Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Can Senator Craig Actually Help the Republican Party By Staying In The Closet?

It's the Republican scandal that keeps on giving, and the Democrats have to love it.

The latest new twist in the Larry Craig saga: The senator may withdraw his resignation from the Senate and instead stay to fight for his seat.

One senior Republican senator on Capitol Hill, Arlen Specter (R-PA), said Tuesday he believed Craig could beat his guilty plea and maybe even keep his job. If Craig were to fight to keep his Senate seat - supposedly the GOP's worst imaginable scenario - what could that really mean a year from now?

While Democrats bask in the misery of one Republican scandal after another, the Craig affair is a hot potato; to come out swinging at Craig would be inappropriate at this stage and could back-fire, even alienating some Democratic voters.

Yet if the Democrats remain completely silent and allow Craig to keep his seat, it could be a mistake that would haunt Democrats in the Senate for years to come.

Right now, the balance of power in the Senate is only slightly in favor of the Democrats following their crushing gains over the Republicans in the last election.

With Craig's expected resignation, the balance of power would obviously shift more in the Dems favor, whether or not the Idaho governor chooses a conservative or moderate Republican to fill Craig's seat or not.

Last Saturday, the embattled senator said he would resign his seat in the Senate for the sake of the people of Idaho. Craig's announcement came after a week of intense media and political scrutiny over a guilty plea he entered in Minnesota to a charge of disorderly conduct.

Just a few days prior to last Saturday's press conference, Craig went on the defensive and just about blamed everyone else except for the maid.

Who can forget the senator's denial - four times in three minutes - during the now infamous "thank your for coming out" in which he infatically denied he is or was ever gay (as if it were like getting the mumps). Come on! Does that imply that he could have been gay before?

As millions of people returned to work and kids to school yesterday marking the end of summer (they go faster every year. Doh!), Senator Craig's staff told The Associated Press that the senator now doubts his resignation from the Senate was the right move and that he will consider fighting for his seat despite warnings from some Senate colleagues of further investigations into his alleged conduct.

There is already an ethics committee investigation underway by Senate Republicans.

"It's not such a foregone conclusion anymore, that the only thing he could do was resign," said Sidney Smith, Craig's spokesperson in Boise.

"We're still preparing as if Senator Craig will resign Sept. 30, but the outcome of the legal case in Minnesota and the ethics investigation will have an impact on whether we're able to stay in the fight — and stay in the Senate."

The AP also reported that Craig's lawyers feel his resignation from the senate could jeopardize his legal case in Minneapolis.

As the Senate reconvened yesterday from its "summer recess", Senator Craig was a no show, which was probably the best idea for the country's sake. However, in Craig's absence, a power vaccum has already attracted potential takers for Craig's numerous chairmanships, including the extremely powerful chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, one of the most sought after leadership positions in Congress.

MSNBC reported last night that Craig met with his adopted adult children this past weekend in Boise and "convinced them" that he is "not gay" and "did nothing wrong" in the airport restroom in Minneapolis.

Reportedly, Craig's children believed their father's story and allegedly urged him to fight to clear his name and keep his job.

Republicans on Capitol Hill obviously wanted to bury the Craig scandal with rapid procession, possible, and many probably thought it was done and over with last Saturday.

Nevertheless, there are rumors swirling around Washington about how the Republicans are handling the Craig case. There is even some speculation that the call for Craig's resignation was a scheme planned by Republicans to see what the public and GOP's reaction would be.

Senator Craig was arrested on June 11 in Minnesota. An uncover police officer staking out the men's restroom at the Minneapolis International Airport said that the senator attempted to solicit sex from the officer and refused to exit the stall once the officer identified himself as law enforcement.

In addition, after the senator confronted the under cover officer, he reportedly showed the officer his Senate business card and said "what do you think about that?"

Just before that the officer had slid his police business card into Craig's stall after the officer reportedly determined that a crime had been committed.

That set off a flurry of fury and frenzied reaction, including calls for Senator Craig's immediate resignation from the Senate, where he has rallied against gay rights for more than two decades, even as rumors in Washington, DC have persisted during that same time about Craig's sexual orientation.

So then, in addition to his "false" guilty plea to disorderly conduct (to avoid fighting a more serious charge of solicitation of sex in connection with the Minneapolis airport arrest), Senator Craig has now indicated, through his spokesperson, that he may want to withdraw his resignation from the Senate and stay and fight for his job. Such a move would send the Republican leadership into a tizzy, or would it?

With the balance of power in Washington already in the Democrat's favor, Republicans may just decide to simply slap that "dirty, naughty boy" Larry Craig on the hand, especially if Craig has his previous guilty plea thrown out and convinces the Idahoan voters to keep him in office.

Following that line of thinking, the Republicans might feel the battle is worth it to, in effect, guarantee that seat for the GOP for another six years - crazier things have been done in Washington - way crazier.

(top left image: whodat.com; middle right photo: AP)

Labels: Congressional Scandals, Idaho, Minnesota, Politics, Senator Larry Craig