The New York Times, which failed to make a sex-scandal charge against John McCain stick, has settled for the scalp of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, exposing his involvement with high-priced prostitutes that will likely lead to his resignation.
Spitzer, whose career was built on bull-in-the-china-shop pursuit of corporate malfeasance as Attorney General of New York and whose term in Albany has made him less than lovable, will get little sympathy from politicians, the press and most of the public, but journalistically, there are some troubling questions.
"Mr. Spitzer’s involvement with the prostitution operation came to light in court papers filed last week," the Times reports today, citing unnamed "federal authorities" and "officials," although Spitzer was not named in the affidavit by Assistant US Attorneys.
The case started with IRS investigation of "suspicious transactions" about possible bribery, but it soon became clear from wiretaps authorized by the US Attorney General (Alberto Gonzales?) that Spitzer's financial gyrations involved sex rather than official corruption.
The prostitution ring is now being prosecuted, but Spitzer's legal exposure seems limited to possible charges of "a crime called structuring" that involves concealing of payments and sources.
What, then, justifies the outing of Spitzer at this point by anonymous federal officials and the Times of activity that so far has not been deemed illegal and does not involve his duties as Governor?
Spitzer's leaving office in this situation would be in sharp contrast to two Senators who remain in their positions, Louisiana's David Vitter, who admitted patronizing prostitutes last year, and Larry Craig, who pled guilty to soliciting men's room sex but was defended by the ACLU on the basis that it was private behavior.
John McCain is likable and Eliot Spitzer is far from lovable, but does that difference justify his destruction by front-page exposure of personal misbehavior?
Showing posts with label Sen. Larry Craig. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sen. Larry Craig. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Mile-High Club Comes Down to Earth
If the ACLU has its way, the thrill of the forbidden will disappear from air travel. In a brief today supporting Sen. Larry Craig, the freedom-loving organization argues that people who have sex in public rest rooms "have a reasonable expectation of privacy."
Should the Idaho Senator prevail in an effort to withdraw his guilty plea of disorderly conduct during a men's room sting at the Minneapolis airport, the Mile-High Club will have to disband. What would be the point of in-flight lavatory liaisons if they were completely legal, even before takeoff?
In its brief, the ACLU asserts, "The government cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Senator Craig was inviting the undercover officer to engage in anything other than sexual intimacy that would not have called attention to itself in a closed stall in the public restroom."
The defenders of Larry Craig may end up expanding civil liberties but striking a blow at one of the few well-established ways of relieving the tedium of long flights.
Should the Idaho Senator prevail in an effort to withdraw his guilty plea of disorderly conduct during a men's room sting at the Minneapolis airport, the Mile-High Club will have to disband. What would be the point of in-flight lavatory liaisons if they were completely legal, even before takeoff?
In its brief, the ACLU asserts, "The government cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Senator Craig was inviting the undercover officer to engage in anything other than sexual intimacy that would not have called attention to itself in a closed stall in the public restroom."
The defenders of Larry Craig may end up expanding civil liberties but striking a blow at one of the few well-established ways of relieving the tedium of long flights.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Larry Craig Is Sticking to His Guns
Washington's Walking Embarrassment is still sitting proudly in his Senate seat and, along with his Idaho colleague, Michael Crapo (sic), is blocking President Bush’s nomination of Michael Sullivan to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
According to the Editorial Board blog of the New York Times, "Mr. Crapo’s spokesman said his boss is hearing from gun owners and dealers with 'concerns about ATF policies regarding gun sales and even ownership.' It may be, he said, 'that the federal government is getting a little too aggressive with people who haven’t done anything wrong.'
"It’s a remarkable claim to make in a month in which a young gunman in Nebraska shot 11 people, killing eight of them, at an Omaha shopping mall, and another killed four young people in two attacks on religious organizations in Colorado, before taking his own life.
"The Colorado gunman, according to the Denver Post, spent a year buying guns and ammunition...and all of his purchases were within the law. When a large shipment of ammunition was sent to a post office box owned by the gunman, the authorities were alerted, the paper reports--and specifically determined that he had a legal right to receive it."
Awaiting action by the Senate Ethics Committee on his little Minneapolis men's room misunderstanding, Sen. Craig is sticking to his guns maintaining the record that earned him an A+ from the National Rifle Association. The voters who saw him inducted into Idaho's Hall of Fame this fall must be proud.
