September 6, 2007
Posted: 08:59 AM ET

GOP senators held a closed-door discussion on Sen. Craig Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Republican senators held what one participant called a "passionate" and "spirited" closed-door discussion Wednesday afternoon about how their leaders responded to the sex scandal involving their colleague Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, CNN has learned.

At least three senators complained their leaders "rushed to judgment" while others defended the leaders for quickly pulling their support from the disgraced senator, according to one Republican senator in the room and two GOP aides familiar with the meeting.

"We had to discuss it," the senator said.

Sen. Ted. Stevens of Alaska, whose home was recently raided as part of a federal corruption probe, stood up to say it's wrong to prejudge these matters.

He was joined by Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky and Sen. Michael Enzi of Wyoming, who also "wagged their finger" at the leadership, in the words of one of the aides. (Related: Craig may not resign)

But many more senators stood to defend the leaders, even greeting Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky with applause when he was introduced to discuss the topic at the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon in the Capitol.

"A couple of people had differences of opinion with leadership but the overwhelming number who stood up supported the leaders," the leadership aide said.

Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, whose surprise call over the weekend for Craig to withdraw his guilty plea and fight to save his seat was key to Craig reconsidering his resignation, also addressed the meeting — which included Vice President Dick Cheney, who regularly attends the lunch.

Specter refused to say what he told his colleagues, but of the aides said he was not critical of the leadership.

Specter, hounded all day by reporters, has declined repeatedly to comment further on the Craig case.

One GOP leadership aide said Specter may be "chagrined" by what he started.

– CNN's Ted Barrett and Dana Bash

Filed under: Larry Craig


O. Echevarria, New York City, New York   September 7th, 2007 10:01 am ET

If Sen. Craig in court admitted to this type of activity, than he should be shunned and thrown out of the party or have calls for his resignation. This type of behaviour does not belong or deserve to represent their constituents. Truly appalling that anyone would support this man politically after being admitting to lewd conduct. What does this tell our younger generation? That it is okay to perform these types of activities and only get a slap on a wrist? Truly disgusting and deplorable.

Russ Baltimore Md   September 7th, 2007 8:29 am ET

Get this looser out of the news and move forward. No one cares…

Shawn, Zillah, WA   September 6th, 2007 9:08 pm ET

I am so tired of hearing about Sen. Craig. The only people that should be deciding what happens to him are the people of the State of Idaho.

K Martin   September 6th, 2007 6:53 pm ET

Two words to trump Larry Craig…BOB ALLEN!!!! Google his public park $20 gay oral sex arrest. Why no word on BOB ALLEN (R)?

From the Orlando Sentinel…"Allen was arrested outside the men's restroom at a Titusville park after offering to perform a sex act on a plainclothes police officer, authorities said. He was later released after posting $500 bail.

Titusville Officer Danny Kavanaugh, who was staking out a nearby condo hoping to catch a burglar, said Allen approached him in the men's bathroom at Veterans Memorial Park about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

In an arrest affidavit, Kavanaugh said he had washed his hands and, finding the sink's paper-towel dispenser empty, had walked into a stall for the disabled to dry his hands. Allen first peeked over the door and then stepped inside, he said.

Allen proposed the two go across a nearby bridge because "it's quiet over there" and he would perform a sex act on the officer for $20, the affidavit said. They walked to Allen's car, where the officer identified himself and arrested Allen."

amandavirginia, Michiana, Indiana   September 6th, 2007 6:15 pm ET

"This guy doesn't have a friend in the world."

Maybe our Dear Leader can loan him Barney?!–oops, no, he may find he needs him because "This guy doesn't have a friend in the world."

goofticket   September 6th, 2007 5:16 pm ET

A blogger in Madison Wi summed it up best.

Senator Tappy Toes McWidestance

kfly   September 6th, 2007 4:19 pm ET

Someone mentioned to Craig that after all that blindly voting the party line for so many years, they sure were just willing to kick him into the trash without so much as a thank you.

I'm sure he knows the guilty plea won't be reversed, but he'll get some tasty revenge by dragging it out in the media and embarrasing those same republicans that abandoned him. I mean he's gotta be pissed about the light and cordial treatment of Vitter compared to how his buddies treated him.

Old lefty, Covington, KY   September 6th, 2007 3:48 pm ET

Hall of Fame pitcher Bunning coming to the defense of a switch- hitter?

What else is going to happen?

Anonymous   September 6th, 2007 1:48 pm ET

Republicans are eager to get this guy out as quickly as possible. Because, they don't want this guy to get media coverage all the time resulting in the loss of their conservative and family value base. Barring Jefferson from Louisiana, all the corruption and sex scandals are dominated by republicans for the past 6 years. And these GOP congressmen are scared to death to get caught into these stories. Anytime in 2008 election these hypocrites talk about family values, pictures of Craig, Vitter, and Delay would show up.

