Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, who has voted against gay marriage and opposes extending special protections to gay and lesbian crime victims, finds his political future in doubt after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges stemming from complaints of lewd conduct in a men's room.

The conservative three-term senator, who has represented Idaho in Congress for more than a quarter-century, is up for re-election next year. He hasn't said if he will run for a fourth term in 2008 and was expected to announce his plans this fall.

According to the prosecutor's complaint, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, airport police Sgt. Dave Karsniam, who was investigating allegations of sexual conduct in airport restrooms, went into a stall shortly after noon on June 11 and closed the door.

Minutes later, the officer saw Craig gazing into his stall through the crack between the stall door and the frame, fidgeted with his fingers and returned to gazing through the stall for about another two minutes.

After a man in the adjacent stall flushed the toilet and left, Craig entered it and put his roller bag against the front of the stall door, "which Sgt. Karsnia's experience has indicated is used to attempt to conceal sexual conduct by blocking the view from the front of the stall," said the complaint, which was dated June 25.

The complaint said Craig then tapped his right foot several times and moved it closer to Karsnia's stall and then moved it into the area of the officer's stall to where it touched Karsnia's foot. Karsnia recognized that "as a signal often used by persons communicating a desire to engage in sexual conduct," the complaint said. link


The questions for debate are:

1. Should Senator Craig resign?

2. Is the Senator's sexuality anybody's business but his own?

Ah, another Republican, more gay hookers and crystal meth.

I think folks need to realize- those against gay rights and gay marriage and spew lots of anti-gay talk are usually hiding some gay hookers in thier closet.

In fact, I am pretty sure having an ® behind your name, or being a conservative preacher- you should have this behind your name (R-gay)

Sorry too funny to me, as soon as I read this, I laughed my butt off at yet another closet gay conservative with conflicting values.

1. Should Senator Craig resign?

Um- well, he probably should, but if he doesn't- I would love to make fun of him for much longer

2. Is the Senator's sexuality anybody's business but his own?

Whenever you take a stand against something, but are secretly engaging in the very activitiy you have publicaly condemned- it becomes fair game, big time. In fact, he should be (figuratively) horsewhipped for all his days. I mean, you see him in public, say "Hey gay dude, cruised any airport terminals lately"

This is getting to be a regular occurence for the GOP.
How pathetic.
Might be a good idea to drop the whole we hate gays thing--If I were religious I would begin to think their god has a wicked sense of humor.


1. Should Senator Craig resign?

2. Is the Senator's sexuality anybody's business but his own?
No he shouldn't but as he is headed for Pariahville U.S.A courtesy of the G.O.P he might as well.



Huge LOAD there. The rules of public restrooms are set in granite and inviolate -- and yes very homophobic. Violate them and you risk getting decked. EVERY guy knows them from very early on.
Eyes Front
Limited conversation--usually only among friends.
and safety bubbles zones are considered No Fly Zones. Do Not Enter or Intrude.



.....a side note for a Republican living in fear.

has to consider this as well

I don't even understand the story. He's in a bathroom stall, puts his bag down, taps his foot and touches another guy's foot. The other guy is an undercover cop and he arrests the Senator? And this is somehow lewd behavior? This is like accidentally wearing a blue shirt in a "Bloods" neighborhood. How the Hell are you supposed to know any of that is illegal? I mean look I keep to my own in general in public bathrooms but if bumping feet is some kind of illegal activity the commuters of Metro North are clearly the worst society has to offer. My shoes are very scuffed from unwanted, and apparently illegal, foot bumps.

Honestly I can't decides if this Senator was trawling for hot man love, accidentally bumped feet or was setup by a cop with a chip on his shoulder. I have to admit I was laughing out loud reading this to my wife last night.

Not really but it is what it is now...

To answer my own questions: 1. Should Senator Craig resign?

Anybody too stupid to know you DON'T look over at the guy at the urinal next to you and you DON'T peep into a stall where the door is closed is too stupid to be a U.S. Senator. How in the hell could anyone "misinterpret" somebody trying to get a hook-up in the men's room? Craig's excuse about his foot-tapping due to his "wide stance" is so pathetically lame you have to think this dude is dumber than a bag of hammers.

Just come out and do a Jim McGreevey, Senator Craig. You'll feel better and you and George Michael can go cruising together.

2. Is the Senator's sexuality anybody's business but his own?

This isn't the first time questions about Sen. Craig's sexuality have been raised. In 2004 a similar accusation was made about the Senator.

"In an interview on May 14, Craig told the Idaho Statesman he'd never engaged in sex with a man or solicited sex with a man. The Craig interview was the culmination of a Statesman investigation that began after a blogger accused Craig of homosexual sex in October. Over five months, the Statesman examined rumors about Craig dating to his college days and his 1982 pre-emptive denial that he had sex with underage congressional pages.