According to the Editorial Board blog of the New York Times, "Mr. Crapo’s spokesman said his boss is hearing from gun owners and dealers with 'concerns about ATF policies regarding gun sales and even ownership.' It may be, he said, 'that the federal government is getting a little too aggressive with people who haven’t done anything wrong.'
"It’s a remarkable claim to make in a month in which a young gunman in Nebraska shot 11 people, killing eight of them, at an Omaha shopping mall, and another killed four young people in two attacks on religious organizations in Colorado, before taking his own life.
"The Colorado gunman, according to the Denver Post, spent a year buying guns and ammunition...and all of his purchases were within the law. When a large shipment of ammunition was sent to a post office box owned by the gunman, the authorities were alerted, the paper reports--and specifically determined that he had a legal right to receive it."
Awaiting action by the Senate Ethics Committee on his little Minneapolis men's room misunderstanding, Sen. Craig is sticking to his guns maintaining the record that earned him an A+ from the National Rifle Association. The voters who saw him inducted into Idaho's Hall of Fame this fall must be proud.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Why Didn't Larry Craig Think of That?
In the old I-was-doing-it-as-research ploy, a Vatican official caught soliticing gay sex claims that he only pretended to be gay in order to gather information about "those who damage the image of the Church with homosexual activity."
Nonetheless, Monsignor Tommaso Stenico was suspended after being filmed making advances to a young man and asserting that gay sex was not sinful on a television program.
The Monsignor insists he is heterosexual but remained faithful to his vow of celibacy and expects to be fully exonerated after a review.
Back here, his counterpart, Sen. Larry Craig is fighting on as well. In an interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer, he says he will seek vindication from the Senate Ethics Committee and is particularly rueful about being fired as Senate chairman of Mitt Romney’s Presidential campaign.
"I was very proud of my association with Mitt Romney," Craig told Lauer. "... And he not only threw me under his campaign bus, he backed up and ran over me again."
Nothing, however, about vows of celibacy.
Nonetheless, Monsignor Tommaso Stenico was suspended after being filmed making advances to a young man and asserting that gay sex was not sinful on a television program.
The Monsignor insists he is heterosexual but remained faithful to his vow of celibacy and expects to be fully exonerated after a review.
Back here, his counterpart, Sen. Larry Craig is fighting on as well. In an interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer, he says he will seek vindication from the Senate Ethics Committee and is particularly rueful about being fired as Senate chairman of Mitt Romney’s Presidential campaign.
"I was very proud of my association with Mitt Romney," Craig told Lauer. "... And he not only threw me under his campaign bus, he backed up and ran over me again."
Nothing, however, about vows of celibacy.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
All Eyes on Idaho
Electors of the state’s Hall of Fame were prescient last spring when they chose Sen. Larry Craig to be one of this year’s new inductees.
At the ceremonies this weekend to honor his “great contribution to Idaho over the period of 20-some years,” the state should be getting more media attention than it has had for half a century since Marilyn Monroe posed for the cameras wearing an Idaho potato sack.
It’s heartening to see one of less populous states getting some national attention.
At the ceremonies this weekend to honor his “great contribution to Idaho over the period of 20-some years,” the state should be getting more media attention than it has had for half a century since Marilyn Monroe posed for the cameras wearing an Idaho potato sack.
It’s heartening to see one of less populous states getting some national attention.
Monday, October 01, 2007
U. S. Senate in the Toilet
If Republicans follow through on their threats, some time this month six United States Senators will gather in a hearing room to study and debate urgent questions about a men’s room stall in the Minneapolis-St. Paul air terminal.
Ending the war in Iraq, starting one in Iran and health care for poor children will have to wait while the Senate Ethics Committee considers charges against Larry Craig, brought by the Republican leadership to embarrass him into resigning his seat, as he had promised to by the end of September but now shows no sign of doing.
Senators would publicly examine such weighty matters as the original allegation against Craig of "interference with privacy" for peeping into the stall occupied by an undercover police officer as well as witnesses and documents.
The committee could also spend time looking for "a pattern of conduct" by combing court records elsewhere to find out if Craig has had prior arrests.
To unsophisticated taxpayers, this may look like burning down the barn to get rid of a field mouse, but Senate leaders will do anything to keep the place squeaky clean.
Ending the war in Iraq, starting one in Iran and health care for poor children will have to wait while the Senate Ethics Committee considers charges against Larry Craig, brought by the Republican leadership to embarrass him into resigning his seat, as he had promised to by the end of September but now shows no sign of doing.