Tom, St Paul, MN   September 6th, 2007 1:27 pm ET

This guy doesn't have a friend in the world. The liberals revile him because he's a hippocrite and the conservatives hate him because he is gay.

Cindy, Moscow, Idaho   September 6th, 2007 1:03 pm ET

What the Republican party seems to completely forget is that Senator Craig is Idaho's senator, not theirs. This whole thing should be between the senator and the people of Idaho. How dare the Republican Party tell Idahoans who their representative will (or won't) be! If Idahoans want him to finish his term, then the GOP should just have to deal with it. The GOP is always yapping about state's rights. It's our right to force/vote him out, not theirs.

John C Marietta, GA   September 6th, 2007 12:10 pm ET

Why not simply say he has suffered enough and have Bush Pardon him? Guilt has never been an issue with the Republican party!

Willy, Paramount, CA>   September 6th, 2007 12:04 pm ET

Let's not forget that Mike Roger's website (blogactive.com) will soon announce that Mitch is also a closeted gay man.
For months, people didn't trust his word, but it's come to pass that he was telling the truth!

Bobby, Richmond, Ky.   September 6th, 2007 11:54 am ET

"Bedfellows" is sooo anachronistic. Stallmates is the new in-word, as in "Politics makes for strange stallmates." (Is that redundant?)

Citizen Mother   September 6th, 2007 11:48 am ET

Vitter, Stevens, Craig: disgusting hypocrites hiding behind the banner of SECURITY CHRISTIANITY PATRIOTISM while thousands of people are blown to bits every day in Iraq (a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 and now serves as a haven for al-Quaeda recruits).

Most Democrats don't impress me much, but most Republicans, including those who have let their party go to hell in the name of CHRISTIANITY, make me sick.

Mary D.: NYC   September 6th, 2007 11:39 am ET

Good point about the bath house. Why didn't Craig just do that in the first place? Or was he hoping to get caught? I could less if he likes sex with men, but for a "pro-family" leader he should know that there are children in public restrooms. Or maybe he was hoping to flash some of them as well? What a sicko!

Talbott, Tuscumbia, Alabama   September 6th, 2007 11:36 am ET

Please, Senator Bathroom Stall (R-Misdemeanor), stay in office. Embarrass the good people of Idaho that you represent with your lies and deceit, and serve as a walking banner for the GOP. Americans need creeps like you, David Vitter, and others as negative examples of your party's hypocrisy and hatefulness. And by the way, if you crave anonymous gay sex so much, just go a bathhouse next time. They're not free like bathrooms, but you Republicans are pro-market anyways, and they're not illegal. You can exhibit your wide stance and pick up toilet tissue all you want.

KYJurisDoctor, BgKY   September 6th, 2007 11:34 am ET

Does anyone wonder why the Republican Party is faltering. MUCHO KUDOS for leaders like Mitch McConnell.

donkey phlia pa   September 6th, 2007 11:25 am ET

he's a republican

he pleaded guilty

he must be innocent

andrew s rostolder hillsdale nj   September 6th, 2007 11:23 am ET

i wonder who is going to get it in the "end" lol….when all is said and done…. probably us, the voters

Bob   September 6th, 2007 11:07 am ET

The Republicrites, once again, are caught in their own sticky web.

pl. at the UN for a while.   September 6th, 2007 11:06 am ET

I am not American. I cannot vote. What I say here is not meant to support any party.

Caught in the act; hypocrite; guilty by his own admission; split opinions; breached code of ethics; soliciting gay sex; judged by public opinion!

I am not convinced anymore. Let the lawyers spin the law and the commentators spin the politics. In the meantime Mr Craig should retract his own decision to resign. Replace 'resignation' with 'reevaluation', and stay on to face the "ethics" musical tune. That's right Mr Craig, you are no more guilty than everyone else.

Sue Filutze, Idaho Falls, Id.   September 6th, 2007 10:57 am ET

Oh, I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall! I can just hear Stevens telling them, not to jump to conclusions! Being one of the bigger crooks in the room. I'm sure the other secretly GAY Senators were all for throwing the bum out. He is in fact making it tricky for the rest of them. But one by one, I believe their little secrets will be out. Funny, the GOPERS are all about "Family Values" one just wonders whose family their talking about?

RB   September 6th, 2007 10:57 am ET

They're engaged in damage control, nothing more.

Craig has them running for the remaining lifeboats, except most are gone because of what Bush has already done to the GOP.

dotmafia   September 6th, 2007 10:55 am ET

How long does it take Americans to wake up from their collective haze, and realize that their elected officials and so-called "administration" simply don't care. They will do whatever is necessary to deny corruption or criminal action, and avoid accountability and responsibility. They and their special interest groups they represent are the reason why America is fast going the way of Rome.

