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.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I think political professionals call this the “pretty please” approach. I don’t think Craig’s going for it.<\/p>\n Obviously, the NRSC’s Ensign wasn’t alone. “You don’t want to know what I really feel,” said<\/a> Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.). “He ought to keep his word,” said<\/a> Tom Coburn (R-Okla.).<\/p>\n At least they still have the looming Ethics Committee investigation, right? I wouldn’t count on it.
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\nWe talked<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n