CNN

Margie Cline – Wilmington, DE

lying and corrupting the judicial process for personal gain

I don't think Craig has lied about resigning, he said: "...it is my INTENT to resign..."
Also, as for corrupting the judicial process, nope there is a law in Minnesota that allows people to rescind their guilty plea. So really if this corruption of the judicial process bothers you, you should take it up with the state of Minnesota. Like any other American, he is due his day in court.

Chris, Middletown, CT

I looked up the man you mentioned, Saul Alinsky, who is often credited with laying the foundation for the grassroots political organizing that dominated the 1960s. Hillary wrote a thesis about him in college, but she was never a student of his, as you alluded to in your post (at least, I’m assuming that you were alluding to her). Also, I couldn’t find out “what big government program he is working on,” as he has been dead for over 30 years. Please cite your source on this, I’m intrigued.

Tom – Dedham, Mass

I agree, Romney did the right thing to toss Craig, it would have been political suicide to keep on the staff. Any other intelligent politician, no matter what party, would have done the same thing. As for your assertion that “Republicans toss the dirt bags out,” I don’t think that has always been the case. For example, David Vitter is a dirt bag for soliciting prostitution on several occasions. The GOP won’t toss him out because they don’t want to lose a seat in the Senate. Dan Burton was forced to admit that he fathered an out-of-wedlock child, a fact he denied for years.

I think all you posters have it a bit wrong about Larry's intentions. Larry got caught red "footed" and admitted to his transgressions. Now the GOP want him out of the limelight BUT, they don't offer him anything in return to resign SO, Larry is going to stay in the news UNTIL some GOP person PAYS him to leave! GET IT!!!!

He had every reason to do so, I believe any other candidate would have done the same thing, whether they were running for president or not...

"He not only threw me under his campaign bus, he backed up and ran over me again," Craig told NBC's Matt Lauer.
When he came back to see if I was alright he bent down and gave me mouth to mouth.
Well that's what it looked like.

I'm tired of hearing this jerk and seeing him on the news; the only part of it than makes me smile is that I know the longer he continues with his charade, the more damage he does to himself and to his party. I wonder why the people of Idaho are even willing to put up with him.

Craig does have a point. This does say a lot about what the Romney Regime will be like. It was well known throughout Washington that Criag, the staunch anti-gay, had some sexual "issues." Yet Romney was a little TOO BUSY to background check or too stupid to care. All he saw was a fellow Gay-basher. And when Craig got caught, Romney did everything he could to dump him and move on.

As President, who else will Romney get us in bed with without thinking or caring?

The senator was setup like most sting operations they are "SETUP", if it is for drugs, gay sex, child porn, etc it is a setup to catch someone doing something illegal in this case the senator was looking for gay sex got caught pled guilty to a lesser charge...the strange thing about this situation is that the senator is from a true RED state just like the red state of SC where I live and the people don't seem to really care. WHY because he SPITS out the right wing message that they want to hear otherwise they would be marching the streets in protest...

No "mistakes" being made here.

Imagine this, there is another network besides CNN and the network just for ideology purposes kept on bringing up the same OLD story in a "multitude of needless variations" just to appease their supposed audience.

And in the joy of hammering one party over and over, they neglect stories that may negatively reflect the other party. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Blonde bimbo Ann Coulter, a writer and publicity hound is posted on the political ticker, but not corrupt DEMOCRATIC POLITICIANS from NJ.

That Mayor disappearing for two weeks had some juice to it, but got ignored anyway.

Believe me, I went to jounalism school and I understand the dynamics of the business, but you would be the first one to take that network to task in this forum for not reporting all the news and I would be right with you.

This is pretty much the only forum to easily praise the network (I have done so before) or take them to task, and I choose to do so, but not expecting them to change.

As for Romney's "disgrace", what the bleep was he supposed to do?

If he leaves him on his staff, that will dog him big time and the coverage of HIM keeping Craig on his staff would have been relentless.

Craig pled guilty and Romney did the correct thing, there was no "gray area" here, the guy pled guilty.

