Senator Craig Isn't Leaving

I received a form letter today:

You were frank in expressing your views, and I appreciated it. In fact, I reviewed every letter and contact from Idahoans -- both letters like yours urging me to resign and letters of support from throughout the State.

As you know, I have decided to serve out my term and complete the initiatives for Idaho that are currently underway in the U.S. Senate. When I returned to Washington, D.C. in September, it became clear that I could still work effectively for the State; many of my Senate colleagues have even urged me to remain in office. Resigning would have cost Idaho the seniority and committee assignments that serve key State priorities.

Let me again apologize to you for the mistake I made in pleading guilty to a crime I did not commit. I deeply regret the cloud that has been cast over Idaho because of my actions. I will do all I can to lift that cloud through continued service to our great State.

In the months ahead, I will be voting and working on your behalf in the U.S. Senate. It may not be possible to regain your trust, but I hope you will still continue to give me your input, so that I can do my best to represent you on the issues facing our State and Nation.

I had hoped that his replacement would be already in position for the next election. As it is, the Democrats will almost certainly spend a lot of time trying to smear the Republican nominee as a homosexual. If you think that is absurd--that the Democratic Party would never engage in innuendo that relies on nasty stereotypes--well, consider this November 7, 2002 New York Times article:

Senator Max Baucus, a Democrat, coasted to victory over a challenger so broke and dispirited that he had dropped out of the campaign. But the ouster of the Democrats from control of the Senate means that Senator Baucus, 60, will relinquish his powerful post as chairman of the Finance Committee, which handles legislation on taxes and Social Security.
Mr. Baucus's re-election to a fifth term became almost a certainty after Oct. 10, when his Republican challenger, State Senator Mike Taylor, withdrew after Mr. Baucus broadcast an ad that Mr. Taylor said implied he was gay. Mr. Taylor, who had already spent $1 million, was 20 points behind.

Remember: the Democrats support homosexuality because it is a path to power, not because it represents any real belief. Look at the famous statement from Senator John Edwards a few years back:

Perennial Democratic strategist Bob Shrum drops a bombshell in his new book, according to a report in today’s Washington Post.
In the book, he says he asked former Sen. John Edwards at the outset of his 1998 Senate campaign, “What is your position, Mr. Edwards, on gay rights?”
“I’m not comfortable around those people,” was Edwards’ reply, according to Shrum.
To say the denials today from Edwards’ camp are unconvincing would be a gross understatement.

If they have to engage in subtle slurs that play on the sizable body of disapproval of homosexuality, they will. If the Republican nominee for Senator Happy Feet's job emphasizes family values, the Democrats will run a whispering campaign reminding everyone that Senator Happy Feet did so--and look what he turned out to be. If the Republican nominee tries to distance himself from family values (which would be a mistake in Idaho), then the whispering campaign will be, "At least he's not a hypocrite."