Larry Craig’s Denial
In my mind, this is up there with Ted Haggard’s in-the-car interview on the eve of his confession. Anyway, here’s a portion of the chat session in which Adam and I agreed that we couldn’t decide which of our feelings toward Larry Craig was stronger: pity or loathing.
Me: hey, you know what?
Adam: what?
Me: I hear that senator larry craig of idaho… Is. Not. Gay.
Adam: HE LOVES HIS WIFE!
Adam: WHO IS A WOMAN!
And later:
Adam: the thing is, I think that’s the one thing he thinks he’s telling the truth about
Adam: that’s why he’s so emphatic about it
My favorite part is the off-camera question at the end:
Hey, what if you are gay? Come out of the closet.
August 29th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
This is one issue where we here at Lies.com are already on the very bleeding edge of political discourse. I’ll bet this is one of the only blogs on the whole internet where some guy cruising in an airport bathroom has already been linked to a cult of homosexual devil worshippers who hold sacrifices to an owl at a country club and carried out a successful plot to destroy the World Trade Center. Take that, DailyKos! In your face, Talking Points Memo!
August 29th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
I’m glad that this one made it to lies. I don’t know where to start on this. After reading a few articles about this, it’s hard to believe that Larry Craig wasn’t looking for some quick lovin’.
If he is, in fact, gay, should he stand down like former NJ governor what’s-his-name? They have both been outwardly anti-gay. If this guy’s self-prosecuting actions were simply empty political grandstanding, does this say anything about our elected representatives at-large? Is nearly everything that they do some form of BS for personal gain, which is rooted outside any real convictions?
OK, that’s quite a few questions that are almost totally rhetorical. I’ll leave it at that for now.
August 30th, 2007 at 5:57 am
I’m so glad America has all these moral figures to look out for her. Let’s recap for a moment:
Earlier this summer, Louisiana Republican congressman David Vitter admitted to a “very serious sin” after his phone number was found in the book of the so-called D.C. madam.
Last fall, Florida Republican congressman Mark Foley was forced to resign after sending lewd Internet messages to teenage congressional pages.
Americans get much more upset when it comes to abuse of money
They have plenty to get steamed about there, too.
Last year, California Republican Duke Cunningham was sentenced to more than eight years on bribery charges and Bob Ney, an Ohio Republican, was sentenced to 30 months for conspiracy to commit fraud.
FBI agents raided the home of longtime Republican Alaska Senator Ted Stevens last month in a search related to a public corruption investigation.
Arizona Republican congressman Rick Renzi retired this summer while the subject of a justice department probe into tax evasion and kickbacks in return for legislative favours, and FBI agents raided the home of California Republican John Doolittle as part of a kickback probe.
But hey, don’t let gay people get married, that would be just wrong.
August 30th, 2007 at 7:14 am
NL,
Missed a few Dems there.
August 30th, 2007 at 7:26 am
I’m only pointing to the hypocrisy and sheer volume found in the Rep party. Obviously politicans of all stripes can be corrupt.
But surely you can see utter hypocrisy in people who consistently blab about “moral and family values” to demonize their oppenents, but all the while they’re closet spine ticklers/pedophiles.
August 30th, 2007 at 8:32 am
shcb – I can only think of William Jefferson (and sadly there was some reporting that the case may fall apart because bush folks raided a Rep’s office while in session or something? supposed to be a no no… sounds whacked to me – the guy had $90,000k in his freezer! unless he was pulling a sting on the stingers?)
please list em off shcb
NL – you missed a whole slew of Rethuggles™®©!
Tom Delay – really, I don’t have all day. If you think the hammer is innocent please go play in traffic.
Thomas Ravenel – South Carolina pol – head of Ghouliani’s campaign there, busted for possession of large amount of (crack?) cocaine… plus he’s a gol ding commie! he claimed he had such a large amount “so he could share with friends”
Bob Allen (a case even more sad and bizarre than Craig’s… tho Craig has been in a position of real power to pass anti-gay laws)
Ted Haggart – snorting meth off the backside of a male whore while preaching to rwnj fundie whackos… smell the hypocrisy anyone?
There is another R (rep or sen?) who is caught up with Ted Stevens (Mr Intertubes). More graft, etc there are so many (and so many we don’t even know about, eh?)
It will be quite the trick to catch Rove or Abu Gonzales with anything concrete. These guys used the RNC email server to subvert laws put in place after Nixon to record and archive all government communications.
Hey did anyone bother to read that rollingstone iraq spending article?
We have been wasting a ton of money there and the bushivics attitude seems to be “rip it off while you can boys!”