Sorry that common sense by Romney doesn't sound as cynical as him doing it to appease right-wing, christian, bible thumpers as some would spout, but that is what happened.

Though I agree wih some of your points David, I wholly disagree with Romney catching any heat for his rightful decision.

If the guy was just charged and there was a case pending, then I could see someone saying he "may" have done this for other purposes, but he pled guilty and keeping him would be political suicide.

Does receiving oral sex from a man make you gay? Does not having anal sex with a man make you not gay??

Oh the confusion within abominations…

I SEE THAT CHRIS, FROM MIDDLETOWN. CT. STILL HASEN'T SEEN A SHRINK YET.

Rodney Dallas TX

My earlier comment should have read as follows:

Things happen at airports.

One time, I noticed a small boy peeping under every toilet booth and irritating the users.

Another time I happened to notice a man banging toilet booths in an airpoprt. Maybe someone reported.

But stuff does happen at airports and coincidently, it just happens that Sen. Craig ended up annoying Officer Dave.

So what's the big deal. Grow up RODDDNEEEY!

Larry, I understand charmin is taking applications for a new spokesperson to replace the little bears. Will your wide stance hinder you from hiding behind the tree to take care of business?

Currently: 5 comments on "Windshield Cowboy" Bush, 34 on Craig coming out of the stall. Shows you what the mostly-American public is concerned about in this political season.

Rodney Dallas TX

Things happen at airports.

One time, I noticed a small boy peeping under every toilet booth and irritating the users.

Another time I happened to notice a man baging toilet booths in an airpoprt. Maybe someone reported.

But stuff does happen at airports and coincidently, it just happens that Sen. Craig ended up annoying Officer Craig.

So what's the big deal. Grow up RODDDNEEEY!

Better under the campaign bus than under the boys-will-be-boys stall!

Larry how does it feel.You have thrown the civil rights of millions of Americans under the bus.But to show you were the other side is different iI donate to the ACLU and am glad they have taken up your case.No one not even a hypocrite like you should have his civil rights taken away.

...and to think this Craig's supposed to be a "decision maker"?!! One moment he says he's guilty, the next moment innocent, next he did it voluntarily, next under coercion, next he's not running again, next he's running again, next he's been railroaded to plead guilty, next he's appealing his guilty plea.

Good grief! Just walk away and close the door, fer' Pete's sake! Lord knows, the rest of us want to forget you!

No surprise there. Craig has blamed everyone else for his problems ever since he got nailed. Wonder whom he blames next, and for what.

All the Hillary fans must be delighted to see Craig keeping this thing in the forefront. He's a real asset to the Democratic party.

Craig needs to be careful by making statements such as "he backup". Remember that song about "back that thang up". Why doesn't he just shut up and serve his time out.

Craig:
You are a disgrace not only to Romney, but also to anybody who voted for you.

If Romney's bus ran over you, he put you out of miserty and did america a favor.

Your current appeal to the court decision is phoney as you, the purpose of which is to allow you to say that you are not gulit to allow you to stay in the senate longer. The truth to the america public is that you are a phoney and guilty as charged.

Republicans have a tendency for harboring perverts/liars like Mark Foley (pedophile Republican), David Vitter (visited prostitiutes and denied it), Larry Craig (solicited sex from cop), Bob Allen (tried to get sex from a cop) and countless more.

Once Republicans stop pretending to be religious, they can then get the help they need to come to terms with their frequent criminal problems.

The mistake some posters on this blog are making is that of fair unbiased complete coverage of an issue. The cable news networks, all of them, are driven by ratings. They are no different than a sit-com or television drama. It is all about the ratings. Long gone are the days when reporting the news meant exactly that, reporting. Now it is all about making news and reporting only the sensational. We consumers are as much to blame as the networks are.

I think Craig should resign but not because he was tapping his foot in a public stall, even when children can see him. Tapping your foot is not illegal, even in a public bathroom. I doubt very highly a child would have even the slightest clue why, or experience the least amount of trama from, someone tapping their foot in a bathroom stall anyway. It is more likely the child would think the person likes the song they are listening to. The disgust most people are experiencing is made up in their own imaginations, not from what actually occurred.

