Sen. Larry Craig Maintains he is not Gay and Insists he did Nothing Wrong

[sabra]

Source: ABC News

BREAKING NEWS SEN. LARRY CRAIG MAINTAINS HE IS NOT GAY AND INSISTS HE DID NOTHING WRONG DESPITE PLEADING GUILTY TO CHARGES OF DISORDERLY CONDUCT

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/

---

more:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/08/sen-craig-reads.html

"First let me please apologize to my family, friends and staff and fellow Idahoans for the cloud placed over Idaho," he says. "I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport. I did nothing wrong and regret the decision to plead guilty."

Craig blames the Idaho Statesman, his local paper, for mounting an intensive investigation into reports that the GOP lawmaker was a homosexual who trolled public restrooms for sexual partners. The paper didn't publish anything about Craig's sexual orientation until this morning, after the arrest was reported by Roll Call.

"In June, I overreacted and made a poor decision," he tells reporters. "While I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct at the Minneapolis airport or anywhere else I chose to plead guilty in the hope of making it go away."

Craig says he didn't seek counsel from his family, friends or attorney while deciding how to deal with the arrest. He has asked his attorney to review the matter and advise him on how to proceed.

"I am not gay. I never have been gay," Craig says.

[rodeodance]

1. oh boy-----sounds like this is gonna be fun===McConnell will have to go to the ethics commttee.

[Ian David]

2. So, if he's not gay, then he's either bisexual, or just really desperate for ANYONE...

...to suck his shriveled, old Republican winkie.

[calimary]

6. Maybe the wife just isn't into oral sex?

OY.

[BootinUp]

69. That is no reason to go hunting

in mens bathrooms. I applaud your effort at devil's advocate though. :rofl:

[Warren Stupidity]

77. If you are having sex with another man

it is a homosexual act and you are some variant on 'homosexual'.

[Kikosexy2]

31. Well he didn't...

kiss the guy...but basically wanted to touch it, sniff it and suck it...and still claim he's not gay...I urge all "straight" men to try public sex for now on and get booty busted or sucked by some "gay" guy and still claim they're not gay...It's the new compassionate conservatism...

[Laha]

36. There is a term for that,

Among the nerdly culture that I belong to anyway - it's called bi-desperate, a bit of a play on the idea of being bi-curious.

:silly:

Cheers, and good luck on the hypocrite hunt.

[Ian David]

45. "Bi-Desperate." I'd never heard that one before! But hey, look! It's in Urban Dictionary!

1. bi-desperate

An individual who is so desperate for someone to be interested in them that they are prepared to go against their sexual preference, if this will lead to sex / a relationship.

Ex.: Due to overpopulation of male furries, there is a high incidence of bi-desperation.

Ex.: He's not actually bi, he's just bi-desperate.


by the_ghost_of_cain Jun 24, 2004
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bi-desperate


And while you're there, give a "kick" to some of the definitions that I posted:


Please DU my Urban Dictionary Definitions!
Topic started by IanDB1 on Aug-07-07 02:47 PM (0 replies)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=6807352

[calimary]

76. Welcome to DU!

Another wild and wooly night...

[Zorro]

64. He's not gay!

He's actually very unhappy right now.

[blossomstar]

96. I laughed at this until I cried,... thank you.

For some reason, it just hit me as the funniest statement I have ever read. Thanks for the good belly laugh.

[understandinglife]

3. Just the gift the RNC needed ... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

:rofl:

[Ian David]

12. Yes, it IS just the gift they needed. Tomorrow is Katrina Day.

And they would rather be talking about SEXUAL CORRUPTION with Larry Craig than TREASON in the wake of Gonzo's departure.

[RufusTFirefly]

86. Agree with you completely, IanDB1! n/t

[Hepburn]

88. Considering this week for the Pubbies...

...it makes a LOT of sense that they would rather talk about Larry Craig getting busted in the Men's Room than other things which are going on!

LOL

[Stewie]

92. Um, no.

Do you really think it's all a conspiracy to reduce media coverage of a scandal most Americans aren't paying attention to, by destroying one of their most conservative senators/NRA Board member and making it even harder for them to win back the Senate?

Sometimes I worry about the level of paranoia on this board.

[Ian David]

105. I'm not saying the orchestrated the bust or the media leak for that purpose.

But what do you think they would rather have us paying attention to?

This...



Or this...