Senators would publicly examine such weighty matters as the original allegation against Craig of "interference with privacy" for peeping into the stall occupied by an undercover police officer as well as witnesses and documents.
The committee could also spend time looking for "a pattern of conduct" by combing court records elsewhere to find out if Craig has had prior arrests.
To unsophisticated taxpayers, this may look like burning down the barn to get rid of a field mouse, but Senate leaders will do anything to keep the place squeaky clean.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The Larry Craig Saga Goes On
American weirdness is alive and well.
The embattled senator from Idaho was back in Washington yesterday casting votes and having lunch with his colleagues as the ACLU came to his defense and his bathroom stall in the Minneapolis/St. Paul air terminal became a mecca for tourists.
Craig’s appearance may be a last hurrah before leaving the Senate, but he is still trying to withdraw his Minneapolis guilty plea and is getting legal support from an unlikely source.
"To be able to solicit sex in private, in public spaces, for instance, is constitutionally protected speech," according to Anthony Romero, the executive director of the ACLU.
No word on whether there are plans for a bronze plaque commemorating the First Amendment for the men's room stall. Stay tuned.
The embattled senator from Idaho was back in Washington yesterday casting votes and having lunch with his colleagues as the ACLU came to his defense and his bathroom stall in the Minneapolis/St. Paul air terminal became a mecca for tourists.
Craig’s appearance may be a last hurrah before leaving the Senate, but he is still trying to withdraw his Minneapolis guilty plea and is getting legal support from an unlikely source.
"To be able to solicit sex in private, in public spaces, for instance, is constitutionally protected speech," according to Anthony Romero, the executive director of the ACLU.
No word on whether there are plans for a bronze plaque commemorating the First Amendment for the men's room stall. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Whither Vitter: Sex, Lies and Polygraphs
In questioning Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker today, Sen. David Vitter cited “ups and downs” in Iraq. Before the day was out, Vitter was on his own roller coaster and, after escaping his D.C. Madam crisis, the Senator may be heading for Larry Craigland this time.
Public-spirited Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler, paid for a lie detector test for Wendy Cortez, a former prostitute in New Orleans who claimed that she had a "sexual relationship" with Vitter through an escort service three times a week over at least four months.
She passed the test and, as the story breaks today, Vitter will have to deal not only with additional sexual peccadilloes but lying about them in public. He has repeatedly denied Ms. Cortez’ story but, if further evidence supports her claim, there will be some serious explaining to do.
After the Craig to-do, Republicans will be under pressure to show they are not homophobic. Ethics committee, anyone?
Public-spirited Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler, paid for a lie detector test for Wendy Cortez, a former prostitute in New Orleans who claimed that she had a "sexual relationship" with Vitter through an escort service three times a week over at least four months.
She passed the test and, as the story breaks today, Vitter will have to deal not only with additional sexual peccadilloes but lying about them in public. He has repeatedly denied Ms. Cortez’ story but, if further evidence supports her claim, there will be some serious explaining to do.
After the Craig to-do, Republicans will be under pressure to show they are not homophobic. Ethics committee, anyone?
Thursday, September 06, 2007
A Boycott of Larry Craig's Oppressors
After the Virginia Tech massacre, a few courageous believers in the Second Amendment, Fred Thompson among them, spoke up and put the blame where it belonged, on those who let innocent students and faculty be killed by not being armed.
Now, public-spirited citizens of the American Land Rights Association are speaking out on behalf of Larry Craig, denouncing the “Gestapo tactics” of the Minneapolis police and calling for a boycott of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Air Terminal.
“This is a really serious case of police overreaching, and the victim here is Larry Craig and the Constitution of the United States,” civil libertarian Ben Stein declared on Fox News.
No word from the ACLU as yet.
Now, public-spirited citizens of the American Land Rights Association are speaking out on behalf of Larry Craig, denouncing the “Gestapo tactics” of the Minneapolis police and calling for a boycott of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Air Terminal.
“This is a really serious case of police overreaching, and the victim here is Larry Craig and the Constitution of the United States,” civil libertarian Ben Stein declared on Fox News.
No word from the ACLU as yet.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
"Die Hard" Starring Larry Craig
Now that he is represented by Michael Vick’s lawyer, Sen. Craig may not be going to the dogs after all. Spurred on by Arlen Specter’s unsolicited legal advice, the Idaho Republican is now prepared to embarrass both parties by putting himself, and the rest of us, through a Senate Ethics Committee hearing to determine if his men’s room behavior was inappropriate.
