by Red State Rebel
I live in Boise, about a mile from the Depot where Larry Craig just announced he will be resigning his U.S. Senate seat effective September 30. Knowing the circus was in town, I walked there from my house.
It's been a wild and surreal week in Boise. As the most remote metropolitan area in the Lower 48, we're simply not used to much media coverage, nor are we accustomed - even with Bill Sali on board - to having our leaders held up as international laughingstocks. Yesterday, every time I turned on CNN, there was Wolf Blitzer with a shot of the Boise skyline behind him. More ominously, there was that map of the Northwest, with a blinking red dot pulsing as if we were about to be struck by an incoming missile.
Well, we've been hit indeed, and it's by the full force of the wrath of the Republican Party. As Boise State University professor Jim Weatherby is quoted in today's Idaho Statesman, "I can't think of anything comparable in my years of watching Idaho politics, both in how quickly he fell and in the role, apparently, of national party leadership in just cutting him off."
Yes, after 27 years in Congress, Larry Edwin Craig's career has ended in one short week. The man who one year ago was a top-ranking Republican has now been shoveled aside like so much elephant dung, discarded by a party that cannot abide yet more evidence of hypocrisy in its ranks - especially if it involves homosexual behavior. The GOP's swiftboating of Craig left him no choice but to resign - yet as the Statesman editorialized this morning, "The end is arriving quickly. But not a moment too soon."
Under a cloudless blue September sky, in front of several hundred people gathered at the historic but vacant train depot, Craig emerged to applause. He was joined at the podium by his wife Suzanne and two of her three children. Gov. Butch Otter, Rep. Bill Sali, Idaho GOP chairman Kirk Sullivan, and state schools superintendent Tom Luna were there, too. "For any public official at this moment in time to be standing with Larry Craig is in itself a humbling experience," Craig said.
Sen. Mike Crapo, whose daughter is getting married today, didn't show. Neither did 2nd District Rep. Mike Simpson, nor Lt.Gov. Jim Risch, rumored to be the top choice as Craig's replacement.
Craig spoke for only a few minutes, thanking Idaho for an opportunity to serve. "It has been a blessing," he said. "What is best for Idaho has always been the focus of my efforts," he continued, adding soon after, "It is with sadness and deep regret that I announce it is my intention to resign from the Senate effective Sept. 30." A few people cheered at that point, and after Craig finished speaking, one man yelled, "I'll never vote Republican again, I swear to you, Butch Otter."
Unlike Tuesday, when Craig said several times that he is not gay, he made no mention of his sexual orientation this morning, though he did note "I have little control over what people choose to believe." A few people in the crowd held signs referring to Craig's arrest in the men's room at the Minneapolis airport. Crystal White's sign read "Craig is not gay, he's a pervert. "It's all about honesty," she told a group of reporters. White said she did not represent any group, but that she is a Democrat.
Yesterday, as news reports emerged that Otter planned to name Risch as Craig's replacement, the Idaho Democratic Party issued a statement: “We believe that sends the wrong message. We think that the governor should appoint one of Idaho 's top statesmen – such as former Gov. Phil Batt or former Gov. Cecil Andrus – to fill any vacant Senate seat.
“This is not a decision that should be made based on pressure from politicians in Washington, D.C. Should there be a vacancy, we ask that Gov. Otter appoint someone with unimpeachable character and a reputation as an independent thinker, someone who can serve Idaho well for the next year, and then step aside to allow all Idahoans to choose their own U.S. Senator.”
We'll see what Otter does. For now, Larry Craig and the Republican Party hope that today will end the sniggering and snark. But Jon Stewart is coming back from vacation soon, isn't he? And YouTube is forever. Still, I hope the senator and his family find some measure of peace in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/9/1/91212/65014
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