Larry Craig Wins $1.6 Million Earmark For Dude Ranch

From Roll Call's Heard on the Hill:

Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig insists he isn't gay and that he wasn't soliciting sex before his arrest last summer. But he's still willing to pay for dudes. Well, for a dude ranch, anyway.

Craig, the ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies before being forced to step down this fall after his sex scandal, still got an earmark in the omnibus spending bill allocating $1.6 million to Idaho's Gold Creek Ranch.

The money, which would be used as part of the USDA Forest Service's Forest Legacy program, is for a 640-acre parcel of land in northern Idaho that's feeling the pressure of development. The project was requested by President

Bush, Craig spokesman Dan Whiting tells HOH.

Helping the dude (ranch) is just one of the things Craig's been doing since getting back in the saddle on Capitol Hill. Last week, Craig assumed a higher profile than he has since his scandal broke, taking to the floor in favor of an amendment limiting eminent domain.

Although the amendment failed, the floor debate gave Craig a rare opportunity to win praise from his GOP colleagues, including Sens. Wayne Allard (Colo.) and Sam Brownback (Kan.), who haven't always been so supportive of their scandal-plagued colleague.

Brownback went so far as to liken Craig's efforts to the founding fathers, invoking the words of Thomas Jefferson.

Whiting says it's business as usual for his boss, who also secured a $7.5 million earmark for the 2009 Special Olympics International Games held in Idaho. "He will represent them in the Senate until January 2009 and will work for Idaho well beyond that as a private citizen," Whiting said.

Comments

[win2kpro]

12:27 AM on 12/20/2007

Yeah, Larry Craig can be the administrator of the ranch when he retires, and Jeff Gannon can be his ASSistant.

JOHN EDWARDS IN '08 (the republiCONS worst nightmare)

[leftLibertarian]

08:08 PM on 12/19/2007

Larry, Dude....just admit you're gay...not that there's anything wrong with that....

[Dodd08]

03:10 PM on 12/19/2007

Eminent Domain stopped, land gets saved from encroaching developers, mother nature stays in place and these people are still all about making fun of Craig. How stupid do you get?

[Bushgirlsgonewild]

03:09 PM on 12/19/2007

.


Instead of the "all hat, no cattle" Texas pejorative for someone (like Bush) who pretends to be a cowboy, on this 'dude ranch' it'll be "all shoe, no tattle".

And I suspect that the horses won't be the ones sleeping in stalls...

[MsLiz]

10:27 AM on 12/19/2007

Why the heck is the government supporting a private business? What are those principles Republicans are supposed to believe in? Here is a link to the ranch's website:

http://www.westernpleasureranch.com/about.html

On a side note, I was just shopping in the men's department at Macy's. A video on golf was playing, and I heard the teacher advise the student to take a "wide stance." My inner Beaver and Butthead voice said "He said wide stance! heh, heh."

[Freedomfinder]

10:57 PM on 12/18/2007

Through no fault but my own I chose to move to Idaho and stayed for two years...I now know what HELL is!

[zendem1]

08:59 PM on 12/18/2007

Oh Give me a home
Where the gentlemen roam,
A place where the wives cannot go..

Be you bottom or tops,
Be you youngster or pops..
It ain't only the winds that will blow..

Ho-mo on the range..
Where the closeted senators play..
When your shoes are a tappin'
We will know you ain't crappin'
Give a hand to a buddy today!

[zendem1]

08:41 PM on 12/18/2007

Welcome to Brokedick Mountain. A place where closet queens can relax a little in the autumn of their years. No wives allowed.

[Qbear]

07:28 PM on 12/18/2007

more DUDES less ranch

[starrianna]

05:54 PM on 12/18/2007

How cute...Craig likes Bareback. Er, I mean Brownback.

[dwillisno1]

05:52 PM on 12/18/2007

Larry Craig's Dude Ranch where Being bow legged is called being wide stanced.

[Prousa]

05:24 PM on 12/18/2007

If Idaho "Butt-spud" Craig can get an earmark for a DUDE ranch, it is only fair the lesbian lobby should get fair treatment. Given the state's passion for whack-job paramilitary groups, maybe he could get money to fund the Militia Etheridge.

Thank you, I'm here all week. Try the meatloaf.

[hmmmmmer]

04:46 PM on 12/18/2007

Sam Brownbutt likening Craig to one of the founding fathers is just obscene, but hey, Republicans can do as they like and get away with it, right?

[stlrfan]

03:14 PM on 12/18/2007

Ride 'em Larry!

[outnow]

03:06 PM on 12/18/2007

I didn't really understand the movie "Brokeback Mountain" until Senator Craig personified the characters by his conduct. Idaho - where men are men and sheep are afraid to use a public bathroom.

I was up there in Idaho with the Dali Lama and Willie Nelson and they thought I was weird! Boise is nice and especially Sun Valley. Lots of Mormons (cute girls)and many American-gothic-looking characters with pitch forks and gun racks on their pickup trucks. Pretty standard for Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. They don't really deserve two Senators because these states dilute the one-man-one vote principle, except Senator believes in one man, several men.