How does it feel, Larry — all your conservative "values" friends have deserted you. The same people who you bonded with to demonize the lives of openly gay taxpaying citizens calling for your head.
And of course…the media, while lapping every bit of this up, will gather commentary from far and wide to discuss what they are calling “the ick factor“. (Because—you know, gay sex ranks so much higher on the creep-out meter than any debauchery performed by a heterosexual). Precisely the type of language that entices all of those zealots.
Who does also have a good point of any member of Congress who pleads guilty to a crime should not serve. How about one who is caught red handed committing a crime?
All I can really say is that he’ll have a place among the Shakers if he should ever want to revisit his positions on LGBT equality. If he’ll accept all of us, we’ll gladly accept him.
Which is more than the GOP can say.
Firedoglake has an interesting bit of BDS, but, that is kinda digressing.
More and more I am appalled by both the Republican reaction to Mr. Craig’s predicament and the media sensationalism of it. Gay-bashing is at the heart of it. It’s just another sign that Republican homophobes in Congress wield way too much power.
Second, there are a lot of people living dual lives. When those lives finally clash, the answer is not ridicule — but rather compassion. Larry Craig has to sort this out — but so do many, many others who have more than one track defining who they are.
No one can honestly say what Craig did or did not do. No one can know his real intentions. In the new, jacked-up reality of airport "security", maybe those cops in Minneapolis jumped the stall. But if Craig has the chance, especially now that his Republican colleagues have cut his throat, maybe he will experience a change of heart and realize that to be gay, whether he is or not, ought not be a shameful thing, let alone a crime, for anyone. Had he embraced at least that he might still be a Senator today.
But his fellow Republicans couldn’t just sweep this under the rug like they could find it in their black little hearts to do for the likes of Duke Cunningham, Bob Ney, Tom DeLay, Mark Foley, Don Young, Ted Stevens and others. No, no, God forbid that they should have to go back in session with a lonely old fag who may get randy ideas while sitting next to them in the Congressional washroom.
It’s always good to seek out the larger lesson behind a political scandal. So in this case, it seems to be, If you’re a Republican and you want to misbehave sexually, make sure it’s with a chick.
And that was just a few of the lefty blogs, not to mention comments and forums such as the DU. Don’t say I did not warn you. Well, I really didn’t, not on my blog, but, I have left some choice comments around the right-o-sphere to the effect that the GOP and Conservatives will be painted as bigots and homophobes yet again. And, when the MSM starts making the coming-soon comparison’s to Vitter, it will get worse. Witness what Captain Ed wrote Friday:
However, if the party wants to start drawing these lines, then one has to wonder why David Vitter isn’t getting the same push. He didn’t plead guilty in court, but unlike Craig, he openly admits he broke the law and solicited prostitutes. Others serving in Congress at the moment have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors of more import than disorderly conduct without being forced to resign. If morality and credibility are at issue, why isn’t Vitter being held to that standard? It’s either that Louisiana’s Democratic governor would appoint a Democrat in his place, or that Vitter’s transgressions involved heterosexual sex and therefore are less objectionable.
And that is exactly the picture that the MSM will paint. Fred Barnes discusses the GOP wanting to force out any Republican who even gives a hint of bad behavior: might be nice if they go off on Democrats who act poorly, too. Yes, Craig pleaded guilty to a minor misdemeanor. Yes, we do want to hold our GOP critters to higher standards. But, I warned that the speed and harsh treatment used to speed him on his merry would be percieved as negative. The only bright side is that it occurred well before the 2008 elections, so, should be forgotten.