Romney's "disgrace" was nothing more than a campaign ploy pandering for conservative votes. Even so, Craig was the one who through himself under the bus. Romney just took advantage of the situation. I'm not surprised at either of them. It just shows the character of both individuals, which is nothing to brag about in either case.

Craig should indeed resign. He's made a complete mockery of himself. He has shown himself to be a fool, not for the foot tapping, but for the way he has handled the situation following his arrest. I think thou dost protest too much Mr. Craig.

SET UP? Are you serious? Do you know how many bathrooms are in an airport. So they were lucky in putting a police officer in that particular stall in that particular bathroom in that particular terminal in that particular city? I think not. You tried something and got caught. You can't be set up for something like that unless you are going along with it. What a dummy! I can't believe the people of Idaho havn't rebelled yet to get this man impeached (or whatever it's called to get a Senator fired).

Oh, and how about lying and corrupting the judicial process for personal gain, Mr. Toilet Cruiser ?

Btw- are you STILL claiming not be be a gay man ? At least George Michael had the courage to at least admit his hanky-panky before crying foul.

I am no where near a Romney supporter but he had every right to throw your butt under the campaign bus. Hell, you shouldn't be offended, you throw yourself under the bathroom stall all the time.

Mike F from Kalamazoo, MI said: ...unfortunately for [Larry Craig], he's not in the same party as William Jefferson, Barney Frank, or Ted Kennedy, but rather a party that is actively trying to clean up their image.

Ah, you must've seen the Lauer/DeLay interview; you're parroting DeLay's tactics very well.

In the interview, DeLay said, "You see the Democrats re-elect the people with their problems. Republicans kick them out. If you look at what's going on, it's how you handle it as a party."

Of course, DeLay withdrew from his position as Speaker of the House because he became the subject of a corruption probe–but not right away. Let's not forget that, when the investigation was announced, congressional rules forbade congressmen under criminal investigation from retaining their leadership positions–and DeLay's response was to try, unsuccessfully, to use his political muscle to get those rules changed so he could retain all his power.

So Larry Craig is in good company–Republicans that do whatever they can to try to hold onto their power no matter how bad it makes their party look.

And, just to set the record straight: Republicans are letting Craig continue on as Senator. There is no Republican movement to impeach Craig. Nobody's kicking him out. Which makes DeLay a liar as well as a hypocrite.

So I'd be careful about quoting him, Mike.

Chris from CT, Shrillary not only follows that guys teachings, but she wrote her college thesis on the very subject.

She idolizes him, but I am not concerned as I am actually happy about that, Karl Rove is already working on that "vast right-wing conpiracy attack ad. Truthful as hell though.

I feel no sorrow for the clintonista's who blindly follow her every thought like a cult, even the MSM will not be able to ignore her past when it is CLEARLY and TRUTHFULLY presented to the American people by whomever the Republicans put against her.

I do however feel bad for the fine candidates like Biden, Richardson and Dodd, who I don't agree with on a lot, but are far SUPERIOR candidates in comparison to Hillbilly.

They deserve more recognition for their actual IDEAS, not stolen or simply STUPID that are put forth by the queen, but the sheep will get what they pay for.

Mia, I could not agree with you any more in regards to people preaching faith and how all their values are based on that.

True SOME of the Repub's play the holier than thou card and I hate that, but that does not mean CNN and the MSM should IGNORE other stories.

I am a fan of Obama and his wife (even as a Republican), but I am getting turned off by his starting to use faith in his campaign too much.

Come up with your stances on issues and just tell the people what you think, PERIOD.

I do however have no problem with someone highlighting the fact that they and their spouse have been married and faithful to the same person for years and other things of that natue.

Larry Craig: you are indeed a disgrace to the Republican party – Gov. Romney did the right thing to call on your resignation and to rebuke your behavior, and you should have heeded on Governor's wise advice and resigned right there and then. You admitted yourself you were guilty as sin you pled guilty for crying out loud. Stop whining and get you ass out of Washington now.

