David Kurtz and a reader over at TPM cover pretty much all that’s worth saying about Sen. Larry Craig:
Look at the police report. Did he directly ask a cop for sex? No. Did he expose himself lewdly (as opposed to exposing himself to use the facilities)? No. Did he do anything that was unambiguously sexual? No.
All he did was tap his foot, reach down (possibly to pick up a piece of TP), wiggle his fingers, and put his bag in front of him when he sat down. Oh, and he waited in front of an occupied stall. Even if he did everything the cop said he did, where was the lewd conduct? No actual sex happened. No actual sex was discussed. And if it wasn’t for the sheer embarrassment of the situation, you’d be writing about the overzealous cop who arrested a sitting US Senator for no apparent reason.
You know, when this story came out and I read the details, I thought – huh, I was in the MSP airport a couple of weeks ago. I did wait in front of a stall. I did set my bag near the door. And I did pick up a piece of paper (I dropped my boarding pass – believe me, I wouldn’t have picked anything else up). I didn’t do a tap dance nor flash my US Senator card, so maybe that’s why I was safe.
But the bigger point is this:
If Craig was looking for sex, I hope that he can look into his heart and realize that it’s 2007, and gay people are allowed to be out, and even get involved in meaningful relationships that don’t begin and end in a squalid men’s room. I’d hope that he’d recognize that there are even gay Republicans out there (look at former Rep. Kolbe, for one), and that a lot of the stigma and fear that still exists about homosexuality in this society has to do with the behavior of people who are in the closet.
Mimi Schaeffer
What the senator did was place his hand over the other side of the stall and whack off the wall as he was playing footsie with the cop.
Mimi Schaeffer
Oh, and who knows what they deleted on the police report or…what’s not available to the public; you know, for security reasons and the terrorists.
Mark
A sitting or shitting US Senator cannot come out as gay and expect to maintain his seat either in the US Congress or in the mens room. If he wants to maintain his job AND get his rocks off, he has to do the latter anonymously and that leaves the men’s room as one of the few alternatives…I bet there would be no articles or photos if were seen going into a gay bar or sex club. Get real America, you shove people into the closet and then complain when they are in there!
ipgrunt
I know nothing of Senator Craig, his politics nor his proclivities towards bathroom sex, but I know something of ‘dirty tricks’, and this incident has the telltales of a very nasty personal message to the senator.
Once again, the American media and their public cannot get their minds out of the toilet, as demonstrated by the coverage and comments that surround this incident, and in all the hoopla, no one is asking the right questions.
So, let me suggest a few:
Why Minneapolis?
Who was traveling with the senator on the day of record?
How long has this so-called investigation been going on in Minneapolis? I wonder, do they have a real problem with anonymous sex in this particular airport?
And the $64K question:
Who might have reason to destroy the senator’s reputation and why?
How about a little investigative reporting? This could be important, and not for the reasons being bandied about by the pundits.
MB
Amen, Mark.
~
Those are some pretty easy questions, IPGrunt.
Why Minneapolis?
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If you fly out of DCA (and every pol does), MSP is the hub you use to get to Idaho. Dastardly schedulers at Northwest, eh?
Who was traveling with the senator on the day of record?
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No one, from all reports. That’s the usual mode of travel for Senators heading back to their districts. Sometimes they go with the other Senator from their state.
How long has this so-called investigation been going on in Minneapolis?
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What investigation? Craig was arrested, processed, and released that day. Nothing happened after he pled guilty.
I wonder, do they have a real problem with anonymous sex in this particular airport?
~
Not any more than any other airport, I’d imagine.
And the $64K question:
Who might have reason to destroy the senator’s reputation and why?
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Looks like the only person hellbent on that was Sen. Craig himself.
Any other easy questions?
N Waff
Please! If he’s giving the signals typical of perverted cruising for gay sex and he pleads guilty, stop making excused for the man.
Arn
Too bad the senator wasn’t in Canada. He wouldn’t have to resign because there are no senate elections. He could continue to suck taxpayers dry