Larry Craig's Real Mistake

I feel sorry for Larry Craig. Truly. Even though Craig voted to censure Barney Frank for Frank's tryst with a male prostitute. Craig has been behind some of the most intolerant and anti-gay legislation that a US Senator could put his mark on. Now the very condition that drives countless gay men and women into the closet, the bathroom stall or the hospital may have claimed Sen. Craig himself. That is not a cause for gloating. That is sad. Pathetic and sad.

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.

Comments

[Boris]

Larry Craig was caught the old fashioned way: by entrapment. Do these police stings create crimes where there really aren't any? I think the problem is that the moral police see it as their duty to prevent 'sin.' In a bit of irony, Craig probably supported most other aspects of 'sin' reduction and entrapment. Drug dealing, under the counter drug sales, nude dancing, prostitution, etc. They are all 'sins' than need to be expurgated, according to social conservatives.
I really dont care that Larry Craig wants gay sex. What bothers me is the guy is excited by the danger of being caught in a public place. It isnt the sex so much as the exhilaration and fear. But it is so pathetic, so disgusting that he has to troll in bathrooms for sexual excitement!
I havent had sex in a public bathroom since we nearly got caught in the ladies room in a local bar (when I was in college.) It was disgusting­...the smells, the noise...bu­t the fear of being caught almost made it worthwhile.
At least, thats what she said.
The question should be, "why do men, straight and gay, seek sex in public restrooms?" Just the thought of it today, as a sober adult, boggles my mind.

[gulopartisan]

Frankly, it bothers me that people are assuming Craig "is gay." Homosexuality, like heterosexuality, expresses itself in a huge variety of ways. The Mediterranean cultures distinguish linguistically between a men who wants to penetrate men and a man who wants to be penetrated. They don't consider the former necessarily "gay" and neither do I. A rapist is a rapist, not gay or straight.

A man who likes to rape women is not a stud; he's a priapic thug. Pedophiles don't much concern themselves with gender; they aren't gay or straight but just vicious predators. A man who enjoys having another man kneel down on him in public is a power freak.

A guy who gets a kick out of humiliating others can step into "gayness" by having penetrant sex with his victims. I don't consider him gay any more than I consider a guy who sticks to missionary sex with 8-year-old girls heterosexual. Roy Cohn wasn't gay; he just liked to humiliate men. I think Craig is no more gay than the alpha baboon sodomizing his challengers.

For these guys, sex is nothing but a domination game. That's why so many stories of disgraced "heterosexual" repug men (the pious doctor at the FDA?) feature anal rape. They aren't "heterosexual" or "homosexual"; they hate women as much as they do men.

Force and humiliation should not be part of the "joy of sex." As long as they are, we are no better than that baboon.

[TomR]

Larry Craig, indeed, has been a nasty, bad, naughty boy.

Can we please have our elected officials go through annual mental health screenings? We've got some pretty messed up people running/ruining our country and we need to know how mentally fit they are to represent us.

- Tom

[dora rice]

when a man seeks another man out in a small bathroom and tries to have sex beneath the division of a stall, he is more than perverted , he is gay. Wake up and smell the roses.

[boycottrightwingthings]

Craig might be bisexual, not Gay, so when he says I am not Gay, he probably thinks in his head but I am bisexual. So when he says I am not gay, he probably thinks he is telling the truth on a technicality. However, public sex, in a place that children could walk in, is a crime and definitely should be so. I don't care WHAT kind of sex, hetero or homo. He was looking to break that law, and pleaded guilty. He can't take it back, anymore than he can take back his hypocritical votes against gay people in his state, or hypocritical votes against then president Clinton. The airwaves should be blasted with quotes he made regarding those votes. Alec, you are too kind in feeling sorry for this slimeball. He is one of the problems of this world, when he could have been one of the solutions. Mr. Holier-than-thou got his comeuppence, and I for one, am happy about it! I say good riddance to him.

[Joeseo]

Why oh why would you empathize with Craig? Well, maybe as christians we must, but what is missing is the public and political side.

All the hypocritical, sacriledgeous religiosity of Bush and Craig and all the neo-con radical wingers
have been rewarded and this type of terror continues. They do not get opposed. They should and must be opposed since they use religion as a political tool. Turning the other cheek is suicide with this ilk. You only get slapped and slapped on each side constantly.

Let God take care of Larry Craig; maybe He already did.

[dora rice]

I prefer any gay or lesbian over a bisexual hypocrit.

[Purple Girl]

I don't think many people are getting the fact that the reason this man needs to be drummed out of office is becuase of his voting style, people are forced to seek their perferred anonymous sex in public places. Frankly we just nee dto address prostitution logically- Red light distrcits and bath houses would allow personal freedoms and privacy. He deserves to be kicked out because he is the demand side of this dilemna, which leaves the opportunity for children to be exposed. It's not the gay population that is feeding this public anonimity- it's the 'straights'. Another prime example how self rightous idealogy can cause social problems. He is ignorant so he is therefore unqualified for such a public servant position. Next contestant on Your 'Values' are Wrong....D­ICK cheney.

[kl836]

So much emotional and mental torment within that he thrusts onto others. This is just what our country needs to "out" those grand inquisitors. It seems, for the reasonable mind, unfathomable that these holier than thou Christians are more shaken up by consenting sexual behaviour than by the gruesome murders in this country allowed to be committed in the name of the right to arms or the horrific decimation of tens of thousands (or is it a million by now?)of innocent people, "nonbelievers", in a war that was launched on lies and deception.
However reason is not the tool to be applied here, but rather a analytic understanding of the workíngs of the human mind. I have to keep reminding myself of this for despair at the state of this nation is near at hand.