Beth Alexander, Santa Fe, NM   September 6th, 2007 10:51 am ET

The fact that Craig is gay and has voted against gay rights issues is incredibly hypocritical. How dare he use an anti-gay stance to maintain a position of power which allows him to engage in gay behavior. I wonder if this is what Jesus had in mind.

Jim Terrell, Tx   September 6th, 2007 10:42 am ET

Whose side did David Vitter come down on?

So Sad, Wilmington, DE   September 6th, 2007 10:36 am ET

It's simply astounding how much time they can find to defend their "decider", their corporate sponsors, each other, their "leaders", fund raising and gambits versus the time they can find to spend taking care of the citizens they represent and constitution that is supposed to protect the "government of the people"

Glenn SLC, UT   September 6th, 2007 10:33 am ET

Closed door meetings about Craigs fate? That is how Craig did all his political maneuvering particular when it came to environmental, energy, and natural resources issues. Although no political meetings should be closed door, I don't mind him getting a taste of his own medicine.

R Roger Beck, Scottsdale, AZ   September 6th, 2007 10:17 am ET

Please, Larry, whatever you do, DON'T step down! The longer you stay up and visible, the more Repugnicans you will drag down with you in '08. With any luck, you should also be able to take down McConnell and Specter. Wow! A THREE-FER!!!!!!!!!

roger, conway sc   September 6th, 2007 9:36 am ET

GOSH can you imagine a bunch of stiff christian right conservatives trying to talk about a fellow collegue who also is a christian right conservative who is entangled in a "gay" bathroom scene…if we only knew the real truth about these hypocrites even the ones that say the leadership acted too rapidly…the christian right is suffering for using the GOP to put out their agenda and the GOP is suffering for using the christian right to get their votes they do not seem to be strange BEDFELLOWS to me no pun intended…they are all hypocrites by the way the meeting had the presence of the biggest hypogrite of them all VP Dick Cheney

Joquin Gutierrez   September 6th, 2007 9:16 am ET

This is sad. The only reason the GOP rank and file are slow to ask for Craig's head, is that a good portion of them have their own skeletons in the closet (as do probably an equal portion of Democrats).

Corruption needs to be stamped out at all levels of government. Including that of toilet cruisers like Larry Craig.

Mike, Corpus Christi TX   September 6th, 2007 1:26 am ET

Hey Craig! YOU'RE A VERY VERY NAUTY NASTY BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!

BACK AT YA!!!!!!!!

Lee, Mays Landing NJ   September 5th, 2007 10:31 pm ET

Enter that den of snakes and backstabbers at your own peril. The meeting of the Repubican leadership would not be a place for the faint of heart.

Adam Nguyen Glendale, Arizona   September 5th, 2007 10:04 pm ET

One of the loudest mouths in 1999 impeachment of former president Clinton was Mr. Craig. What is wrong with Mr. Craig now?

Jeff Spangler, Arlington, VA   September 5th, 2007 9:04 pm ET

Craig doesn't have nearly enough support among his GOP colleagues to remain an effective Senator for the citizens who elected him, even if he avoids ethics charges. His criminal guilty plea may have been unwise but the court is unlikely to be allow it to be withdrawn.

John, Ca.   September 5th, 2007 7:32 pm ET

We are all behind you, Larry. Well, not literally. You stand your ground, wide stance and all, and don't give an inch, or take it!

We are pulling for you, you Hetro-Stud!

Snyder, Seattle, WA   September 5th, 2007 7:22 pm ET

"Wagged their finger" indeed!

Tim, Fargo ND   September 5th, 2007 7:10 pm ET

He plead guilty… He was judged in a court of law….. What do they want to wait for…. Do-overs don't count once someone is 10 years old.

Mrs. America   September 5th, 2007 6:58 pm ET

Reminds me of that Mark Karr person—demands attention no matter how mentally ill it makes him look. I truly believe this man needs help and that maybe the government should do like NASA, rethink their mental health standards. Oh, that's right. Government leaves it up to us to decide if our public officials are fit to serve. Oh, my.

Elvis Dingeldein   September 5th, 2007 6:50 pm ET

In related news, Embattled superheterosexual Sen. Larry “Wide-Stance” Craig added yet another retraction to his growing litany of totally plausible reversals by announcing today that he would be suing his own bowels and digestive system for unfairly entrapping him in a restroom under false pretenses. In a brief leaked to the press by his legal team, Craig is now suggesting that he only had to “make a little wee-wee” and that his bowels unfairly lured him into a bathroom stall by faking the need to evacuate.

“I wouldn’t put myself in that position,” Craig told The Daily in a telephone interview Wednesday. “I don’t do these kinds of things, sitting on disgusting toilets to move my bowels. I’ve never done that. And if I did, it wouldn’t be in an airport toilet in Minneapolis.”

Craig is expected to resign his seat in the Senate by 10:00 p.m. tonight, then demand it back by 5:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

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