Craig Fights On
I am betting the name Larry Craig elicits more boos and hisses among the GOP leadership these days than that of either Clinton. This dude is KILLING them and there's not a thing they can do about it. Of the recent legal missteps among politicians, this is by far my favorite (followed closely by the cold hard cash found in Democratic congressman William Jefferson's freezer). The legs this story have can all be attributed to Craig himself. It's fantastic.
This week, Craig is appealing the ruling that he may not withdraw his guilty plea in connection to a sex sting that ensnared the Idaho Senator in a Minneapolis restroom this summer. First he said he "intended" to resign by the end of September, then he said it all depended on whether he could withdraw his plea and fight the arrest, then he lost the petition to withdraw but still wouldn't resign the Senate, now he's saying he's staying no matter what—all the while the Republican leadership is pulling its hair out with every headline featuring Craig's name. They booted him from committees, but that's about all they can do at this point.
More frustrating to GOP leadership is the fact that Craig is unlikely to win this latest appeal anyway. As the AP put it, "The appeals court must find there's been an 'abuse of discretion' by the trial judge before overturning a ruling — in other words, that some aspect of the ruling was decided improperly." The trial judge accepted Craig's plea, which was entered freely and with the acceptance of a lesser charge. Where exactly would one find improper actions on the judge's part?
Meanwhile, every headline reminds the already disenchanted social conservative base that there are perverts in their midst. Who would have guessed that Newt Gingrich's Republican Revolution would be undone by Bush's bumbling and congressional buggery?
