PrintOctober 5, 2007
Larry Craig Will Remain In the Senate
This is really getting to be a bad joke.
Despite the fact that a Minnesota judge refused to throw out his guilty plea for disorderly conduct at the Minneapolis airport and despite his promise to resign by September 30, Idaho Senator Larry Craig will remain in the Senate until his term ends.
At least that's what he thinks.
"I will continue to serve Idaho in the United States Senate, and there are several reasons for that. As I continued to work for Idaho over the past three weeks here in the Senate, I have seen that it is possible for me to work here effectively.Craig is kidding himself if he thinks he's going to be effective. Minority Leader McConnel will now try to get the ethics committee to recommend that Craig be expelled from the Senate - an extreme step but considering Craig's reluctance to face reality, it may be the only thing left.
"Over the course of my three terms in the Senate and five terms in the House, I have accumulated seniority and important committee assignments that are valuable to Idaho, not the least of which are my seats on the Appropriations Committee, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Veterans' Affairs Committee. A replacement would be highly unlikely to obtain these posts.
"In addition, I will continue my effort to clear my name in the Senate Ethics Committee - something that is not possible if I am not serving in the Senate.
"When my term has expired, I will retire and not seek reelection. I hope this provides the certainty Idaho needs and deserves."
Craig is in for some hard times once the ethics committee gets going. There is other ammunition out there that could implicate him in other acts that the Senate considers "immoral." Why Craig wants to go through such a public airing of his private sins is beyond understanding.
Perhaps sooner rather than later, he will take the hints being proferred and just leave.
