So, Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) announced yesterday that we should forget all that stuff he said about resigning as of Sept. 30, and all that other stuff he said about stepping down if he’s unable to change his misdemeanor guilty plea in Minnesota. He’s decided to stick around for the next 15 months or so.
Craig’s Republican colleagues, of course, threw him under the bus two months ago, and thought they were rid of him. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ken.) had described Craig’s conduct as “unforgivable,” which tends to be a conversation-ender. How’d they take yesterday’s announcement? Not well.
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Ensign (Nev.) on Thursday called for Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) to honor his original resignation speech and his personal commitment to Republicans that he would resign if the judge did not vitiate his guilty plea.
“He gave us his word that he would resign…. I’m calling on Sen. Craig to keep his word,” said Ensign. “If he loves his party, and he loves the Senate, the honorable thing to do is to resign.”
I think political professionals call this the “pretty please” approach. I don’t think Craig’s going for it.
Obviously, the NRSC’s Ensign wasn’t alone. “You don’t want to know what I really feel,” said Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.). “He ought to keep his word,” said Tom Coburn (R-Okla.).
At least they still have the looming Ethics Committee investigation, right? I wouldn’t count on it.
We talked yesterday about the ways in which the Senate GOP will lean on Craig using an ethics probe to possibly force his resignation. By making the hearings and investigation public, Craig’s conduct will be open to intense scrutiny, played out in front of the national spotlight.
Except, a TPM reader makes a compelling case that the Idaho Republican may have reason to believe the Senate GOP leadership may be bluffing.
The genius of Craig’s move today is in calling the Republicans’ bluff on Ethics Committee hearings: Does the Republican leadership really want televised hearings on gay sex in public, involving one of their own, as the AP is reporting is “virtually certain”? Didn’t think so. Who’s taking odds that those hearings are cancelled somehow, some way?
That’s a good point. Craig clearly has a lot to lose in terms of dignity, but his reputation is already in the (ahem) toilet, and he’s not running for re-election anyway. Senate Republicans, who want this scandal to go away as swiftly as possible, are going to turn the matter into a public spectacle? Within a year of an election?
I don’t think so.
Larry Craig got caught hitting on an undercover cop in an airport men’s room, lying about it, and pleading guilty to a criminal charge. And he’s going to stay in the Senate, even after vowing to resign. That’s pretty impressive.