[ButterflyBlood]

110. Uh, you're comparing it to something that happened 2 years ago

There's no gain here. Everyone knows Bush fucked up on Katrina, and no sex scandal is going to make people forget that.

[RufusTFirefly]

108. The incident happened in June. The story is coming out now. Timing is everything

Sure, it was leaked. But by whom? And why now?

Meanwhile, Gonzo is out and Bush has warned of a "holocaust" from Iran and authorized the U.S. military to "confront Tehran's murderous activities." In citing the danger of Iran, Bush mentioned the country in the same sentence with Al-Qaeda: "The most important and immediate way to counter the ambitions of al-Qaeda and Iran and other forces of instability and terror is to win the fight in Iraq."

Why does this all sound alarmingly familiar?

OK. Never mind. Back to our regularly scheduled Larry Craig coverage.

[Seabiscuit]

95. These RNC gifts just keep on giving...

[daleo]

4. "I over-reacted and pled guilty"

That's a novel defense.

On edit: "I would like a do-over."

[kestrel91316]

5. Hey, he either DID the crime, or if he didn't do the crime he LIED to the

court in pleading guilty.

Both are no-nos........

[rodeodance]

7. he doth protest too much me thinks

[gaiilonfong]

9. A DISGUSTING RETHUGLICAN QUEEN

What a loser. Blaming a newspaper......Anuuda one bites da dust!

[depakid]

43. You beat me to that punch!

What possible motive would the cops have to lie about this incident?

[cbear70]

83. my teen said that same thing

He had the news on this morning and told me that he thinks the senator is trying to hard to prove he is not gay...so he probably is... LOL...it is painfully obvious.

[Hepburn]

89. Maybe it is just me....

...but: Besides all of the protesting too much thingy about Larry Craid, he sounds gay to me. When I have seen him in pictures and before I heard him open his mouth and speak and move around...no gaydar went off with me. However, when he started talking, the first thing I thought was, "This guy is gay." It was more than just too much denial for me...it was the way he sounded and moved.

[MidwestTransplant]

8. So will he stand up for those wrongly accused that plead guilty to crimes

because of fear or intimidation?

[yardwork]

11. I wonder how he feels about water-boarding?

[VaYallaDawg]

10. Just like Michael Vick, he'll be "finding Jesus" soon.

Which is, of course to say - as every good republican knows - that gay men and lesbians are totally estranged from Jesus.

Sometimes I think we've all fallen through the looking glass with these bald-faced hypocrites!

[caligirl]

13. he is said to have gained attention after coming on to male pages in the'80's.

[Maeve]

14. Yeah and I really am the ruler of Connacht!

Keep saying it, sweetie, and someone might believe ya! :eyes:

[CONN]

48. Huh

You're not the queen of Connacht?

[Maeve]

79. Not a cow to my name! But at least I'm honest about it....eom

[tulsakatz]

15. now why would anyone.........

..plead guilty when they know they did nothing wrong? The answer is, they wouldn't!!!

Even if you are in the midst of a trial and plead guilty to a lesser crime (so that you can get off on the original crime), you still realize that the law is going to interpret that as.......guilty, whether you did it or not!! And once you plead guilty, there are also police records and court documents that can be found by someone else.....even if you consider the episode over.

Not to mention that a Senator pled guilty! Someone who makes laws should certainly have a good understanding of how the law works. And this guy didn't even hire an attorney until just recently!!

I don't buy it.....it's just another GOP fairy tale.

[yardwork]

17. I notice that the police report says that he claimed to have an attorney shortly after arrest

Senator Craig harassed the police department, supposedly to find out details about his case to send to the law firm representing him. I doubt very much that Senator Craig had no lawyer. I think he had a lawyer from the get-go. Probably has someone on retainer, who advised him to plead guilty and try to get it over with as little publicity as possible.

The question is - why did it take so long for the "news" media to learn about the arrest?

[tulsakatz]

35. now this explanation I believe!

it's reasonable to believe that a Senator would have an attorney on retainer. Even if he didn't actually meet with the attorney, at the very least, he would have called him to ask his advice.

Craig's story is sooooooo unbelievable!! The whole thing simply doesn't make sense. First of all, he did nothing wrong but he pled guilty to make it go away. Why would anyone plead guilty if they did nothing wrong unless they were trying to get out of some other, more serious offense?

And shouldn't a Senator know better? I think so.....

[cascadiance]

16. CNN's got his mug shot!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/28/craig.arrest/index.html

So Larry, we're on a partisan witch hunt, huh?



