But as much as he disgusts me, I do not believe it is my place, nor is it the place of the Senate Republicans who are more worried about their own collective skins, to make Craig leave before the end of his term.

The GOP gay bashers brought this on themselves – THATS THE STORY! The Moral Majority is NOT!

I am an avid reader and commentor on CNN Political Ticker. Every time I see your name, you are complaining about the stories that CNN is reporting. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, STOP READING IT. It's really simple.

Craig will be used as a buffoon by every Democrat running for office.

Only the Republicans make such a big show about hating homosexuals, than try to lie and obfuscate when several of their own engage in that exact behavior. People also notice that Vitter is being given special treatment, 'cause Lousianans would vote in a Dem about 10 seconds after Vitter resigned.

No, this is hurting the Republicans. And I love it. Bunch of dictator-supporting losers.

Keep laying on the hypocrisy. GOP = Gays Or Perverts.

Craig staying in office through the rest of his term is just one more nail in the Republican party's coffin when it comes to trying to regain the majority. In fact, it's as if the Republican's are actively seeking a "permanent minority" (ala Karl Rove) through the proliferation of their hypocritical and corrupt actions.

Great post!

THOMAS BILLIS las vegas nv

Absolutely terrific point, I'm a proud Dem, and I support Craig to stay in office. Frankly, his explanation for his behavior in the bathroom is a bit shaky. However, I don't think that his actions alone warrant an arrest. In other words, they arrested him for actions that MIGHT be indicative of soliciting sex, but you can't assume that somebody is intending to solicit sex until something is exchanged (money or whatever).

;^)

The Republican double standard here is astounding, to the point of absurdity. Sen. Ensign and his hypocritical colleagues think Craig should leave but conveniently overlook Vitter's illegal indiscretions, since it happened while he was a member of the House. Forget the fact that he was still a lawmaker at the time (minor technicality). Give me a break. If that is their definition of "principle", it is no wonder I changed affiliations. I’m sorry to admit that I was ever a Republican, considering what a farce and national shame that party has become.

So, when Republicans want to knock Craig out of their party, it has nothing to do with a stand against immorality. It is because he's a political liability.

jimmy

Prostitution is not simply a crime but it is a crime that supports other criminal activities. Prostitution has long been a big money making venture for organized crime. Its run by the same people and organizations that distribute narcotics. The people who run these organizations are responsible for much of the violent crime in our country. By engaging prostitutes, Senator Vitter is supporting violent crime in our nation.

Senator Craig did nothing of the sort. Senator Vitter's wrong doings cause much greater harm to our nation than Senator Craig. If Craig must go, so should Vitter.

Another excellent point, could not have said it better, Thanks

http://www.yourdailyawesome.com/2007/09/25/susan-savage-rumbaugh-and-the-amazing-bonobo-apes/

None!

They don't screw in light bulbs, they screw in the head.

Oh, it's not about justice. Only about the 2008 election. Thanks for making that crystal clear Sen. Ensign.

They're stuck with a closeted gay Senator in denial – kind of like the whole Re-PUBE-lican party is in denial about their manipulation of the gullible rubes on the right with "family values" and their denial of the rampant corruption they've been responsible for from allowing special interests to write whole sections of laws – for a price of course – to the stunning lack of oversight of the Bush Administration from wire tapping to contractor fraud.

Makes you wonder what the GOP – the Gay Old Party – will come up with next.

"Those of us who thought Bill Clinton was getting railroaded owe to our consciences to maintain consistency."

Posted By THOMAS BILLIS las vegas nv :

Thomas; while it appears you and I are on the same side of the political spectrum, I'm afraid you have totally missed the point. Larry Craig should not be pushed into resigning because he solicited sex with an undercover cop in a public restroom. He should not be pushed into resigning if he is indeed gay. He should not be pushed into resigning even because he pleaded guilty. HE SHOULD BE PUSHED INTO RESIGNING BECAUSE OF THE HYPOCRISY. He has spent most of his legislative career bashing gay people and it turns out he most likely is one himself.

But am I missing something? Did they legalize prostitution in Washington while I was sleeping? If they didn't, then Senator Vitter is self-admittedly also guilty of a crime. He just hasn't been convicted in a court of law.