"The most serious finding by the Statesman was the report by a professional man with close ties to Republican officials. The 40-year-old man reported having oral sex with Craig at Washington's Union Station, probably in 2004. The Statesman also spoke with a man who said Craig made a sexual advance toward him at the University of Idaho in 1967 and a man who said Craig 'cruised' him for sex in 1994 at the REI store in Boise. The Statesman also explored dozens of allegations that proved untrue, unclear or unverifiable.

I think his sexual orientation is his own business, but it just kills me that another one of these traditional family values Republicans gets caught trying to get his freak on. From Mark Foley to David Vitter to Larry Craig, these self-hating homosexuals and sex-crazed johns illustrate the hypocrisy of the GOP.

Idaho is a strongly Republican state and if Craig resigns there are no shortage of replacements who would keep the seat in the hands of the GOP. But if more allegations of gay sex come out about Craig, that situation may change. The Republicans already go into 2008 with more seats in the Senate to defend than the Democrats. They don't need to risk a safe seat because Larry Craig can't keep his pants up.

1. Should Senator Craig resign?

2. Is the Senator's sexuality anybody's business but his own?

Yeah, this sure looks bad, doesn't it. But I guess it's innocent until proven guilty, and I agree that the mating rituals in airport cans is beyond my ken. So I'll have to qualify my answers with, "if Senator Craig is found guilty for homosexual sex solicitation, then . . ."

Then he should resign in shame for having pushed an anti-gay legal agenda. Alternatively, he should switch parties to something tolerant of homosexuality and in favor of equal rights for all. Then he should talk the talk and walk the walk, attend gay pride marches, encourage others to come out of the closet and defend those who do from homophobic reactionaries. Yep, that'd be a good penance.

I don't care what sexual orientation anyone has, other than my mate. She'd better be hetero, although . . . uh, never mind. There's a double standard by gosh, and I didn't invent it.

In any event or solicitation, the Republican Party ought to drop the anti-homosexual agenda. It's not working for them.

I agree - what was the crime here? Pooping out of bounds?

I have enough problems with the Dateline sting because nobody really committed a crime. They are arrested because if the decoy were underage, it would be a crime. But in reality, guys are hitting on adult women. Being a pathetic despicable loser is not a crime. Neither is hitting on adults who do not object.

With this charge, it's the same thing. If the cop were gay, this behavior might lead to casual gay sex. But who the heck cares? As long as the guys weren't doing anything you would need to shield a child's eyes from, who's fricken business is it anyhow?

No doubt Craig is a hypocritical skunk as as bad as your typical phony republican. But he's not a criminal in my eyes.

You know, I was debating about adding a “Scandal Sheet” thread (sort of like our own National Enquirer) in Casual Conversation, because there are just so many of these wacky incidents.

1. Should Senator Craig resign?

I don’t know if this is a resignable offense. He’ll probably do what Haggard did; go get some therapy to “cure” his homosexual tendencies and be back good as new. I sincerely doubt he'd ever get re-elected, especially in a state like Idaho!

2. Is the Senator's sexuality anybody's business but his own?

No, of course not. A person's sexuality is their own business…until he makes it someone else’s business by soliciting an undercover cop.

I have to say, it’s very weird behavior. Not being familiar with the –ahem– proprieties in the men’s room, his behavior still sounds very, very odd. His defense is even odder still.

Here’s his excuse as written by the undercover officer (I bolded the one that gave me a huge belly-laugh ).

I really don't know what the last item has to do with the whole situation.

Well if he is gay I feel terrible for his wife. Seriously gay Republicans; just say no to heterosexual marriage and self-loathing. It's better to get called Barney Fag than live a lie and enlist women for your careers. Oh, and you know why praying to Jesus to end your homosexual bug doesn't work? Because I wouldn't date any guy who's been through James Dobson's rehabilitation. Embrace your sexuality. Yeesh.

If that's how gays hook up in bathrooms: eh. Why should hooking up be outlawed? As long as Craig wasn't about to go down on the cop in the stall because he was intimidated by the big scary looking black guy, who cares? If you want a sex scandal try former up and comer, head of the Michigan "Young" Republicans and attorney Michael Flory pleading guilty to sexual battery—but not before trying to pressure the victim into drop charges against him by encouraging his Young Republican bots to trash her reputation. Or try another "Young" Republican head Glenn Murphy allegedly performing oral sex on a 22-year-old who had passed out from alcohol.

Hey I have an idea. Why doesn't the GOP enlist young Republicans to run these gigs?

As for whether Craig should resign, that depends on the Senate's rules. If a misdemeanor charge is not enough to oust a Senator, then no, he shouldn't.

1. Should Senator Craig resign?

Immediately. Honestly, any Senator who has served for 4 terms should resign, pervert or otherwise.