[zaneblue]

People here seem confused. There's nothing wrong with being gay or bisexual and nothing wrong with picking up gay men. What's wrong is acting super-creepy in a public restroom at an airport. Sure the Republicans have thrown the guy overboard because of homophobia, but it's the creepiness that's illegal. Everybody has to use airport restrooms, including children.

If while I was doing my business someone was standing right outside my stall, staring in at me, and then waited for the person next to me to leave, and then first stuck her foot into my stall and then ran her hand into my stall--there's no consent there. That's not flirting; that's just not right. Cops should be stopping that!

[DeSwiss]

Alex, I often enjoy reading your commentary. In this instance, however, I think I'll hold off on offering my sympathy for Larry Craig. But you go right ahead. Although true, are all the things you said about him, yet his pain and anguish pales by comparison to that which he wrought with his power and political influence against gay citizens.

He supported and help succeed the passage of DOMA. And supported a state amendment in Idaho against gay marriage as well. And to make matters worse, he is still unwilling to face the truth. Or to speak the truth.

I haven't seen remorse -- that would help. Not the remorse for having been caught and lost his political position, but for the damage he's done. And telling the truth and accepting that truth, whatever it is -- would help even more. But enough with the lies. I'm tired of being lied to by politicians for whatever reason.

And this calamity should be instructive in future for Republicans when choosing among these virulently hateful anti-gay politicians. Because as has been shown, they are most often themselves what they claim to disdain. And they should wonder what such a representative leaves themselves open to. Blackmail and extortion for money or votes should be on the top of the list. This is what the marriage between the Republicans and Rightwing Christian fanatics has created.

So yes, I'll withhold my sympathy for Larry for a while. Maybe if he or others are moved by this to reverse some the damage that they've already done, then I'll reconsider. In the meantime, payback’s a bitch....

[radioguts]

Senator Craig is a "Wide Stance" Liar

I can imagine that the "Wide Stance" alibi will be easily challenged by the prosecution in court, with a "re-enactment" of the "wide stance" seating as claimed by the Senator.
For purposes of a valid demonstration in court, all dimensions of the seat, divider-walls and floor (and all distances there-between) will be identical to the real men's-room stall in the Minneapolis Airport where the lewd conduct is alleged to have taken place.
The volunteer actor in this courtroom scenario will have Senator Craig's build and height. He will sit on the chair and place the right foot under the right stall divider, and his left foot under the left stall divider. He will then try to grope the floor under the right divider wall with his LEFT hand. Remember all this with his pants pulled down too ! (could it have been a twenty-dollar bill he referred to as the piece of paper he had dropped and was trying to grasp over there ?).
Now, furthermore, a gay person may be able to correct me on this, but I can imagine that as the "wide stance" toilet posture is attained, wouldn't this squeeze a normal man's buns together tightly, during a time when he was purportedly in there to poop ?
In my opinion, Senator Craig is not only a Liar, but yet another Republican public official who lacks foresight and imagination too.
If this re-enactment were televised from the courtoom, I think it would be a most memorable video clip.
Imagine the embarrassment on Sen.Craig'­s face as he watches this supposed "Re-enactment" attempt.
U-Tube, anyone ?
..radiogut­s

[ncvoter]

As always thanks to you Alex for bringing it home as always.

Its all about hypocrisy. Senator Craig represents the titilating aspect of the GOP side.

But what about IRAQ?

That is our greatest and most terrible hypocrisy, our most tragic and far reaching sickening "sin" with devastating and cruel effects.

Millions displaced.
Nearly a million killed.
Torture and atrocities.
Outbreak of cholera.
Reaching near third world conditions.

[AnotherunhappyDemocrat]

Very good points here; however, I don't feel sorry for the fallen Senator. The GOP leadership made a deal with the devil many years ago; now the devil has apparently come to collect his due. I'm just enjoying the show.

[accountability]

Nice work Alec.
I have been struggling to articulate this through out the last two days on various posts.
You hit the nailed it.

Thanks.

[Fernando]

I'd like to call attention to Alec's comments here. I have a hard time believing that if the tables were reversed you'd find these tolerable comments coming from the other side of the aisle.

I feel sad for those people who see the world in black and white, and leave no room for the complex nature of the soul. You can't almost blame them, not entirely, when you consider the parameters set by their particular religions and communities, which offered them a sense of certainty when they couldn't deal with what they saw in themselves at 3:00am. Obviously, he is not that different from those whom he derided.

Senator Craig was militant against gays because he hated those same parts of himself. Only the Holier-than-Thou type can be so intolerant of consenting adults choosing a different lifestyle or those who look different or those who might say something hurtful, but that we didn't mean, to someone we love. Only those who don't know themselves can be so intolerant of the rest of us. We all make mistakes, we all do.

If there is a good thing to come out of this for Senator Craig is that he might learn to be a better friend to himself and accept those parts of him he has long denied.

Self-acceptance goes a long way.

[upb41]

Well said, and it IS sad, and pathetic, but as a resident of Idaho, I'm not sorry to see him go, even if the door does hit him on the way out. His narrow minded, mean spirited, hypocritical point of view has damaged a lot of people for a long time. I've voted against him since the first time he ran for office. Good Riddance.