What did you think you were pleading guilty too earlier?

[krkaufman]

38. He doesn't so much look angry for being falsely accused and arrested ...

... as deflated and depressed for having been caught.

[yellowcanine]

60. OMG Who would have sex with that, gay or straight?

[llmart]

80. He looks like Jesse Helms' twin.....

Republican men are ugly bastards aren't they?

Love those family values people. And yet so many in this country fell for that line and voted for these creeps.

[wordpix]

18. reports are he made hand gestures indicating he wanted sex in the stall---don't think that qualifies

as lewd behavior, does it?

My guess is he did a lot more than that. :shrug:

[Up2Late]

19. He say's he did nothing wrong, except that he plead Guilty under pressure.

Oh yes, I believe that one. Absolutely I do. :spray: :nopity:

[Turbineguy]

20. "I'm not

guilty and I won't do it again!"

[DemReadingDU]

21. My spouse asked if I remembered Walter Jenkins

Walter Wilson Jenkins (March 23, 1918 - November 23, 1985) was a long-time top aide to United States President Lyndon B. Johnson. A notorious sexual scandal shortly before the 1964 presidential election ended his career.
.
.
police arrested Jenkins during a homosexual liaison at a YMCA and a reporter at the Washington Star learned of the incident. Johnson applied considerable pressure on the newspaper not to print the story and recruited his personal lawyer, Abe Fortas, to lobby the newspaper's editor. However, the story eventually appeared in the Star and Jenkins was forced to resign.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Jenkins


Interesting history, and I don't remember this at all.

[Snellius]

22. He's not gay. He just has sex with men.

This guy's worst enemy is his own self-righteous state of denial.

[cascadiance]

32. He's going to say "Ted Haggard said he's not gay! I'm not either! Nyah, nyah, nyah..."

[sofa king]

47. I think it's the "I'm not gay if I'm pitchin'" school of thought.

As usual, The Onion was years ahead of its time. Perhaps we should call this the "Bruce Heffernan Defense."

Sometimes I wish they weren't so prescient.

[mitchum]

23. Lenny Bruce "You can't be a little bit pregnant or homosexual"

I believe Craig is disingenuously telling the truth when he says that he is not gay. I suspect that he equates "gay" with being upfront about one's orientation and living one's life honestly.
But by all accounts, Craig is certainly homosexual.

[MarkInLA]

28. I disagree with that sentiment

There are LOTS of people who aren't 100% straight or 100% gay. You can definitely be a little bit homosexual, but still mostly straight; The converse is true as well.

[mitchum]

41. No, then one is both homosexual AND heterosexual...

[ProudDad]

67. I agree with Markinla...

almost everyone is bi...

The only difference is in the proportions...

[frankieT]

101. I agree too with Markinla

Heterosexual and Homosexual/Gay identities are social constructions. They're fictive. How many supposed 100% tough straight guys turn to homosexual relations in desperate situations (in prison for example). Same for women. I think that everyone is bisexual to some extent. Heterosexuality and homosexuality are just forms of exclusive sexual activities turned into a social paradigm.

When he says he is not gay, i believe him, there is a lot of guys who 95% of the time are attracted to women but turn to men on some occasions. He is not heterosexual either ;)

BTW, he was arrested for touching another man foot with his own foot ?? This is not what i call an obscene conduct !

[Kali]

24. and how long before JAYZUS saved me? Rehab first?

[Mz Pip]

25. Subtext of Larry's statement

I am not Gay. I am not Gay. I am not Gay. (Maybe they will believe me if I say it enough). It's not my fault. really it's not. I am being harrassed into behaving like I might be Gay, but I'm not. I am not Gay. I don't even like Gay people. Haven't I proved that with my actions? I'm against everything Gay. So I am not Gay.

Now in case you missed it the first gazillion times I said it, I am not Gay. Now please everybody just go away and leave me alone, because there's nothing to see here. I am not Gay.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[AlinPA]

26. The issue is not being gay or not. It is hypocrisy. Period.

[ProudDad]

68. BINGO!!! (n/t)

[Frank Cannon]

74. It's hypocrisy AND soliciting sex in a public restroom

It doesn't matter at all what one's sexual preference is. There are just some things a decent human being doesn't do. Looking for sexual thrills with an anonymous stranger in a public toilet is one of them.

Call me provincial, but I've always thought that a public toilet was a place for the gay or straight to take a quick and well-needed dump or pee in peace.

