Sen. Larry Craig this week will return to the U.S. Senate to face almost universal disdain by his fellow GOP lawmakers about his decision not to give up his seat after pleading guilty to a charge related to lewd conduct in a men’s room.
Republicans cannot force Craig to quit, and his decision to stay has put Senate GOP leaders in a difficult spot, particularly after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., labeled Craig’s actions “unforgivable” and called for a potentially embarrassing Senate ethics committee investigation in an attempt to force him out.
“McConnell and Republicans are really stuck now,” said Jasper LiCalzi, a political science professor at the College of Idaho. “They can either go back on their word, or go along and watch the party get beat up by an ethics hearing.”
Craig pleaded guilty Aug. 1 to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct stemming from an incident in a Minneapolis airport bathroom in which an undercover male police officer accused the senior senator of trying to solicit sex. Craig now denies the charges and made a failed attempt last month to withdraw his guilty plea. After initially saying he would resign, Craig announced on Oct. 4 he would serve the rest ofhis term.
Senate Republicans are now groaning at the prospect of 15 more months with Craig, whose actions have inspired jokes relating to bathroom toe-tapping and wide stances.
“Everyone just wants him to go away, and he won’t,” a Republican aide said. “It’s the most bizarre, awkward situation I’ve ever seen.”
One senior Republican aide said McConnell may decide to do nothing at all in an effort to stop drawing attention to the matter. An ethics investigation is pending, but some aides believe senators may drop it out of fear it will harm the Senate’s image.
In Idaho, Sen. Michael D. Crapo, the state’s junior senator, and Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter last week endorsed the Republican candidate who will run for Craig’s seat in 2008 — a move, one Idaho GOP official said, that is aimed at sending a subtle message to Craig that it is time to step down.
“They understand the significance of seniority, and what they are saying is ‘we picked a candidate, we’d like him to start building some seniority,’ ” said Rod Beck, former majority leader of Idaho’s Senate and a Boise Republican official.
Craig spokesman Dan Whiting said the senator will work on “energy legislation, immigration reform, and timber-dependent county and schools legislation, among other things.”
“As a member of the Appropriations Committee, he will continue to support projects important to Idaho,” Whiting added.
