For Real? I mean, that really happened?
By Leverkuhn Posted in Archived — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune [1] and the Washington Post [2] Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested earlier this month for lewd conduct in a restroom at the Minneapolis airport. The specifics of his conduct are a little hazy, but this much is known. First, Senator Graig entered a public bathroom where there happened to be an undercover police officer using the facilities. He also entered the stall next to the officer and took several actions which the officer interpreted as sexual advances. (He tapped his foot on the floor, touched the officer's foot with his own, and put his hand under the wall of the stall) The officer, who apparently has arrested a number of people for similar behavior, recognized these actions as common signs of a man attempting to solicit sexual favors.
Now a number of things should be said about this story. First, it's pretty clear that it was not a coincidence that the Senator happened to be in the same restroom as an undercover police officer looking for men engaging in lewd behavior in public. We do not know whether the officer intentionally followed Craig into the restroom, or gave signals designed to fool the Senator into believing the officer was interested in exchanging sexual favors. If this was an ordinary sting and the officers did not know who the Senator was, then they did the right thing. If this was a sting designed specifically to nab the Senator then they may have to explain why they did so. The Senator's behavior was obviously reprehensible, but entrapment by the police (if that happened) is also very troubling.
But leave those questions aside for a moment. Two facts have become plain. First, Senator Craig has all but destroyed his political career in the pursuit of his sexual pastime. His post-hoc attempt to justify himself and retract his guilty plea in this case only adds to his political and personal embarrassment. A man who has exposed himself to public ridicule has no right to assume the posture of a victim. Second, the persistent rumors that have dogged Senator Craig over his alleged homosexual orientation have been confirmed. That does not necessarily disqualify him as a Senator. There is no rule that says gays can not serve in the Senate or other important positions in our government. On the other hand, all Senators, even closeted gay Senators, have a standard of behavior to uphold. Regardless of whether they are gay or straight, Senators do not solicit sexual favors in public restrooms. If they do, they disgrace their offices as well as themselves. Voters in Idaho are sure to reject Senator Graig if he runs again in 2008, but if he has any dignity left he will save them the trouble and resign.
[1] http://www.startribune.com/587/story/1386023.html
[2] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/27/AR200708...
Having narrowly avoided a previous attempt to "out" him, Sen. Craig continued with this risky, self destructive behavior.
A U.S. Senator exercising discretion could probably find a way to have just about any of his personal peccadilloes satisfied. The apparent compulsion to act out so publicly, with an anonymous party, is troubling in itself.
It's such a fine line between stupid and clever. - David St. Hubbins
The man obviously needs some help. But he's not going to get it while on my payroll as a taxpayer.
It's difficult to understand how people can live double lives like this, but they do, and in some ways it's even easier the more esteemed you are: people won't question you.
I've seen some similarly prominent people self-destruct precisely because of that in my long and storied past. They won't get help, quit lying, etc., and in a bizarre way their position in society insulates them from the kind of rude shocks that would normally cause them to break out of their destructive behavior. So they keep it up. Eventually it ends badly.
Sometimes people when confronted with these kinds of strange deceptions ask: "How can they do it?" I won't go into the psychology of being gay and closeted, because it's much easier to explain any kind of wrongdoing and betrayal by a Senator in a simpler way, without going into homosexual sexuality and conduct:
People in positions of power and influence can reach a very strange place in which they actually believe they're invulnerable, or at least that the public part of themselves (the part they're portraying to others) is invulnerable. That persona is an "act" and because it's so polished, they actually do dissociate it from themselves. They live a double life in a very real, tanigble sense, because they are effectively two people: the public persona and the private. In many cases those two personae are so compartmentalized that they no longer realize just how far apart they are, until something like this happens that brings it all crashing down.
>>>and I'm not going to spend one d***ed minute of my time defending this jacka** that has humiliated his party while humiliating himself.
Maybe, whoever is currently in office with, uh, proclivities that might become embarrassing if made public, will spare us all the heartache: do the noble thing and just quit.
It's such a fine line between stupid and clever. - David St. Hubbins
But he's not going to get it while on my payroll as a taxpayer.
Wanna bet? He is entitled to, as a US Senator (or even as a disgraced former-US Senator) to a retirement package better than any you or I will ever enjoy. You (and I) as taxpayers will be paying this guy, or his family, excessive sums of money for decades to come!
the difference between typical Republican voters and typical Democratic voters.
- Republican: Even though I love the way the guy votes, this is unacceptable and he needs to go.
- Democratic: I don't care if he has sex in the White House with an intern his daughter's age or has sex with male or female pages, as long as votes the way I want he's okay by me.