This guy continues to amaze me beyond expectations...just can't seem to take responsibility for his own actions. First, by soliciting bathroom sex. SEcond, if he really didn't solicit bathroom sex, then by trying to get out of trouble by waiving his senate ID in front of the cop. Third, at least for lying about it and hiding it from the Senate Ethics Committee. However, by staying to the end of his term, Idahoans will be constantly reminded of this blight, and will vote for the democrat contender next year.

Is Larry Craig an accurate representation of the republican party?

In virtually all Repellican campaigns, you're either on the bus or off the bus, and closet poofters are definitely off.

If there ever was a mouth that belonged in the closet it is Craig's. Why doesn't he just shut up and go home? He's an embarrassment to his poor wife, his family, and his constituents, not to mention the rest of the US. Hey, Larry, go home. NO one cares about your opinions any more. GET IT???

Why isn't the Republican constituency outraged about the hypocrity of Vitter? It seems people are more upset that Craig is gay than that he is a hypocrite.

Craig is just gay/bisexual. I don't like his politics but he hasn't hurt anybody. His sexual orientation does not impair his effectiveness/ineffectiness as a politician. Maybe if we were a more accepting sort of society, we wouldn't have these awkward incidents.

Why not be be nice to one another.

Craig, You are not fit to represent Romney or Republicans.

Way to go Romney!

MB, Orlando, FL :

Why isn't the Republican constituency outraged about the hypocrity of Vitter? It seems people are more upset that Craig is gay than that he is a hypocrite.

Oh, for crying out loud. Give the guy a break. I don't like his politics, but he is just a gay/bisexual man. He did not hurt anybody.

Maybe if we were a more accepting sort of society, we wouldn't have these incidents and gay men and women could run openly for elected offices.

He is a closet homosexual. So what? It doesn't affect his judgement as a politician. He will be just as effective/ineffective as he has always been.

Let's be nice to each other.

One should not throw stones in a glass house.

Regardless of whether he was set up or not, he pled guilty!!! He should have resigned when he said he was going to, why would anyone who is trying to get elected to run the country willingly allow a man who pled guilty to breaking the law in on that. Why did he plead if he wasn't guilty? Republican or Democrat you plead guilty and when members of your party don't want to touch you for fear of ruining their chances in the next election you don't get to whine!!!

Craig has a loooooooooooong history, dating back to 1982 when he was investigated for cocaine use and sexual relationships with Congressional pages (shades of Mark Foley!) I don't know what he thinks he is trying to prove, but all he's succeeded in doing is betraying his family and his constituents, and humiliating himself further in public. No judge will give him a do-over on a guilty plea when it's crystal clear that he understood the charges and the consequences. If any court allows him to renege on a guilty plea, there will be an avalanche of appeals from every criminal in the country who copped a plea for a lesser charge and lighter sentence. It's time to buck up and face your consequences, Senator (soon to be "former Senator")

Tom
Are you looking for fair coverage...and an audience receptive to the truth? You won't find that here...you will cult like followers of Hillary who will defend even the most indefensible acts. (even though they won't) Liberals....look up a Marxist grassroots organizer....Saul D. Alinsky – and who was one of his best students?? (yep....Hillary...and see what big goverment program his is working on next....just research..alittle??)

Tom:

If we cleaned house, who would be left to run the country? If money is the name of the game in politics, would you really expect purity in our leaders? There are literally thousands of average-Joes that would probably run the country better than any of these politicians.

The Republicans put the targets on their own backs. Not to mention they seem to be one-upping every Democratic misstep with the likes of Foley, Craig, and co. If you run like your the party of purists, you better be prepared to back it up. Ditch the holier-than-thou attitude, and you'll win back some of your seats.

You mean thrown under the campaign bathroom stall?

Unlike the Democrats, Republicans toss the dirt bags out.

Barney Frank's "friend" set up shop and was running a brothel out of Barney's townhouse and yet Barney keeps getting elected over and over again.

