Craig's resignation has begun, with pressure coming from Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and the White House.
Senate leaders are also still insisting on an ethics investigation against Craig if he stays in the Senate, which seems like still more pressure on Craig to resign.
It didn't help that Craig erroneously left a message on someone's answering machine that made Craig sound manipulative as he prepared to announce his "intent" to resign. That message was turned over to the newspaper Roll Call (WaPo).
The Craig situation will likely burn out before the 2008 election. But homosexuals in Congress may come up again, because blogger Mike Rogers has made it his personal mission to "out" gay legislators that hypocritically fight against gay rights (Washington Post). His website is BlogActive.com.
There's a reason some people call politics a spectator's sport.
BN-Politics Related Posts:
* Sen. Craig Driven to Resign: Are Apologies in Order?
* Sen. Craig's Arrest: Was there Enough Evidence?
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