If this comes to pass, the sessions should be held in secret, not on the grounds of national security, but to save whatever shreds of national sanity remain.
If this comes to pass, the sessions should be held in secret, not on the grounds of national security, but to save whatever shreds of national sanity remain.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Mitt Romney, Meet Barry Goldwater
The Mr. Clean of Republican hopefuls gave his supporters a sample today of the moral probity he would bring to the White House.
Asked about the arrest of Sen. Larry Craig,” Mitt Romney told an interviewer, “Very disappointing. He's no longer associated with my campaign, as you can imagine...he was one of those who was helping my effort, and I'm sorry to see that he has fallen short.”
After unloading Craig, Romney went on to link him to Bill Clinton and “the fact that he let us down in his personal conduct with a White House intern” and sum up his feelings about their disappointing behavior, “Frankly, it's disgusting.”
In 1964, three weeks before the election, Lyndon Johnson’s closest aide Walter Jenkins was arrested in the men’s room of a YMCA near the White House for doing what Craig is now alleged to have attempted.
Barry Goldwater, the Republican candidate for President, refused to comment. In his autobiography, Goldwater late wrote, "It was a sad time for Jenkins' wife and children, and I was not about to add to their private sorrow. Winning isn't everything. Some things, like loyalty to friends or lasting principle, are more important."
But that was before the term “compassionate conservative” had been invented.
Asked about the arrest of Sen. Larry Craig,” Mitt Romney told an interviewer, “Very disappointing. He's no longer associated with my campaign, as you can imagine...he was one of those who was helping my effort, and I'm sorry to see that he has fallen short.”
After unloading Craig, Romney went on to link him to Bill Clinton and “the fact that he let us down in his personal conduct with a White House intern” and sum up his feelings about their disappointing behavior, “Frankly, it's disgusting.”
In 1964, three weeks before the election, Lyndon Johnson’s closest aide Walter Jenkins was arrested in the men’s room of a YMCA near the White House for doing what Craig is now alleged to have attempted.
Barry Goldwater, the Republican candidate for President, refused to comment. In his autobiography, Goldwater late wrote, "It was a sad time for Jenkins' wife and children, and I was not about to add to their private sorrow. Winning isn't everything. Some things, like loyalty to friends or lasting principle, are more important."
But that was before the term “compassionate conservative” had been invented.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Tempest in a Tearoom
In August, when Washington politicians are all somewhere else, news of outrageous behavior by politicians is at a premium. Alberto Gonzales filled the void yesterday with his long-awaited resignation. Today it’s Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho.
Scandal-starved MSM journalists and, even more so, bloggers are feasting on the news that another Republican defender of family values has been caught literally with his pants down. News of Craig’s arrest and guilty plea on charges of lewd conduct in a Minneapolis airline terminal rest room was quickly followed by his resignation as Senate co-chairman of Mitt Romney’s Presidential campaign.
Getting past the familiar gabble at the hypocrisy of Republican defenders of family values, Craig’s downfall (the clamor will almost certainly lead to his departure from the Senate) highlights the persistence of odd public behavior in our supposedly enlightened age.
When Sen. David Vitter was brought low by disclosure of his phone calls to the D. C. Madam, it was another instance of furtive deviant behavior in a private setting. But Craig’s solicitation of sex in a public place is a reminder that anonymous homosexual encounters in “tearooms” are far from a practice of the past.
Moral outrage seems to be the reaction of choice to this kind of behavior. Sadness might be another.
Scandal-starved MSM journalists and, even more so, bloggers are feasting on the news that another Republican defender of family values has been caught literally with his pants down. News of Craig’s arrest and guilty plea on charges of lewd conduct in a Minneapolis airline terminal rest room was quickly followed by his resignation as Senate co-chairman of Mitt Romney’s Presidential campaign.
Getting past the familiar gabble at the hypocrisy of Republican defenders of family values, Craig’s downfall (the clamor will almost certainly lead to his departure from the Senate) highlights the persistence of odd public behavior in our supposedly enlightened age.
When Sen. David Vitter was brought low by disclosure of his phone calls to the D. C. Madam, it was another instance of furtive deviant behavior in a private setting. But Craig’s solicitation of sex in a public place is a reminder that anonymous homosexual encounters in “tearooms” are far from a practice of the past.
Moral outrage seems to be the reaction of choice to this kind of behavior. Sadness might be another.
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