“Although Frank and Gobie differ in some details of their relationship, they agree on the story line. They met on April fool’s Day 1985. The representative answered a classified ad in the Washington Blade, the local gay weekly. "Exceptionally good-looking, personable, muscular athlete is available. Hot bottom plus large endowment equals a good time."
Then in his third term, the 45-year-old representative had not yet stated his homosexuality publicly. He paid Gobie $80 in cash for sex.
Gobie, then 28, was one of many young men "freelancing" in male prostitution. Gobie said he was born in Boston and grew up in a military family. He has felony convictions for possession of cocaine, oral sodomy and production of obscene items involving a juvenile.
Gobie and Frank say they became more friends than sexual partners. Gobie says he attended a bill-signing at the White House, and helped coach and played left field for Frank's team in the Congressional Softball League. "I was the star player," Gobie said.
Frank began to help Gobie financially, paying his attorney and court-ordered psychiatrist. The House member also said he hired Gobie as a personal aide, housekeeper and driver, but Gobie said that was a "cover story" concocted for probation officers.
In late 1985, Gobie says, he began to use Frank's apartment and two other locations for prostitution. Frank knew about the prostitution all along, but it was never explicitly discussed, Gobie says.
"He knew exactly what I was doing," Gobie said. "It was pretty obvious. If he had to come home early {from work}, he would call home to be sure the coast was clear . . . . He was living vicariously through me. He said it was kind of a thrill, and if he had been 20 years younger he might be doing the same thing."

He got repimanded by the House, but the Republicans rightfully wanted more, but didn't get it.

The Democrats gave him a standing ovation, a STANDING FREAKIN' OVATION.

Like his actions were something good?

Don't care if he is gay, my disgust is with his actions only.

Now Craig is placing blame with Romney, hello Larry, you pled guilty, end of story.

I wish someone would really throw this jerk under a bus.

Hey CNN, speaking of Democrats, every time this guy speaks or "goes to the bathroom" you post it as vital news, how about reporting on the DEMOCRATIC Mayor of Atlantic City who took off for two weeks and showed up last week out of the blue.

Or the TWELVE Democrats from NJ who got bagged in a huge corruption scandal a few weeks back that included all facets of jersey's government.

Neither of these EVER were put on the ticker, but a Craig bathroom break is over and over a story?

Craig is the worst kind of person – a hypocrite. Who got exposed as clear as day what a hypocrite he was. Go clean your act up Craig. You have no business in the halls of the Senate.

The only person that threw Craig under a bus is himself! He needs to take responsibility for his own actions instead of blaming everyone else for his problems. It is his own behavior that caused his problem. He needs to resign and go back under the rock that he climbed out from under.

until Craig can explain his foot in the other stall and placing his hand on the stall divider, yes, he was obscene!

Craig is proving to be a constant distraction to the GOP. Which is the best possible scenario for Democrats who are an uphill fight in ID but might just have a chance if Craig continues to exercice a shadow over his party.

Well let's have a pity party for Sen. Craig! So he thinks what he did is not disgraceful? Please resign.

Raman said: "I hope you understand we are past the stage of whether Sen. Craig lied or not."

"We" - as in the people of Idaho? If Bill Clinton did this would you be "over it?" Yeah, like flies on dung. As soon as the GOP stops enabling these hypocrites, the sooner they can get their self-respect back and win some elections. Can't blame Romney for not wanting to shake his hand...

"unfortunately for (Larry Craig), he's not in the same party as William Jefferson, Barney Frank, or Ted Kennedy, but rather a party that is actively trying to clean up their image."

– - -
The Republicans are trying to clean up their image? What about Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska? What about Bob Allen, McCain's Florida co-chairman soliciting for sex? What about Thomas Ravenel, Giuliani's South Carolina Campaign manager facing cocaine charges? What about Sen. David Vitter's infidelity? No Republican wants to discuss the man who replaced the similarly disgraced Sen. Robert Livingstone. Republican morality ends if there's a chance he would be replaced by a Democrat. What did the Republicans do about Dennis Hastert and the others who knew about Rep. Mark Foley? What about the pardoning of 4-time felon Scooter Libby? If they care about their image so much, why do so many want Newt Gingrich to run again?

Republicans have jumped on Craig because they know they can pretend they are not hypocrites and safely get him replaced with another Republican.