August 30th, 2007 at 8:37 am
also wanted to say I like the new embedded videos
and to looney lefty: being gay isn’t a crime. However, being a staggeringly hypocritical douchebag should be ;-)
August 30th, 2007 at 9:41 am
Sorry I missed some enkidu, there’s so many I lost track!
Re: Abu Gonzales – hillarious!
August 30th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Not to say we’re any better, but just for the benefit of a comparison, does anyone have a list of the graft, corruption and moral hypocracy in Canadian federal politics?
All I can recall is a highly principled and openly gay member of Parliament (MP) Svend Robinson suddenly resigning because he pilfered an engagement ring for his boyfriend…he wasn’t even caught rather his conscious got to him and he returned it before they could review the store tapes to find the thief. And that was a few years ago.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Yes, Inky I agree that being a hypocritical doucebag probably should be illegal, but if they locked you up I wouldn’t have anyone around here to talk to except Knarlyknight. I know you’ve watched “Oz, ” and prison looks like a lot of fun, what with weight training, and art therapy and all those sexy, caged men, but you wouldn’t like it in “the big house” as much as you think you would. They don’t let you make Werewolf movies in prison, and you like to make Werewolf MOVIES…
August 31st, 2007 at 5:48 am
Yep, remember former NJ governor Jim McGreevy (D). He was pretty anti-queer rights and was also outed.
The hypocrisy runs deep on both sides.
It’s pretty common to find out that the moral elite often have something to hide. See Rev. Jim Bakker/Jimmy Swaggart/Oral Roberts (or televangelists at large). Those guys were all high up on the moral soapbox, and all tend to be absolutely morally corrupt (by their own standards).
Similarly, after working in the corrections industry for a while, it is really common for convicts to claim that they’ve found god/Jesus/etc…regardless of any actual rehabilitation that may or may not have taken place.
The way I see it, we’ve all got a responsibility to STFU with regard to how people choose to live their lives. As long as it doesn’t hurt me or you, who the hell cares, right? All of this stuff like defense of marriage and censorship based on moral considerations are BS, IMO. Morality is relative, not absolute…even if you believe that your morality is absolute, it’s only for you — someone else has different moral absolutes.
OK, I’m off of my soapbox.
BTW — speaking of religious tolerance, my god can totally kick your god’s ass! ;)
August 31st, 2007 at 9:35 am
enkidu,
I would probably start with Ted Kenedy and work my way up from there. at
August 31st, 2007 at 6:35 pm
I still think my “the smeller’s the feller,” crack still gets to the heart of this. You should always be suspicious of people who feel they have to protest something too much.
September 6th, 2007 at 11:29 am
yep Ted Kennedy is fat!
and Michael Moore too!
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
Republican Culture of Corruption: 2007 So Far
by Senate 2008 Guru
Thu Aug 30, 2007 at 11:39:48 AM PDT
Does it seem like there’s a new Republican scandal in the news every single week? Well, that may be because there is:
January 23, 2007: Republican radio personality Scott Eller Cortelyou of Denver arrested on suspicion of using the Internet to lure a child into a sexual relationship
January 29, 2007: Republican former Jefferson County, Colorado, Treasurer Mark Paschall indicted on two felony charges “in connection with an allegation that Paschall solicited a kickback from a bonus he awarded one of his employees”
(So much more below the fold.)
Senate 2008 Guru’s diary :: ::
January 31, 2007: Republican Congressman Gary Miller is named by Republicans as ranking member of oversight subcommittee of House Financial Services Committee despite the FBI’s investigation into his land deals
February 14, 2007: Major Republican fundraiser Brent Wilkes and former CIA executive director Kyle “Dusty” Foggo are indicted by a grandy jury for corrupting CIA contracts
February 16, 2007: Major Republican donor Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari, aka Michael Mixon, is indicted in federal court on charges of providing material support to terrorists
March 5, 2007: Ethics complaint filed against Republican Senator Pete Domenici for his role in the Attorney Purge scandal
March 6, 2007: I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney found guilty of obstruction of justice and perjury
March 8, 2007: Republican former U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich admits to extramarital affair
March 23, 2007: Former Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles, an oil and gas lobbyist who became an architect of George W. Bush’s energy policies, pleads guilty to obstructing justice by lying to a Senate committee
March 27, 2007: Criminal charges filed against Republican Pennsylvania State Senator Robert Regola in connection with the death of a teenage neighbor who was shot with the senator’s gun; he is accused of three counts of perjury, allowing possession of a firearm by a minor, recklessly endangering another person and false swearing
March 27, 2007: Ronald Reagan’s budget director, David Stockman, “indicted on charges of defrauding investors and banks of $1.6 billion while chairman of Collins & Aikman Corp., an auto parts maker that collapsed days after he quit”
March 28, 2007: Robert Vellanoweth, a Republican activist and appointee of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, is arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and felony driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, after a crash that killed three adults and one child