[jfkraus]

27. "Do over!"

So he's guilty if it "just goes way," but if it's made public he cries "Do Over!" and tries to recant he plea. What an ass.

[DemKR]

29. Why are the Dems staying silent? n/t

[Orsino]

87. You ask that, with a Kucinich avatar?

I would hope a little footsie doesn't become a political football. The arrest seems to have been made before anything blatantly illegal or hypocritical could have happened.

Really, I don't want to see Dems making Teh Gay an issue.

[Hepburn]

90. IMO....

....cuz Larry is making enough of a fool of himself and does not need any help!

:hi:

[outofbounds]

30. I don't get it.

I’m not defending Craig.
But did he commit a crime? I have never had any gay tendencies and have some very good friends who are gay. We respect each other and when the issue comes up, it very seldom does, my friends and I express our opinions without judgmental bullsh*t or anyone’s feelings being hurt. I believe they have every right to be themselves and no heterosexual person is any better than my friends, including me.

This man basically flirted with another man imho. The cop was receptive actually by not saying stop to Craig. The only crime I see is Craig voting No to gay rights hypocritically.
I don’t think a persons sexual persuasion is to be legislated. So what crime other than voting to limit the freedoms of others did he commit?

Like I said the cop being receptive to the flirting make me feel like Craig was a victim of entrapment to a degree. All I’ve heard is what the NBC today show had to say about it.

I don’t see any difference in a straight guy buying a lady a drink for the most part. The crime to me is his legislative denial of others rights to be themselves.

:shrug:

[immoderate]

82. Right.

The idea that a man can get arrested for "tapping his foot" at another is quite bizarre.

I'm not defending the hypocrisy, though.

--IMM

[outofbounds]

103. I asked

one of my Friends who is gay if he had heard of the toe tapping and placement of a suitcase codes. He laughed almost uncontrollably and said he hasn't heard of that. Followed very quickly by I don't look for partners in mens rooms. I had to laugh as well. Craig is so scared of being himself that he forces himself to look for partners in a toilet. Oh the irony. Maybe after this has passed Craig may have a chance to be happy by being himself instead of living a lie.:rofl:

[immoderate]

106. There's an old song ...

"Sh(H)e's More to be Pitied than Censured"

--IMM

[Snarkoleptic]

33. Larry...as Frank Zappa said, "You is what you is."

Suck to be him as it appears that he's spent a lot of time and effort denying his true self.
It's really got to twist his psyche.

[Tab]

34. What a load of crap

I don't fully understand the whole police report - sounds like a lot of nuanced activity, but someone who is a United States Senator wouldn't or shouldn't be so ready to plead guilty to something they didn't do. Usually they don't even plead guilty to stuff they DO do. Also, you don't plead guilty right that moment, you do it after an arraignment, after you've had chance to talk to counsel (lawyers). Is he so stupid as to plead guilty to something he didn't do?

Either way - he's either a hypocrite, or just stupid, but he needs to be out*. I don't particularly care if he's "gay" (although "bi" is probably more proper) but I don't like hypocrites. And I would prefer my public officials not lie.

They're all coming out of the woodwork this summer, aren't they? If the Democrats could hold their feet to the fire, we might even hold congress for a few years.


On edit: I mean out of congress, not "out" in the sexuality confession sense.

[cmd]

37. I'm so glad he said that

It makes it more fun when the truth comes out.

[olddad56]

39. "I am not gay. I never have been gay," and I never will be gay....

Allegations surrounding his sexuality date back to 1982. This poor heterosexual man has been harassed for 25 years. This is so unfair that we treat a fine upstanding GOP Senator this way. It is almost as if someone really cares about his sexuality. Denial is a funny game we play with ourselves. He will be out of the closet in a week and then into alcohol rehab. And he will be a better person for the experience.

[Cha]

62. That sounds like telling joseph mccarthy

you're not a communist.

[IsItJustMe]

40. He plead guilty because he is guilty. PERIOD. If he went through with a jury trial, all of those

details of his bathroom encounter, with all of the lurid details, would come spilling out into the press. The press loves this kind of soap opra stuff, and it would have really made him look bad.

Instead of that, he simply plead guilty to get it behind him.

[KamaAina]

42. "I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport."

Typical mealy-mouthed repukeism.

It's the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport where he did something wrong, and later pled Guilty to doing something wrong.

[depakid]

44. From the Idaho "Values" Alliance

"If the accusations are true, then we think that he needs to resign," Bryan Fischer, the executive director of the Idaho Values Alliance...."