2. Is the Senator's sexuality anybody's business but his own?

No one's but his own. If he wants to clear his name, maybe he can buy some perverted public sex offsets, and end up leading a perverted-sex neutral lifestyle. I hear that George Michael has a trading company set up for this.

1. Should Senator Craig resign?
The Senator should never have been elected by the psychotic religious freaks who choose to harass those with the courage to live openly and honestly.

2. Is the Senator's sexuality anybody's business but his own?
His hypocrisy is everybody's business. You say that as though Republicans would even pretend to support an openly gay candidate, which we all know is a lie. Republicans hate gays unless they are liars like Senator Craig; most of them are self hating liars themselves, like Senator Craig.
It's not about sexuality, it's about honesty.

That's how pathetic closet cases hook up in bathrooms. Those of us living honestly and openly have better places to hook up.

For the love of God, could you PLEASE stop with your endless bigotry? I find your narrow-minded rants as offensive as any of the views you find offensive.

Endless bigotry? Who am I trying to pass laws to harass? Who have I beaten to death?
You don't like my attitude, you could try leaving us alone. You could try to be less pathetic and obsessed with harassing people trying to live honestly.

Well, I second DaytonRocker's point. For someone decrying hate, you seem to make a lot of hateful posts. If you think that more than half of Idaho voters are "psychotic religious freaks," then you only need to go look in the mirror and you'll find bigotry.

Secondly, there was an openly-gay Republican Congressman, Rep. Jim Kolbe from Texas, but he retired last year. I think that he was planning to retire before the rumors about a camping trip with Congressional pages came out, but he retired nonetheless. Anyway, how many openly-gay Democrats are there in Congress? Two? Three?

And I think it's weird that you talk about yourself in third person plural. How many of there are you inside Reagan? Are you legion?

Seriously though your posts are often pretty hateful screeds against Conservatives, Republicans, and Christians. You should count to 10, read your posts backwards or something before you hit Add Reply.

1. Should Senator Craig resign?

Not over a misdemeanor, no. And certainly not for being a closet homosexual.

2. Is the Senator's sexuality anybody's business but his own?

No, it's entirely his own business. And I see no obvious hypocrisy in a homosexual opposing gay marriage or special "hate crime" provisions designed to protect homosexuals.

But if Senator Craig's political rhetoric has included significant gay-bashing, and I have no idea if it has, then he is a four-star hypocrite and deserves to be thrown out of office.

I do also think that regardless of the degree of Craig's hypocrisy, the voters will draw certain correct conclusions regarding the alleged righteousness of Republican politicians, in general, in this country.

It would seem this is not the first time Craig has had "encounters" in bathrooms. From what I gather, Idahoans are not terribly pleased with Sen. Craig. And Craig has denied over and over again that he has had any homosexual encounters. He has to know that would be the kiss of death in a redder-than-red state. I think he ought to resign if he wants to protect his reputation, or if he cares at all about his family. Heck, he's had an awfully long run!

As for Craig's views on gay rights and marriage, it is prototypical self-hating behavior:

1. Should Senator Craig resign?

Maybe not run for re-election. I voted "yes" but I would like to change my vote. While "innocent until proven guilty" does not apply (he pleaded guilty), making him quit is unnecessary. It isn't as though he caused any injury to anybody but himself.

2. Is the Senator's sexuality anybody's business but his own?

I guess if you get busted by the vice squad and plead guilty to the charge (well DUH!), it's fair game for the ambulance-chasing gang: reporters AND attorneys.

But essentially, the senator's sexuality is his own business, or it should be.

And as far as having to spread his legs into adjacent bathroom stalls to accomodate his anatomy, he's apparently got a bigger pair than anyone I or my husband have ever heard of before!

DR- to be fair- if you are a gay man, the republican party would be very, very offensive to you- as offensive as a dixiecrat in the 60s to a black man-

I understand Grendal's emotional feeling towards these hypocrites and anti-freedom types is more than understandable- they want to kill Grendal, to liquidate him. That makes one a bit edgy, don't ya think?

In dealing with this particular Republican closeted gay meth-head, there is a psychological term for folks like this "transference" - and it shows in the gay-hate agenda of the republican party.

The GOP would be well served to drop the anti-gay agenda, because it's biggest supporters are usually the ones cruising the gay hookers and crystal meth

When you are a hypocrite, I am not sure it I agree with it's criminality- but rather, it's poetic justice. I believe it is very nice that he is arrested and treated like trash for a bit, to see what it feels like, but I would rather the goverment stay out of Marriage, just enforce the contract, stay out of poeple's bedrooms, make prostitution legal and regulated, and allow folks thier privacy in these activities, but if you are against all this- I suggest not hitting on gay hookers.

Not unless you want to ask other homosexuals like Barney Frank to do the same.


No – unless he commits a crime – which is not the case here.