I guess to most Republicans extra-marital sex is a crime if it is with a man, but just a sin if it is with a woman, even if she is a prostitute.

What will those clever Republicans think of next?

Absolutely terrific point, I'm a proud Dem, and I support Craig to stay in office. Frankly, his explanation for his behavior in the bathroom is a bit shaky. However, I don't think that his actions alone warrant an arrest. In other words, they arrested him for actions that MIGHT be indicative of soliciting sex, but you can't assume that somebody is intending to solicit sex until actual money is exchanged

On the other hand, picking up perfect strangers to have sex with in a public bathroom, in an airport no less, I mean, come on ...

Do we really want folks with so little self-respect and who obviously care so little about themselves to be in the US Senate? Charged with decisions about who should be on the Supreme Court, War and Peace, and on and on?

I don't think so.

He may be innocent but all signs point otherwise. The court of public opinion is not burdened by concepts like "presumption of innocence" and "beyond all reasonable doubt." With the rumors flying for years, the writings of the major Idaho newspaper, and now an arrest for facts that led Sen. Craig to plead guilty to a misdemeanor to avoid a criminal conviction, I think the burden is on him to dispel the cloud that prevents him from serving in the Senate.

If it don't happen and happen fast, then "Good-bye, Larry Craig. And good riddance." As for all you R's out there, you family values advocates, you moral types, how bout it? Put your political pressure where your mouth has been lo these many years.

As Charlie Brown would say, "good grief!"

As a Republican, I believe that our party is one of principle, and one of those principles is a good moral character

Dan here are some examples of the good moral character that you speak of, from politicians in the GOP. BTW, the Dems are no better.

1. Congressman Mark Foley's abuse of teen-age Congressional pages.
2. Bob Packwood, Senator (R-Ore.), resigned in 1995 under a threat of public senate hearings related to 10 female ex-staffers accusing him of sexual harassment.
3. Tom DeLay -The corruption of House Majority Leader, Tom DeLay, and his gang of "40 thieves" is so extensive that it takes whole web sites to cover, such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_DeLay.
4. Bob Livingston (R-Louisiana) was about to replace Newt Gingrich as Speaker of the House until he resigned in disgrace when it was revealed that he admitted to had been involved in several adulterous affairs.
5.Bob Barr (R-Georgia): has been married three (or is it now four) times. And at a party in 1992, Barr actually licked whipped cream off the breasts of two women, neither of them his current wife. Now that's family values!
6. Dan Burton (R-Indiana): The Chairman of the House Government Reform & Oversight Committee. Following an expose, Burton was forced to admit that he fathered an out-of-wedlock child, a fact he denied for years.

I particularly enjoyed this bit:

"Ensign also dismissed the suggestion that Craig's case is similar to that of Republican Sen. David Vitter, who has admitted to committing a "serious sin" with a Washington prostitute when he served in the House.

"First of all, he never said exactly what he did," Ensign said of Vitter. "Secondly, it happened before he got into the United States Senate, and there were no laws that were broken as far as anybody knows."

Hmmmm committed a "serious sin" with a prostitute....why whatEVER can he possibly mean?? Certainly the embattled Sen. Vitter MUST have been talking about jaywalking...or loitering. I love the feigned ignorance, but Sen. Ensign is fooling NO ONE.

As for Vitter not seeking the services of prostitutes while in the senate – - am I to understand that soliciting the services of prostitutes is now legal as long as you're a member of the house of representatives as opposed to the senate?? No wonder we have 5 times as many house members. I loved Blitzer's LACK OF FOLLOW-UP with that one. WTG Beard.

The only reason republicans are hyperventilating over Craig and not Vitter is that it is convenient for them to express moral outrage at a man (especially when he might be one of teh GAY!!omg!) when there is NO POLITICAL CONSEQUENCE for doing so (Craig), but when it comes to holding fast to those same "values" when faced with the possible loss of a republican held senate seat (Vitter), well then, it's not that important, I mean, God and his wife have forgiven him, right??

Thanks again Sen. Ensign for once again exposing the cognitive dissonance of the Republican party.

Hang in there you Hetro-stud!

If you resign people might think that you were gay or something! God forbid!!