Ironically, they may be EXACTLY where he got the idea:

http://www.idahovaluesalliance.com/news.asp?id=481

(Note the first story in "bonus bytes." Kinda spooky, actually).

[CONN]

46. Do you swear to tell the truth?

So in court he swears to tell the truth and pleads guilty?!

[LibDemAlways]

49. All of the denials in this case do nothing but make a

bad situation worse. Wingnuts love it when a "sinner" makes a public confession and begs for forgiveness. Only under those circumstances would he have any chance of redemption in their eyes. Hiding the arrest, pleading guilty, hoping the thing will just go away, and then, finally, denying what he'd already plead guilty to aren't going to play well anywhere. He's done.

[rodeodance]

50. Craig says 'I am not gay,' did no wrong

Source: ap



Craig says 'I am not gay,' did no wrong

By TODD DVORAK, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 11 minutes ago

BOISE, Idaho - A defiant Sen. Larry Craig denied any wrongdoing Tuesday despite his guilty plea this summer in a men's room police sting, emphatically adding, "I am not gay. I have never been gay."


Craig, a third-term senator from Idaho, proclaimed his innocence as well as his sexuality less than an hour after Senate leaders from his own Republican Party called for an ethics committee review of his case.

"This is a serious matter," they said in Washington in a written statement that offered neither support nor criticism of the conservative senator. Issued in the names of Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the party leader, and several others, the statement said they were examining "other aspects of the case to determine if additional action is required."

Craig, his wife Suzanne at his side, took no questions in a brief appearance in the capital city of the state he has represented in Congress for more than two decades in the House and then the Senate.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070828/ap_on_go_co/craig_arrest;_ylt=AnriuakNPmoERP_BYCFYlses0NUE

[mikelgb]

51. what a sack of rotten potatos

[pitohui]

52. and yet he cut a deal and pled guilty EOM

/

[leQ]

53. ya, the cops are lying. that's right. you even admitted to inappropriate behavoir, you slimeball.

people like that make me sick to my stomach.

[Mad_Dem_X]

54. He's not gay -

he's just a fuckin' pervert and a hypocrite.

[Gregorian]

55. WATERCLOSET-GATE.

You ain't seen me, roight?

[neuvocat]

56. This just in: George Michael is heterosexual.

I mean, if he's not gay then that surely means that only straight guys do that sort of thing.

[Benhurst]

57. At least he's not in denial.

:rofl:

[AnnieBW]

58. Craig's not gay

the way that Roy Cohn wasn't gay. He just liked having sex with guys.

[LibDemAlways]

59. He's trying to blame it on an Idaho Newspaper

he claims was harrassing him and lead him to overreact and plead guilty. This guy is incapable of fessing up, which would have been the best strategy from the get-go. All the denials and the "wide stance" crap just makes him look ridiculous.

[Cha]

61. If he's not guilty of soliticiting then

he's guilty of severe stupidity and needs to resign his sitting senate seat.

[JoFerret]

63. Here's the hypocrite hunt

http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/143801.html

[NastyRiffraff]

65. Okay, what would YOU do if you were in the next stall?

Craig was arrested June 11 in an undercover sting operation organized by Minneapolis-St. Paul airport police who had received complaints of sexual encounters by men in a particular restroom at the airport. The undercover officer was in a restroom stall around noon that day, and a few minutes later Craig entered and sat in the stall next to him. Craig began tapping his right foot, touched his right foot to the left foot of the officer and brushed his hand beneath the partition between them. He was then arrested.

While he was being interviewed about the incident, Craig gave police a business card showing that he is a U.S. senator. "What do you think about that?" Craig asked the officer, according to the police report obtained by Roll Call.

I'm a woman. My first thought, if that happened to me in the next stall...that is, someone touching my foot, then brushing her hand, would be "you need something?" I HOPE that something would be toilet paper. But really, who does this? Without saying a word?

And of someone were that innocent...merely asking for paper...who would plead guilty almost right away? I would be yelling and screaming at the police station, demanding a lawyer, if I knew I were innocent. I'd never, EVER plead guilty, nor, I think, would anyone in their right mind if that were the case.

Either Craig is the stupidest man alive, or he's as gulity as hell.

[Hepburn]

94. What I found interesting....

...was that the report said that Craig did not flush the toilet when he left the stall.

