ID-Sen.: Support Eroding for Larry Craig
Amid the revelations that Idaho Senator Larry Craig was arrested for lewd conduct in a Minneapolis airport men's room and subsequently pled guilty to disorderly conduct, support for the Senator to continue in his current role is eroding.
Today, Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN) and John McCain (R-AZ) have called for Craig's resignation.
The AP reports, “Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, where Craig was arrested, became the first Senate Republican to say Craig should leave office. ‘Senator Craig pled guilty to a crime involving conduct unbecoming a senator,’ he said in a statement. ‘He should resign.’”
In an interview with CNN’s John King this afternoon, McCain said he thinks Craig “should resign”:
JOHN MCCAIN: I believe that he — that he pled guilty and he had the opportunity to plead innocent. So I think he should resign.
JOHN KING: And suppose he comes back to Washington and says, “I want to serve.”
MCCAIN: That’s — that will be a decision that he will make and most importantly, the people of the state of Idaho. But my opinion is that when you plead guilty to a crime, then you shouldn’t serve. And that’s not a moral stand. That’s not a holier than thou. It’s just a factual situation. I don’t try to judge people. but in this case, it’s clear that it was disgraceful.
But Senators Coleman and McCain aren't the only ones calling for Craig's resignation. The state's largest newspaper, the Idaho Statesman has called for Craig to quit.
However, we cannot abide an elected official who didn't disclose a lewd conduct arrest until the story broke 77 days later -- a lie by omission and a violation of the public trust. We cannot believe Craig can effectively serve Idaho, under the shadow of his guilty plea on a lesser charge of disorderly conduct. We cannot afford, as a state with but four congressional representatives, to have a senator who merely provides fodder for bloggers and late-night talk show hosts.
Whether Craig is gay or not is not the issue. The issue is a Senator who was arrested for lewd conduct and pled guilty to disorderly conduct (either one is as Senator Coleman describes it "conduct unbecoming a senator"), and then hid it from his family, his colleagues, and his constituents. People demand more of public officials and Craig's conduct and intentional deceit violated the public trust and he should resign.
As for what the political landscape might look like after the fallout, mcjoan writes that the Club for Growth seems to be doing some dirty work for Congressman Bill Sali (R-Way Out There) to clear the way for him to run for an empty Senate seat should Craig he resign.
In any case, our man in this race is former Congressman Larry LaRocco and you can help end years of right-wing rule in Idaho by showing Larry some love.\
Update: I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that SurveyUSA polled Idaho voters and 55% think Larry Craig should resign versus 34% who favor him staying in office.
kencamp | August 29, 2007 | Comment on This Post (0 so far) |
Your Name: Your Personal Note: | Your Email: Friends' Emails*: |
Comments
Ads by Google
(and yes, we know that sometimes they're very, very wrong. Other times, they're right on.)
