IWA For Sunday 090207

Hey folks,

Here is another, was there any doubt? moments.

It’s Sunday, time for the IWA. This weeks winner? Of course you know. Remember last weeks winner?

"This weeks winner had everything. Fortune and fame. A promising long term career in what he loved. Big houses, great cars, everything. Now?"

This week is the same thing.

Of course I’m talking about Sen., make that EX-Senator, Larry Craig. According to the AP -Sen. Craig resigns over sex sting By JOHN MILLER and MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press Writers

Idaho Sen. Larry Craig resigned Saturday over a men's room sex sting, bowing to pressure from fellow Republicans worried about a scandal dimming their election prospects.

"I apologize for what I have caused," Craig said.

Craig's resignation completed a stunning downfall that began Monday with the disclosure that he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge following his arrest during a sex sting in a Minneapolis airport men's room.

Now I’m sorry folks. I do not know if he ACTUALLY broke a law. I do not know if he is ACTUALLY Gay. I do not know what in the blue hell he was thinking. But he PLEADED GUILTY!

Although leading members of his own party had called for him to step down, Craig steadfastly resisted resigning for days, contending that he had done nothing wrong and that his only mistake was pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said from Kentucky that Craig made a difficult decision, but the right one.

"It is my hope he will be remembered not for this, but for his three decades of dedicated public service," McConnell said. McConnell had been one of Craig's harshest critics, calling his actions "unforgivable."

30 years!

He and other GOP leaders asked Craig to give up his senior positions on Senate committees on Wednesday, a day after they asked the Senate ethics committee to investigate his actions.

Craig spokesman Sidney Smith said he didn't know if Craig would return to Washington.

"We haven't decided that yet, whether he's going to return or not," Smith said.

Craig was defiant after the arrest and guilty plea were first reported. I am not gay. I never have been gay, he declared Tuesday in Boise, Idaho, with his wife, Suzanne, at his side. He said he had kept the incident from aides, friends and family and pleaded guilty in hopes of making it go away.

Craig, 62, represented Idaho in Congress for more than a quarter-century and was up for re-election next year. He had not said if he would run for a fourth term in 2008 and had been expected to announce his plans this fall.

"It is with sadness and deep regret that I announce it is my intent to resign from the Senate effective Sept. 30," Craig said, with his wife again at his side and Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter standing behind him.

"For any public official at this moment in time to be standing with Larry Craig is in itself a humbling experience," Craig said.

Craig was arrested June 11 in a police undercover vice operation in a men's room at the Minneapolis airport. The arresting officer, Sgt. Dave Karsnia, said in his report that the restroom is a known location for homosexual activity.

"I am not gay. I never have been gay," Craig said at a news conference here Tuesday, a day after his guilty plea became public.

Republicans, worried about the scandal's effect on next year's election, suffered a further setback Friday when veteran Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia announced he will retire rather than seek a sixth term. Democrats captured Virginia's other Senate seat from the GOP in the 2006 election.

You see this, as a side note, is what drives me nuts. He was doing SOMETHING that at least seems unseemly. His own party lead the charge to have him resign. The MMD have a field day, completely ignoring more important unseemly behavior by Supreme Leader Wannabe Hillary in fund rising. Again. Yet anytime a Democrat gets caught, they STAY, and the MMD give them a free ride. This should in no way effect the elections. But, I have two words for you. Mark Foley.

Otter said Saturday he has not chosen a replacement, although several Republicans familiar with internal deliberations said he favored Republican Lt. Gov. Jim Risch. He called speculation that he has made a choice dead wrong.

Otter declined to say when he would fill the seat.

Craig opposes gay marriage and has a strong record against gay rights. He was a leading voice in the Senate on gun issues and Western lands. Craig chaired the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and was a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, where he was adept at securing federal money for Idaho projects.

A fiscal and social conservative, Craig sometimes broke with his party, notably on immigration, where he pushed changes that many in his party said offered amnesty to illegal immigrants. Much of the impetus behind Craig's push to ease bureaucratic hurdles to immigrant farm workers stemmed from his background as a rancher and the state's large rural, farming community.

Craig has faced rumors about his sexuality since the 1980s. He has called assertions that he has engaged in gay sex ridiculous.

"I have little control over what people choose to believe," he said Saturday. "But clearly my name is important to me and my family is so very important also."

But you had control in what you did in a BATHROOM!

Craig said pursuing legal efforts to clear his name would be an unwanted and unfair distraction from my job and for my Senate colleagues. The people of Idaho deserve a senator who can devote 100 percent of his time and effort to the critical issues of our state and of our nation.

You know folks, I wish the Ex-Senator well. I hope that he and his family can work through this. He did the right thing in resigning. But, here we go again, someone that had everything, throwing it all away for WHAT? Congratulations Larry, if you did this, you’re an idiot. If you did NOT do anything wrong, you are an even BIGGER idiot for pleading guilty. Either way, you ARE the idiot of the week.

I do sincerely mean this. I hope you and your family can get through this mess intact. Now, go hug your kids and tell them you love them.
Peter