BREAKING NEWS: Sen. Craig to resign

The Associated Press is reporting out of Boise, Idaho that Sen. Larry Craig has decided to resign his Senate seat and will make the formal announcement Saturday.  It will be welcome news among his party members in Washington and reportedly take effect Sept. 30.

Earlier today, we reported the following on the scandal involving the 62-year-old Republican's arrest in a Minneapolis men's room for lewd conduct: He pled guilty later to disorderly conduct charges and denied that he was gay. But his political support rapidly began evaporating. And it creates more political woes heading into 2008 for Republicans, already laboring under an unpopular war and president and nearly twice as many Senate seats as Democrats to defend in the November 2008 election.

With the exception of Idaho's GOP Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, a longtime friend, fellow Republicans rapidly distanced themselves from Craig. This included presidential candidate Mitt Romney, whose campaign Craig was supporting. Several, including Sen. John McCain of Arizona, called for his immediate resignation; others, especially those who also face re-election challenges next year, strongly hinted that Craig's departure would be a good thing.

"If I was in a position like that," said Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who heads the Republican Senate campaign committee, "that's what I would do. He's going to have to answer that for himself."

GOP Senate leadership also got Craig's resignation from all committee assignments and sought an ethics committee investigation, though his misdemeanor offense may not violate Senate rules.

Political sources in Idaho, where the three-term Craig has received very little public support, say talks have been held between Craig and Otter, the goal being to name a replacement Republican as soon as possible to get past the scandal and allow another Republican to hold the seat next year in the strongly GOP state. Although Rep. Mike Simpson has been mentioned as a possible replacement, the most likely new nominee would be Lt. Gov. Jim Risch, who served as acting governor for seven months last year when Dirk Kempthorne stepped down to become Interior secretary.

The Times has a news story on the likely resignation on this website and in Saturday's print editions.

--Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[Don Anez]

Well........It's a start in the right direction. He should complain. A pension equal to his salary for the rest of his life. I hardly think the punishment fits the crime.
By the by....if it's no sin to be gay ( closeted or not ) then why are all of the hypocritical Presidential hopefuls SUDDENLY distancing themselves from Craig? How can there be a scandal when it's OK to be gay. What are the hopefuls afraid of? This whole thing really BLOWS my mind.

[William Kearns]

So, if Craig resigns, as expected, how much pension and benefits will he get for the rest of his life after his lengthy tenure in Congress?

(Ans: By law, members of Congress are paid $165,200 a year. They must serve at least five years to qualify for a pension. All members pay 1.3% of their salary into a pension fund and 6.2% into Social Security. Members are not eligible for any pension until they reach age 50 and then only after 20 years of service. Members are eligible at any age after 25 years of service or reaching age 62. The amount of their pension varies by years of service and the average salary earned in their three highest paid years. No one can receive a pension of more than 80% of their salary.
According to the Congressional Research Service, as of last fall 413 former members were receiving pensions under two different programs with average pensions between $35,952 and $60,972.-AM)

[Some Like It Scott]

Let's face it, if it hadn't been a slow news week or the word "gay" wasn't attached to this story, there would have been no story, just another politician with dirty laundry to sweep under the carpet.
Senator Craig is not a homosexual, he just plays one in public restrooms!
So Craig will resign, they'll try to get rid of gay marriage in Iowa and at the end of the day, we're supposed to worry more about these two situations than the war or the fact everyone is in foreclosure because remember gay is scary, gay is bad but that word attached to anything sells. Hmmm, kind of makes you wonder, huh?

[David Mason]

Sex in public restrooms is a nuisance, equivalent to not picking up after your dog. It hardly rates as a career-ending felony. So let Senator Craig pay the fine, endure a bit of public ridicule, and get on with his job.

But isn't the Senator a hypocrite? You bet. And so are all the officials who support speed limits and then flagrantly disobey them. If all those hypocrites were forced to resign, Washington and virtually all state capitals would empty out.

[Ortho Cerar]

The Republican Party can only improve its chances in the next election by purifying itself of its perverts. Get rid of them, so we can get back to the basics of low taxes, individual freedom and Godly behavior.

[Soulxlight]

Bleh, this shouldn't even be a story . . . why is everyone so interested in what a Senator has done that is so trivial. Wow . . . he is, or isn't gay . . .who really cares. There are far more pressing matters in the world then a old mans personal life. Does it suddenly make him a bad man ? Does it suddenly make you see new insight into his work ? No, so why should it matter ?

[bv]

Most gays do not have sex in the bathrooms. Repressed people like Craig who publically vilify homosexuality almost always turn out to be the ones having sex in the bathrooms!!! Its sad for the healthy,open, and safe gay men everywhere that perverts like Craig make "Gay" a bad word in the public eye.

[don.stuart]

I live in NZ and the more I read about America the more I think it resembles the last days of the Roman Empire. Corruption, scandal, and lack of compassion.The world is going to the dogs and big business doesn't give two hoots as long as they get richer.This baloney about Democracy only applies when it suits.If Saddam had any sense and cuddled up to Bush he'd still be in power like the Saudis,where's the Democracy there? If there is a God then please let him save us from all the religious nuts in this world and that includes Americans.Most of my heroes are Americans but the country they come from is letting the rest of the world down.

[Sam Miller]

Senator Craig's sin is not homosexuality, but hypocrisy. There seems to be a rash of "thou dost protest too loudly" comeuppances as of late, and its about time. (Too bad the Good Reverend Falwell passed away before his personal preferences became public knowledge.) All of this is great stuff, and it is only with difficulty that I accept it as truth, not some cheap novel. The Greeks understood hubris, 2500 years ago. Perhaps it is time we remembered it.

[jim]

I think saddam was willing to work with bush & the u.s. saddam was a tyrant and his sons sound like two of the worst monsters that ever walked the face of the earth, but he was a pragmatic man and would have restored good relations with the u.s. if given the opportunity. america's arbitrary and irrational foreign policy creates more havoc than solves problems or improves our country's best interests. iraq was secure and stable under saddam, & the iraqi people were safe as long as they did not break the law or criticize saddam; iraq was a strong counter to iran, and saddam did not allow either al-quida or islamic extremists to challenge his rule. now look at what a mess that country is. senator craig is the hot story, the day though, like it makes any real difference.

[Timothy Anderson]

Using his senate I.D. card to scare the officer into giving him a pass
when showing the officer his senatorial business card " What do you thnk of this"

Disgusting

Not such a big shot now. " Honest Cop"

[tony]

It's about time he resigned. His real "crime" is not soliciting sex in a restroom, but hypocrisy and his homophobic activities against gays and lesbians over the years.

Foley, Haggard, Vetter, and Craig - makes you wonder about "conservative Christian family values" types. .... finally there is some justice.

[John Law]

This is so funny. The guy was caught in an airport terlet. Couldn't he have just had a little meetup via craigslist at a 3 star no tell motel?

stupid republicans.