cross posted from my blog.
In 1999, Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was one of 45 Senators who voted that President Clinton should be convicted of perjury, and one of 50 Senators who voted that he should be convicted of obstructing justice. His office issued this statement:
"If we were in a church, the minister would admonish us from the pulpit to hate the sin and forgive the sinner. But we’re not in a church. If we were in a court of law, the judge would tell us to hate the crime, and punish the criminal. But we’re not in a court of law. We’re part of a constitutionally-directed impeachment tribunal, and our job is to love the Constitution and protect the office of the president. Our decision should not be about saving or rejecting William Jefferson Clinton, but about protecting the office of the president and keeping our Constitution strong. I believe he committed the crimes and acts charged in the articles of impeachment, and I will vote to convict and remove him from office."
Craig now finds himself amongst a growing number of conservative Washingtonian hypocrites, who enjoyed seeing Clinton publically shamed and consider themselves "family values" crusaders (read anti-gay, anti-reproductive rights, anti-sex ed, pretty much anti-sex). In July, Senator David Vitter (R-Louisiana) was revealed to be a client of the "Washington Madam." In September 2006, Representative Mark Foley (R-Florida) was forced to resign from the House when the media learned that he had initiated sexual communications with congressional pages (men), who may have been underage at the time.
Presidential contender (barely) John McCain called yesterday for Craig’s resignation, not so much for the nature of the crimes, but for the fact that Craig admitted to them:
"I think he should resign... but my opinion is that when you plead guilty to a crime, you shouldn’t serve [in the Senate]. That’s not a moral stand. That’s not a holier-than-thou. It’s just a factual situation."
A growing number of GOP politicians are calling for Craig to step down. Craig, who is up for re-election in November 2008, however, has not yet resigned and has only stepped down from his committee assignments on the Hill.
In his statement, he said:
"Let me be clear, I am not gay, I never have been gay."
Let me be clear, Mr. Senator. You are accused of a crime, which had nothing to do with homosexuality. You could’ve gone into a woman’s bathroom and made disgusting gestures and been charged with the same exact crime. The only people who actually care whether or not you are a homosexual are the conservative voters of the state of Idaho and the poor woman who was forced to stand beside you infront of the press.
And while we’re on the subject, what’s up with that? Forcing your wife to stand next to you with her Jackie O shades before a vulturous pack of reporters?
Ironically enough, Vitter, whose wife famously threatened to pull a "Lorena Bobbett" if her husband ever cheated on her, wasn’t even in Congress in 1998 yet felt compelled to share his feelings on Bill Clinton’s infidelity:
"The writings of the Founding Fathers are very instructive on this issue. They are not cast in terms of political effectiveness at all but in terms of right and wrong — moral fitness. Hamilton writes in the Federalists Papers (No. 65) that impeachable offenses are those that "proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust."
And lets not forget serial adulterers Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich, Bob Livingston, and the countless others we have not yet learned of.
I find it unbelievable that despite what he’s been accused of, Craig, in his statement before the media, managed to make the accusations of being gay seem like the worst part of this. Despite what many GOP members wish, being gay in America is not a crime. Nor is it something to be ashamed of, but people like Craig make it seem such.
Even infidelity isn’t a crime, though it certainly qualifies as grounds for a divorce. Nonetheless, a word of advice to all politicians: If you’re going on a moral crusade of any kind, you’d better be damned sure that there is not a single thing in your past or present that might put you in league with the people you crusade against. And to the wives of GOP congressmen, if your husband is spending a lot of time in airport restrooms, make sure you have a good lawyer.