Craig and wife Suzanne on Saturday, when the senator announced his "intention'' to resign from the Senate. AP photo by Troy Maben
by Andrew Malcolm
Now, we know why Republican Sen. Larry Craig announced Saturday that it was his "intent" to resign from the Senate on Sept. 30.
It's not such a foregone conclusion anymore, that the only thing he could do was resign,'' spokesman Sidney Smith says now.
With lawyers reexamining the guilty plea that Craig made in August to a charge of disorderly conduct following his arrest in an airport men's room in June, Craig may also be reexamining the Sept. 30 resignation from the Senate that he has announced.
"If the wheels of justice are able to turn quick enough, meaning before Sept. 30, he may - -and I emphasize may- - not resign,'' another Craig spokesman told the Los Angeles Times last night.
This news will bring back nightmares to Republican Party and Senate leadership who thought their intense pressure on the Idaho senator last week had resulted in his resignation and an end to all the bathroom jokes about the senator's June arrest for lewd behavior in a Minneapolis airport men's room. Craig, who later pled guilty to disorderly conduct, maintained he was not gay and did nothing wrong, despite his plea.
“These are serious times,’’ Craig said on Saturday. “The people of Idaho deserve a senator who can devote 100 percent of his time and his effort to the critical issues of our state and the nation... It is my intent to resign from the Senate effective Sept. 30… In doing so, I hope to allow a smooth and orderly transition of my loyal staff and the person appointed to take my place.’’
Now, it appears, it also is his "intent'' to reconsider.
Most Republican colleagues quickly distanced themselves from Craig. But over the weekend and today Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter, a former prosecutor, suggested Craig fight the case. Specter said based on the evidence he'd heard without the guilty plea, Craig would have been convicted of nothing. "The more people take a look at the situation, there may well be second thoughts," said Specter.
Craig has hired a prominent Washington attorney to explore his legal options, including overturning his guilty plea. "We're still preparing as if Senator Craig will resign Sept. 30," Smith said, "but the outcome of the legal case in Minnesota and the ethics investigation will have an impact on whether we're able to stay in the fight--and stay in the Senate."
"It was a little more cut and dried a few days ago," Smith added. "There weren't many options. He was basically going to have to step aside. Now, there's a little more to it."
A three-term Senate veteran, Craig would be up for re-election next year and, given strong local reaction to the arrest story last week, could face a tough political battle in an otherwise sure Republican state.
Additionally, Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, a Republican, has remained conspicuously silent on naming a replacement yet for Craig since the official resignation remains 26 days away.
Andrew Malcolm writes for Top of the Ticket, the political blog of the Los Angeles Times.
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Comments
Um, eh, never mind.
Have fun kids!
Posted by: Doug Zook | September 5, 2007 7:57 AM
I can tell we don't get anything done in DC now, with this guy he doesn't know what to say or do...Resign or not resign, picked up a police officer or didn't pick up a police office...Make a decision!
Posted by: Vince | September 5, 2007 8:00 AM
RNC Bruce,
This just in on Rudy:
http://comics.washingtonpost.com/11_editorialcartoons_mike-luckovich.html
Posted by: Doug Zook | September 5, 2007 8:23 AM
Is Craig always this indecisive?
I'm guilty...No, I'm not guilty.
I'm resigning....No, I'm Not resigning.
I'm straight....
Posted by: Anonymous | September 5, 2007 8:27 AM
Anonymous,
Larry learned it from Fred.
Posted by: Doug Zook | September 5, 2007 8:39 AM
This Ding Dong must resign. He really is coming across like some moron. Almost as moronic and those on the Loony left.
Posted by: John D | September 5, 2007 9:02 AM
It was the republicans who came up with the term flip-flop. Now you know its true inspiration.
Posted by: RomanB | September 5, 2007 9:14 AM
Will anybody take this guy seriously ever again?
Posted by: krebs | September 5, 2007 9:23 AM
Way to go Larry! You must fight this till Nov. 2008! If you quit, the terrorists will win.
