Larry Craig, Former Senate Aging Committee Chair,
Busy Explaining Restroom Arrest
Idaho Republican has consistently denied
allegations of gay activity
Aug. 28, 2007 The former chairman of the Senate's
Special Committee on Aging, Republican Larry Craig of Idaho, may have
trouble holding on to his Senate seat, according to many in Washington,
after it was revealed yesterday by Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper,
that the three-term senator, "pleaded
guilty earlier this month to misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges
stemming from his June arrest by an undercover police officer in a men's
restroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport."
Craig took over the chairmanship of the aging
committee, when the Republicans captured the Senate in 2000. In December
of 2004, he announced that he had decided to step down as chairman of
the Special Committee on Aging and seek chairmanship of the Veterans
Affairs Committee.
I am not leaving Aging Committee issues behind,
because I will still serve as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic
Security on next years White House Conference on Aging. I will also
continue to press forward with legislation important to Americas senior
citizens in such areas as long term care, Medicare, flu vaccines,
Social Security and more, Craig said.
In July, Tucker Sutherland, editor of
SeniorJournal.com, wrote an opinion piece critical of Sen. Craig's
actions in setting up an aging committee hearing concerning litigation
in long-term care facilities and failing to have any consumer advocates
or eldercare attorneys testify. (See link in sidebar)
Sen. Craig responded with his own opinion.
"As I read the recent editorial written by Tucker
Sutherland titled, 'Opinion: Placing Special Interest Above Senior
Consumers -- Senate Aging Committee Continues Republican Assault on
Senior Citizens' Rights,' I was reminded of something a reporter for the
Associated Press was quoted as saying in the mid-1990's," he wrote. "She
said that reporters get the news right about 72.3% of the time. It
appears that the same percentage is true for some editorials, and I
appreciate the opportunity provided by the Senior Journal to set the
record straight." (See link in sidebar)
Now, however, The Idaho Statesman in Boise is
calling on Craig to set the record straight and "explain himself,"
following the Roll Call report of his arrest.
Following are some of the highlights from the
editorial.
"Sen. Larry Craig has spent 27 years in Congress
with rumors about his sexual orientation following him almost from the
outset. Now, after the report of Craig's arrest at a Minnesota airport
restroom, Idaho's senior senator must speak candidly with the people who
have hired him for more than a quarter of a century. He owes this to
voters no matter how difficult that may be for him and for his family.
And voters owe Craig a chance to explain himself....
"This bizarre case now moves into the court of
public opinion, where Craig has a lot of explaining to do:
If Craig's actions in the restroom were
misconstrued and he was not involved in any inappropriate conduct, as he
said in a statement Monday, then why did he plead guilty?
"Craig says, in hindsight, he should not have
pleaded guilty and "should have had the advice of counsel in resolving
this matter." On the surface, it seems implausible that any educated
professional much less an elected official would face criminal
proceedings without hiring an attorney.
"Did Craig try to use his title to make the case go
away? According to the police report, Craig handed the plainclothes
officer a U.S. Senate business card during an interview with police, and
asked the officer, "What do you think about that?"
"This suggests an inexcusable abuse of power. Craig
was elected to represent Idaho's interests in the Senate not to use
the title of U.S. senator in his own self-interest during a police
interrogation.
"Why did Craig not come forward after the June 11
arrest? Did he honestly think this would never become public? For Craig
to keep this from his constituents, for 11 weeks, is not merely bad
public relations. It's an unacceptable breach of trust.
"Craig has said he is not gay repeating this
assertion, categorically, in a May interview with the Statesman. Does he
maintain that today, or has he been lying, blatantly and repeatedly, to
his constituents? Elected officials have a right to privacy, but also an
obligation to tell the truth about who they are.
"Yes, we have pointed questions, as many Idahoans
surely do. But there's a difference between asking hard questions and
making snap judgments. We ask Idahoans to await the answers before
passing judgment.
>>
Click here to the original story in Roll Call on the Craig arrest.
>>
Report on Idaho Tv Station
