Opinion: BREAKING NEWS: Sen. Craig vows to finish term

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Forget that former Sen. Larry Craig stuff.

The Idaho Republican, who was arrested for soliciting sex in an airport men’s room, pled guilty to disorderly conduct but said he was not gay, received little support from GOP colleagues and became the butt of countless rude latenight jokes before announcing it was his ‘intent’ to resign from office Sept. 30, has changed his mind.

Even though he lost his legal bid to overturn his guilty plea earlier today when a Minnesota judge ruled against him, Craig now says he realizes he can still serve Idaho well and put his long seniority to work so he will complete his term ending January 2009 and then retire.

He said he will continue to explore his legal options and try to clear his name before the Senate Ethics Committee. His decision will not please Republican colleagues who wanted the latest scandal distraction gone. Just the other day, as Craig continued serving beyond his own Sept. 30 deadline, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he still felt resignation was the ‘right choice.’ McConnell cancelled a media availability in Washington this afternoon to avoid talking about the Craig situation.

In a statement Craig said he was ‘extremely disappointed’ with the judge’s ruling and ‘I am innocent of the charges against me.’ The legal problem for him is that he signed an affidavit admitting his guilt, paying a $575 fine and receiving a one-year probation.

Today, Judge Charles A Porter Jr. wrote Craig was ‘a career politician with a college education’ and ‘is of, at least, above average intelligence.’ He added that the plea was ‘accurate, voluntary and intelligent, and because the conviction is supported by the evidence ... the defendant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea is denied.’

In his statement, Craig claimed he realized over the past three weeks that it was possible for him to work effectively in the Senate. ‘Over the course of my three terms in the Senate and five terms in the House,’ Craig said, ‘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.’

He also claimed he could not work to clear his name in the Ethics Committee if he was no longer a senator.

The decision will complicate life for his Senate colleagues, most of whom distanced themselves from Craig after news of his June lavatory arrest and later guilty plea became public.

In an unusual move late today Nevada’s Senator John Ensign, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, called on Craig to quit. ‘He gave us his word that he would resign,’ Ensign said. ‘I’m calling on Sen. Craig to keep his word. If he loves the party, and he loves the Senate, the honorable thing to do is to resign.’

Idaho Gov. C.L. ‘Butch’ Otter, a Republican in a staunchly Republican state who would name Craig’s replacement to fill out the unexpired term, said he was ready to name someone if Craig resigns. Having the remaining months of Craig’s term to build statewide name familiarity would give his replacement a leg-up in the November 2008 election, when Republicans already face defending 22 of the 34 Senate seats up for election. The Friday print edition story is here.

--Andrew Malcolm