Posted by: weinerdog43 | September 5, 2007 9:23 AM
Why should he resign? He said he was not picking up the police officer and he stuck to that. So what if he had some other gay issues dogging him. So what if he is gay, big deal. Why should that force him to resign? He is a legislator, not a priest. Maybe the day will come when the republicans can be honest about who the people in america really are and stop deluding themselves with their idiotic moral superiority, that has only served to repeatedly embarrass the party, they might become an effective force for real good in this country and not a tool for the the fiscal conservatives and neocons bend over at will (or bob). Haha.
Posted by: B K Ray | September 5, 2007 9:32 AM
OK, let's assume Craig is telling the truth.
Let's pretend we are in a restroom for its intended purpose and a cop in the next stall arrests us for disorderly conduct.
We say OK and plead guilty with barely a protest. We express no outrage.
If you accept his version of events, this man is too stupid to be a US Senator And the citizens of Idaho are even more stupid if they let someone this dumb stay on.
Posted by: helena | September 5, 2007 9:33 AM
The Republican National Convention is in Minneapolis next year.
When their delegates fly in can you see the wheels clicking as they pass each men's restroom. Pst, nudge, whisper "Is that the one?"
Good times!
Posted by: Doug Zook | September 5, 2007 11:37 AM
I will say this in Craig's defense: He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, which for all practical purposes is not much different than getting a speeding ticket.
But since he said he was going to resign, then he must resign. He bungled this from the beginning, so it is Mr. Craig who must take responsibility for his actions.
Whether he is gay or not, is not the issue. I could care less, whether he is married with kids or not too. But he bungled it all, pled guilty to a misdemeanor, then handled it poorly some more and then announced his intention to resign. For the sake of his reputation, the people of Idaho, the country and the GOP, he should resign as he said he would do.
Posted by: John D | September 5, 2007 12:10 PM
If republicans will still have their convention in Minnesota, I would suggest they avoid all public restrooms. They can't afford any more confusion about what their "intent" is in the stalls.
Posted by: RomanB | September 5, 2007 12:22 PM
While I feel sorry for Craig's family, I have found this entire episode to be hysterically funny, and I'm glad he got caught. I don't doubt for a minute that he was indeed soliciting sex in that airport restroom. I love it when hypocrites are exposed. Serves him right for all his gay-bashing!
Posted by: Bleu | September 5, 2007 12:30 PM
Bleu, can you please provide some examples of Larry Craig's gay bashing? I would love to see examples of it.
Or because he voted against gay marriage, is that gay bashing? Not all gays are for gay marriage, so are they gay bashers too? Not all Hispanics are for illegal immigration, are they anti-alien too? Not all women were for the ERA (and for you lefties that is not earned run average), does that make them anti-women?
Bill Clintoon was supported and signed the Defense of Marriage Act. Craig supported that. But does that make Clinton
"anti-gay" or a "gay basher"?
But, please provide some examples of Larry Craig's gay bashing, OK?
Posted by: John D | September 5, 2007 12:50 PM
You couldn't ask for a politician who was more representative of his party. I'm glad to see Larry decided to "stay the course" in the Senate, but I hope he has learned some important lessons about the drawbacks of invasions (in public bathrooms) and what it means when you plead guilty.
Posted by: Tom O | September 5, 2007 1:14 PM
Why should he resign?
Posted by: B K Ray | September 5, 2007 9:32 AM
I believe Craig said that he would be unable to do his job with these legal problems. So tell me why now since Spector said he shouldn't resign is that statement any different?
Posted by: bill r. | September 5, 2007 2:46 PM
I for one hopes he decides to fight this injustice. Here is a man that has served his country all these many years. Why for a misdemeanor have his career ruined, his named dragged through the mud?. Nifong ruined lives,lied and on top of that was an officer of the court, He gets one day!!!! Lets try a new approach, compassion, forgiveness, these things all necessary to put our republic back together.
Paul Jaeger
Canton, Ga.
Posted by: Paul Jaeger | September 5, 2007 3:19 PM
"I for one hopes he decides to fight this injustice."
Paul Jaeger
Canton, Ga.
Posted by: Paul Jaeger | September 5, 2007 3:19 PM
I'm still trying to figure out what "this injustice" is and who he should be fighting. He plead guilty, kept it from his Senate colleagues in direct contradiction of Senate rules, and they (his own party) threw him under the bus.
So who exactly should he fight?
Posted by: Distrust and Verify | September 5, 2007 4:44 PM