April 18, 2007: The FBI raids the home of Republican Congressman John Doolittle, investigating his ties to Jack Abramoff
April 19, 2007: The FBI raids a business tied to the family of Republican Congressman Rick Renzi, as part of an investigation into his business dealings
April 23, 2007: The FBI questions Republican Congressman Tom Feeney about his dealings with Jack Abramoff
April 23, 2007: Federal auditors find repeat violations of federal election law from the 2004 Senate campaign of Republican Senator Mel Martinez
April 26, 2007: David Huckabee, son of Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, is arrested at an Arkansas airport after a federal X-ray technician detected a loaded gun in his carry-on luggage
May 4, 2007: Bruce Weyhrauch and Pete Kott, former Alaska state Republican legislators, were arrested and accused of soliciting and accepting bribes from the corrupt VECO Corporation
May 4, 2007: Republican state Assemblyman Michael Cole is censured and stripped of his leadership position after the married father of two spent the night at a 21-year-old intern’s apartment
May 11, 2007: A field coordinator for Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry is indicted for voter fraud in North Carolina
May 12, 2007: NBC News breaks the story that the FBI is investigating Republican Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons for suspicion of accepting bribes in exchange for securing government contracts
May 15, 2007: Connecticut Republican Party Chairman Chris Healy is arrested for drunk driving (he pled no contest on June 1, but didn’t publicly disclose the event until June 11)
May 18, 2007: Republican former South Dakota State Representative Ted Klaudt is charged with eight counts of second-degree rape, two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of sexual contact with a child younger than 16, two counts of witness tampering and one count of stalking against two foster children in his care
May 21, 2007: Republican state Senate candidate Mark Tate is indicted on nine counts of perjury and two counts of election fraud by a grand jury
June 11, 2007: Republican Senator Larry Craig is arrested for lewd conduct in the men’s bathroom of an airport
June 19, 2007: South Carolina Republican state Treasurer and South Carolina Chairman of Giuliani for President Thomas Ravenel is indicted by a grand jury on cocaine distribution charges
July 2, 2007: President George W. Bush commutes the sentence of former Cheney Chief of Staff I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby following Libby’s conviction on obstruction of justice and perjury
July 3, 2007: A grand jury report declares that the sale of public land to Republican Congressman Ken Calvert and his business partners violated the law
July 11, 2007: Republican state Representative and Florida co-Chairman of McCain for President Bob Allen is arrested for soliciting a male undercover police officer, offering to pay $20 to perform oral sex
July 16, 2007: Republican Senator David Vitter holds press conference acknowledging being on the D.C. Madam’s list and past involvement with prostitutes
July 16, 2007: Story breaks that Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski was involved in a sweetheart real estate deal
July 19: Republican former state legislator Coy Privette is charged with six counts of aiding and abetting prostitution
July 24, 2007: Michael Flory, former head of the Michigan Federation of Young Republicans, pleads guilty to sexual abuse
July 26, 2007: Media report that Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski will sell back land purchased in a sweetheart deal, following close scrutiny of the shady transaction
July 29, 2007: Glenn Murphy Jr., recently-elected Chairman of the Young Republican National Federation, is accused of sexually assaulting a sleeping man
July 30, 2007: The FBI and IRS raid the home of Republican Senator Ted Stevens following investigations into Stevens’ dealings with the corrupt VECO Corporation
August 2, 2007: Bush administration senior adviser Karl Rove disregards a Congressional subpoena and refuses to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee
August 6, 2007: Investigation called for after House Republican Leader John Boehner leaked classified information regarding a secret court ruling over warrantless wiretapping
August 8, 2007: Republican Senator Larry Craig pleads guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct following his June 11 arrest
August 9, 2007: Major Republican donor Alan Fabian is charged with 23 counts of bankruptcy fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, and perjury
August 15, 2007: Republican state House candidate Angelo Cappelli is arrested for perjury and grand theft
August 22, 2007: Republican political consultant Roger Stone resigns his role with the New York state Senate Republicans after reports surfaced that he made a “threatening, obscenity-laced” phone call to the 83-year-old father of Governor Eliot Spitzer
August 27, 2007: Story breaks that Republican Senator Larry Craig was arrested and pled guilty – he had not publicly disclosed the events to that point
That seems like an awful lot of corruption, scandal, hypocrisy, impropriety, and jail-worthy crime, huh? A lot of corruption. One might say an entire Culture of Corruption.
October 7th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Just for the record, my comment at the top of this page was not originally the first comment on this thread.
October 7th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
There are also massive sections of this conversation missing. For instance, when Enkidu makes his comment about “being gay is not a crime,” he’s reacting to a post I made which no longer appears on this page.