I Guess There's Room for a Replacement for Senator Craig (R-ID)

There were allegations last year that I scoffed at because they were completely without credible sources. It appears that Senator Craig pleaded no contest to these charges from an arrest in June. I've been upset with his liberalism for some time, but I am still a little surprised by this. From Roll Call (which is so busy that I can't get through it at the moment), quoted in August 27, 2007 Real Clear Politics:

Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested in June at a Minnesota airport by a plainclothes police officer investigating lewd conduct complaints in a men's public restroom, according to an arrest report obtained by Roll Call Monday afternoon.
Craig's arrest occurred just after noon on June 11 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. On Aug. 8, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in the Hennepin County District Court. He paid more than $500 in fines and fees, and a 10-day jail sentence was stayed. He also was given one year of probation with the court that began on Aug. 8.

Closeted homosexuality is a bad thing, no question about it. And this does make my point about the inability of homosexuals to behave like adults. In a public men's room?

Craig claims it was a misunderstanding. If so, he should have vigorously challenged the charge--not pleaded guilty.

How is it that homosexuals, who are about 3-4% of the population, are so overrepresented among elected officials? A professor I had dinner with a few months back in New Jersey, in discussing the McGreevey scandal, pointed out that anyone with a normal family situation would probably not be willing to spend that much time away from home.

UPDATE: Roll Call is still overwhelmed with hits, but USA Today has reprinted much of the article here. It is just barely possible that Senator Craig's claim that it was a "misunderstanding" is correct--but why plead guilty? This isn't like a speeding ticket. This was a very serious accusation--that Senator Craig was trolling for sex with another man in a public restroom--and pleading guilty generally indicates, well, guilt.

The only good news that can come out of this is that a lot of people will have to confront that this kind of behavior, while not necessarily the norm among homosexuals, isn't particularly rare, either. Unfortunately, homosexual legislators, whether open or closeted, do a lot of stuff that reminds you that homosexuals really aren't like the rest of us. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) lover was the result of Frank answering a personal ad so vulgar that I won't quote it--and then his lover ran a prostitution service out of Frank's apartment. More recently, Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) sending lascivious emails to pages less than half his age, and Rep. Gerry Studds (D-MA) having an affair with a page less than half his age. All of these actions make an adulterous affair seem downright classy by comparison.

Senator Craig should go ahead and resign, and let Governor Otter name a replacement who can serve out Craig's term with dignity and respect for the people of Idaho. (I'm available!)

UPDATE 2: The more I think about this, the more disturbing it becomes. This isn't something that happened behind closed doors. This wasn't the result of meeting another man that he was attracted to, and with whom they carried on some sort of long-term relationship. This was someone looking for quick, completely anonymous sexual act in a public restroom. I know that there are gay men who find this degrading, vulgar, and disgusting, but if you went to college in California, or have had the misfortune of using the restrooms in rest areas in California, you know that this a very fundamental part of how a lot of gay men operate. I suspect that the danger of being caught while doing this must be part of the thrill--which in itself tells you a lot about the sickness involved.

UPDATE 3: Seen somewhere or another: "I keep voting a straight Republican ticket, but there's not enough straight Republicans!"

UPDATE 4: This report from the Minnesota Monitor indicates that the restroom in question is widely known in the gay community as the place to go:

Karsnia was in the restroom as part of a sting operation to clamp down on lewd behavior. The restroom where Craig was arrested is well known among men who seek sex in public places.
Squirt.org is a site that runs a bulletin board for such men. "If you enter from the terminal, turn left and go past wash basins, urinals to the back where the stalls are. This place is THE most cruisy public place I have been," wrote one poster. "Just passed thru here the other day. This place is so hot. This place has a constant flow and variety of hot guys," wrote another. Even another poster wrote, "This is the best spot for anonymous action I've ever seen." Of all the postings in Minnesota, the airport restroom was ranked the top by that website.

The site, Squirt.org, lists how to get there: "Across from Food Court. Go through security to main Mezzanine where main shopping is located. Look for Starbucks Coffee stand and Men's Room is across from there," what to expect: "Very cruisy, no security cameras or guards. Most of the time, men will show themselves to you at the urinals and invite into stalls or nearby hotels. Plenty of dark stall action, too!Update: No one is permitted beyond the security checkpoints without an airline ticket now," and some of the biggest pet peeves: "Stall hoggers! Get off and get out! Cleaning crews may be overly curious, but won't interfere."
The details of Craig's arrest are not unique. According to a post in June at cruisingforsex.com, another public sex site, "Twenty people were arrested within the past week. Plainclothes officers wait in the stalls and tap their feet and even put their foot on yours and then arrest you when you look under the stall wall."

Oh yes, and just so you don't think that there is something bizarre about what Senator Craig did:

LGBT equality advocates have also pointed out the perceived hypocrisy of Craig's arrest. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force said in a statement Monday, "There is sad irony that a United States senator from Idaho has been caught up in the same kind of thing that destroyed the lives of dozens of men in Boise in the 1950s, so tragically chronicled in `Boys of Boise.'"
NGLTF added, "And by the way, why are Minneapolis tax dollars being used to have plainclothes police officers lurking idly in airport restroom stalls?"

So even the NGLTF thinks that there's nothing wrong with this sort of behavior.