So.......why was he in the stall if he did not have to use the toilet? It is either that....or he forgot to flush and I kind of doubt that is the case.

[ProudDad]

66. He's not "gay"

just curious...

[Rosa Luxemburg]

70. I guess he has a different view of his behavoir than most people?

most people don't try to feel through the divider of a urinal?

[6000eliot]

71. I hope I speak for other gay LGBT people when I say we don't want him.

Straight people can have this loser.

[Pattib]

72. I called my son tonight to tell him about this, he just moved into his apartment

with his partner, they're both grad. students and being poor have not hooked up the cable yet. They both said that they think these guys who go to public places to have/solicit sex are usually there because either, A. They're looking for money or B. They are still in the closet. They both think that people still in denial do the public solicitation thing. Like George Michael and former Gov. Mcgreevy. That is such a sad way to live. I imagine Sen. Craig has been in the closet forever. How old is he anyways? I can't find his age listed anywhere.

[truthisfreedom]

73. He's not gay, he's just into sex with undercover cops.

[Tight_rope]

100. LMAO

[Socal31]

75. Noone else picks up the anti-gay

overtones in this whole situation?

[Vinca]

78. It's not anti-gay, it's anti-hypocrisy.

No one cares if this guy is gay, straight or bi. It is important that in the past he's gone out of his way to cheerlead the old "sanctity of marriage" mantra and has voted against gay and lesbian rights at every opportunity. The anti-gay overtones are coming from the Grand Old Perv, no one else. Sex in a public bathroom in an airport by anyone of any sex is illegal, as it should be. Little kids - not to mention Grandma - shouldn't be subjected to this when they need to use a restroom. If Craig hadn't done anything wrong, he wouldn't have entered a guilty plea. If he's so stupid that he did what he claims he did, he's not qualified to be in the Senate under the dumber-than-hell rule.

[auburngrad82]

81. In the words of Roy Cohn

"I'm not gay. I just like to fuck men."

[The Backlash Cometh]

84. Well, I'll say this about Senator Craig.

I have trouble relaxing enough to take a crap in a public bathroom. It must take a world of confidence to manage an erection.

[RufusTFirefly]

85. ALBERTO WHO???

Do you think we're getting a little distracted here??

Which is the bigger story.

United States Attorney General forced to resign?

or

Another hypocritical Republican in deep denial?


Gee, let me think about that one...

[Tight_rope]

99. Yeah...talk about taking our I off the ball. Gonzales is who we need to focus on.

[snooper2]

91. maybe he is bi-curious?

a thought...

[Seabiscuit]

93. "I plead guilty, your honor, but I maqintain I did nothing wrong."

That bizarro piece of contrition ought to get the mofo a nice lenient, sentence, fer sure!

[snooper2]

97. Why didn't he plead no-contest?

nt

[Seabiscuit]

104. That's still a guilty plea.

"No contest" merely means the conviction can't be used against you in a subsequent civil suit.

[Tight_rope]

98. Only one word sums up Criag "DENIAL"

[dharmamarx]

102. He probably "is" not gay and he probably did not do something "wrong"

These threads about Craig are really creepy. But I have 2 points in particular: 1 to say that Craig "is" gay is to confuse sexual identity w/ sexual practice. To say the least, the concept of sexual identity is highly suspect. (You can date the invention of the concepts "homosexual" and "heterosexual" to the 19th century. Like most (all?) identities, they're probably gibberish.) 2. Can we please drop the use of the term "pervert"? It's an obviously bogus (and gross) concept. Let's ask instead, "Did Craig do something 'unethical'"? It's totally unclear to me that he did. (Obviously whether it's legal is beside the point. All sorts of unethical actions are legal; all sorts of ethical actions are illegal.) The "hypocrisy" complaint is also obviously silly. (How many politicians aren't hypocrites?) Craig is a jerk b/c as a Republican he supports unethical policies, and I'm happy to watch him self-destruct, but this is entirely about scoring cheap political points. (Not that there's anything wrong w/ scoring cheap political points.)

[mvd]

107. Nope - this is all about him not taking responsibility..

for his actions. The Republicans are self destructing without help from the Democrats.

[aranthus]

109. Let me get this straight

Senator Craig is arrested for lude conduct in a public restroom, pleads guilty, and now he thinks that the big deal is whether he's gay or straight? Not to mention trying to claim that the guilty plea was the result of poor judgment? Does he not understand what a guilty plea is? I know he's aiming for plausible deniability here, but gimme a break.