August 28, 2007 by Alpha.

So there’s more coming down the pike on Senator Larry Craig’s current situation.

1. Congressional Quarterly reports that Senate GOP leadership will ask the Senate Ethics Committee to open a file on Senator Craig. While I wouldn’t expect any serious repercussions, this is certainly going to keep the story circulating. It also indicates that the Republican Party has no plans to rally around Craig - it looks very much like they’re cutting him off and hoping the stink won’t spread.

2. Speaking of smelly things, Craig has resigned his post as Senate co-chair for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s Presidential race. This could be an issue going forward for Romney, as he was no doubt banking on southern Idaho’s heavy Mormon population for long-term support. Will he be able to get the backing of another major conservative leader in the west?

3. Michelle Malkin’s readers (not usually me, I swear) think Craig should get gone. Malkin herself called Craig “a supremely arrogant lying crapweasel” which may actually enter my personal lexicon. Thanks Michelle, you “supremely arrogant lying crapweasel!” Awesome.

4. Conservatives are jumping all over themselves to give Craig the hairy eyeball, from Malkin (above) to Ari Fleischer to Sam Brownback. And to think that just yesterday I was worried that Dems would look bad for piling on. Since when do Republicans do Democratic dirty work?

5. Finally, Craig on Craig: it’s the Statesman’s fault. That’s right, Senator, blame that notorious left-wing media for all of its, you know, investigative journalism.

In other news, Rep. Brian Baird threw a town hall last night. Brian’s a pretty charismatic guy, alright, but what anti-war Democrat holds a town hall the night after announcing that President Bush’s surge might be helping? Jon Soltz, of VoteVets, showed up and called Baird out on his support for a clearly failing policy.

My question is what Rep. Baird thinks he’s doing here. I’v met the man and most of his staff, and he doesn’t seem to put up with a lot of foolishness. So where’s the percentage here? He took heat for voting against the Iraq war, he took heat in the ‘06 cycle for not being anti-war enough for his more liberal constiuants, and now he’s taking heat for saying we need to give the surge another 6-12 months.

Brian, please. Pick a stance, and stay with it. And if you’re going to pick the least popular of all possible stances, do it with some finesse!

Posted in Idaho, Elections, Washington, Iraq, Campaigns | 1 Comment »

August 27, 2007 by Alpha.

Gonzo is out the door. I hope that I will, one day soon, have the pleasure of posting a mashup of “Hail to the Chief” and “Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead.”

Like the salacious icing on corrupt ineptitude cake, Roll Call is reporting today that, way back in June, Sen. Larry “The Pride of Idaho” Craig was arrested at the Minneapolis airport for “lewd behavior.” Apparently he came on to a (male) plainclothes police sergeant. In an airport bathroom. I couldn’t make this up!

Craig paid a fine, and a 10-day jail sentence was stayed. He is presently serving a year of probation. Apparently Sen. Craig made something of a fuss, presenting the arresting officer with a business card (you know, those sweet looking official Senate business cards that you and I pay for) and asking “What do you think about that?” For some reason I doubt Sen. Craig was attempting to inflate the sergeant’s ego…

Now, I’m reporting on this for three reasons.

Right out of the gate, Senator Craig hasn’t been particularly progressive about gay rights or sexual freedom, so I find the precise circumstances of his “lewd behavior” particularly hypocritical and therefore noteworthy. Nobody gets away with attempting to play “Is that a veto in your pocket?” in an airport bathroom while telling me a little sodomy between friends is wrong. Two words: Bull; Twinkies.

Second, this is just bad politics. Sen. Craig is up for re-election (we presume) in ‘08. Big Gay Dem activist and all-around shenaniganologist Mike Rogers has been sniffing around for a while, and finally declared Craig “outed” last October. Now, those kind of accusations aren’t generally all that sticky (eww!). Craig, and his staff, vociferously refused to acknowledge the accusations, which almost certainly would have eventually evaporated. But when you have a cloud like those accusations hanging over your head, you probably want to take the high road when it comes to public man-on-man canoodling (or “manoodling”, if you will). This smacks of a certain lack of professionalism, no?

Lastly, this story is funny. I won’t lie. This story reminds me of the hilarious revelation that Strom Thurmond, who filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1957 (solo, for over 24 hours!), had a daughter with a black woman. It suggests to me that, at least in America, those who claim to wish to restrict the equality of rights generally do so either through misguided obsession or through cynical public claims.

In all seriousness, I have no doubt that the last several months have been hard on Senator Craig, and that the foreseeable future is no brighter. The Senator has three options: 1. Accept that the people who elected him before aren’t going to elect him again, resign, and let Republican Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter appoint a successor who might be able to win in ‘08; 2. Accept that the people who elected him before aren’t going to elect him again, come to Jesus, and try to get a segment on 60 Minutes explaining why one of America’s biggest gaybashers is, well, a little gay; 3. Refuse to acknowledge that anything happened, blame it all on a Big Gay Conspiracy, remind Idaho’s voters that Nancy Pelosi is from San Francisco (gasp!) and pray that the suckers who’ve elected him to the Senate three times before will do it again.

Of course, deep down in the cockles of my partisan heart, I hope that Senator Craig will run all over the board with this crisis, paralyzing Idaho’s Republican machine and landing a Democrat in an Idaho Senator’s seat. What’s your best guess?

UPDATE: CQ has more, including some comment from Senator Craig’s office. Looks like he’s running with the classic “this is all just a big misunderstanding” opening. I wonder if anyone’s going to come back with the old “just which part aren’t we understanding?” gambit. We shall see.

Posted in 2008, Idaho, Elections | 1 Comment »

June 15, 2007 by Bravo.

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, apparently wants to keep the region’s veterans from getting the care they need. The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin reports that Craig is criticizing an appropriations bill that would actually fund the much-ballyhooed vets outpatient clinic at the VA in Walla Walla. Cathy McMorris Rodgers couldn’t wait to pose for photos with VA Secretary Jim Nicholson last summer when he announced plans for the clinic at a surprise visit.

But it is Sen. Patty Murray who is making the right moves for local vets. Her office is reporting passage of a $3 billion appropriation bill for VA improvements. Part of that bill will move the clinic construction project up on the list of priorities for funding in 2009.

A group of vets and community members, called the Walla Walla Community VA Taskforce, meets monthly to check on progress in restoring services that the hospital has lost in recent years. The 20-member group continues to push for 24/7 emergency services and inpatient hospital beds.

Murray’s appropriations bill next goes into House-Senate negotiations, and vets here are hopeful of a presidential signature by August.

The new director of the Walla Walla and Spokane VA hospitals, Sharon Helman, met with the taskforce Thursday to talk about upcoming plans. She reported that documents have been signed to provide local vets with VA-funded emergency hospital services at the downtown hospitals in Walla Walla. Since the VA emergency room was closed, some local vets have faced long delays and denials in getting VA benefits for emergency services at area hospitals.

The taskforce also got word today that John King, the director of Veterans Affairs for Washington State, has submitted to Congress a bill for approval of a joint effort of the state and the VA to establish an 80-patient nursing home at the VA in Walla Walla.

Vets in Southeastern Washington were promised by two VA directors that all lost services would be restored. They are still waiting for the fulfillment of that promise, especially for emergency and hospital care. Thanks to the efforts of Sen. Murray and others, they have some reason for hope.

You can bet Larry Craig and his cronies will be squealing like stuck pigs at the next vote to bring troops home from Iraq. Yet they don’t seem to want to stand and deliver when it comes to paying the real costs of Bush’s war.

Posted in Idaho, Walla Walla, Rural, Iraq, Rants, Cathy McMorris | No Comments »