Oh Waaah. You've got your spot in the Idaho Hall of Shame. What did you expect. The red carpet?

While looking for anonymous, homosexual sex in an airport bathroom is irresponsible, it probably doesn't disqualify Craig from being a senator. What does is his sorry, naive attempt at covering up the incident. He's a cheat and a liar, plain and simple.

CJ, Richmond VA

I hope you understand we are past the stage of whether Sen. Craig lied or not.

In his speech he mentioned he intends to resign, and had not tendered his resignation.

So will you please move on.

Now as Sen. Craig mentioned, he has strong suspicion he was setup. And I cannot fault him for thinking that. I also do not imply that officer Dave had the intention to incriminate Sen. Craig.

But somehow Sen. Craig's story does ring a bell somewhere that he was setup. And it would be worth while to explore that possibility.

Remember that Sen. Craig is elected memeber of senate from Idaho and he has support from his people, so your worthless talk about team does not wash.

Maybe these two boys should take it outside....or into the men's room.

Senator Craig, you pled guilty. Now you say you're not guilty. LIE # 1. You said you'd resign if the guilty plea was not retractable. You haven't. LIE #2. Why should anyone want you on their team?

Larry Craig threw himself "under a bus" by violating the trust placed in him by Idaho voters, his wife, family, and country as a whole.

Evidently Craig has no shame and does not care that he is harming the Republican Party during this critical presidential race. My sincere sympathy to his long suffering wife.

Anyone with an ounce of political fairness knows that Larry Craig does NOT represent all Republicans any more than Marion Barry and Bill Clinton represented all Democrats during their respective sex scandals.

Lets see, you embarrass Romney and somehow it is his fault?

Many GOP leaders have put their support behind Larry Craig, and Romney did indeed throw him under the campaign bus. But is that really that surprising? Romney is trying to court fundamentalist Christians who believe homosexuality is a sin. And Craig is deluding himself if he thinks he wouldn't do the same thing.

Larry Craig is one of the biggest whiners in American politics to date. "What do you think about that 'Senator'?"

Is there a group counseling session available for those high people in the public eye who have embarrassed themselves in front of a mass audience or in front of the public medium of reporting?

George Michael, Pee Wee (Paul Reubens), Jerry Lee Lewis, nearly every teen idol...

My mama used to say it makes you feel good when you talk about a particularly bad experience and get it off your chest.

Whether Mr. Romney set you up or was it Karl Rove does not matter (as proposed by Keith Franklin, TN).

What matter is "In the end, the universe tends unfold as it should".

Romney should have held his head in the toilet and given him a couple of good swirlies. Maybe that would make him think twice before tap dancing in the men’s bathroom next time..

Well, duh... when corruption and scandal are what the Republican Party is being known for in the minds of most lately, there's something to be said for draining the swamp... Sen. Craig thought he could try to hide from his actions, and it's right for members of his party to ask him, for their own sake, to step aside.

Larry Craig probably thought he could stay a respected member of the party through all this... unfortunately for him, he's not in the same party as William Jefferson, Barney Frank, or Ted Kennedy, but rather a party that is actively trying to clean up their image.

Let's all cry for poor Senator Bathroom Craig! My gawd – the guy speaks and acts with forked tongue and then he wants someone to feel sorry for him! Yeesh, that's what is wrong with politics from Hillary to the White House!

First of all, I think Craig should do the people of Idaho a favor: either step down as senator, or admit to being gay (or both).

Also, if found guilty as admitted, Senator Craig will hurt Romney's campaign as a result of the association.

As he should have..

HE RIGHTFULLY SHOULD HAVE THROWN YOU INTO A FIRE OF SOME SORTS. OR POSSIBLY INTO A VAT OF SOME SORT OF CAUSTIC LIQUID. ANYTHING TO MAKE THIS DISGRACE DISSAPPEAR FROM THE FACE OF AMERICAN POLITICS FOREVER.

Hypocrisy at work!!

All we need know is Karl Rove to come out and show that Romney set Craig up with the cops.

How does any regular Republican stomach this Hall-of Shamer??????????