Craig Aide Says Business as Usual
EmailABC News’ Ronna Waldman reports: Despite reports today quoting anonymous ‘GOP sources" that embattled Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho., will resign Friday, his aide says the Senator will return to Washington, D.C. next week to continue his work as best he can, Craig’s Idaho press secretary tells ABC News.
If that plan changes, the media will be notified, the aide said.
Pressure is mounting on Craig to resign after news broke of his arrest in an undercover sting operation in an airport men’s room. Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on Aug. 1 but has maintained that he did nothing wrong.
Republican leaders have launched investigations into the matter and Republican senators have publicly called on Craig to step down.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called Craig’s conduct "unforgivable," the AP reported Friday. The GOP Senate Leader acknowledged many caucus-members are pushing for Craig to step down.
"We have acted promptly to begin the process of dealing with this conduct," McConnell told the AP. "We will see what happens in the coming days."
Sen. DeMint: GOP Race Could Go Until Convention 
Obama Avoids Questions on Contraception Rule
Please do NOT resign!!!!!!!
Larry Craig is the best thing to happen to the Democrats all year!!!!!
He will become the poster child for the RNC!!!!!!!
Posted by: Mike | August 31, 2007, 1:08 pm 1:08 pm
can’t wait to see what comes out next about him. It will be Foley all over again and he’ll wish he resigned before it got even worse.
Posted by: Nirrvana | August 31, 2007, 1:26 pm 1:26 pm
I think maybe the administration has asked him to stay on, keep him in the news to take attention off of the upcoming report on Iraq.
Posted by: kishor | August 31, 2007, 1:34 pm 1:34 pm
I’m a Dem… I heard the tape on NPR yesterday… and honestly, I don’t think the guy did anything wrong… so I’m not sure what all the hype is… Really, it sounded like a whole bunch of crap. He denied it the entire time, the police officer was really condescending and wouldn’t listen to what he was saying and it made no sense that he was being arrested…
Just my take.
Posted by: Rachel | August 31, 2007, 2:18 pm 2:18 pm
Any sympathy for him evaporated when he actually PLED GUILTY TO THE CRIME.
Making the best of a crappy situation for himself and for America, at least Foley resigned without any further delay once it hit the fan.
Posted by: Sets your toes a tappin' | August 31, 2007, 2:23 pm 2:23 pm
He should not resign. He should continue to serve Idaho as a gay Republican. Why not?
Posted by: Anon | August 31, 2007, 2:23 pm 2:23 pm
I for one was glad to hear that he’s not resigning. We need guys like him to be out in the open where he can do the least harm to our people and country.
I think that Bush Brain should make at new department for him, merging Transportation and Health. He sure knows a lot about each with all the back and forth traveling he does.
Posted by: dras | August 31, 2007, 2:34 pm 2:34 pm
Either he lied about what he did…or he lied when he plead guilty. Either way…he’s a LIAR. Which makes him PERFECTLY QUALIFIED to continue serving as a REPUBLICAN.
Posted by: wilder5121 | August 31, 2007, 2:36 pm 2:36 pm
One thing to remember about Craig whether you believe he did something wrong, He confessed and signed a plea agreement and then later has tried to claim that the plea was wrong, if he did nothing wrong then he would not have accepted a guilty plea which would stay on his record for life.
Posted by: Patriot 2007 | August 31, 2007, 2:38 pm 2:38 pm
I’ll bet that I have Tapped My Toes in the Toilet. If so it had nothing to do with anything erotic. Probably just extreme relief. Should I wear a diaper from now on when travelling in “Roller Country”? Wait ’till you get home, boy, and mind those rattlers.
Posted by: magic_duck | August 31, 2007, 2:54 pm 2:54 pm
Just another Democat-We are for gay rights till it comes to a scum ball low life Republican! Then Barn Frank starts his see no evil-hear no evil and speak no evil Scam!!!!
Posted by: Al Doten | August 31, 2007, 3:11 pm 3:11 pm
I think Rachel is just a bit naive….
Posted by: Kevin | August 31, 2007, 3:33 pm 3:33 pm
Sorry, I meant KISHOR is really naive!
If you can’t figure out what was going on there, you are either in denial, or just plain stupid.
Posted by: Kevin | August 31, 2007, 3:37 pm 3:37 pm
Larry Craig will now illustrait to us all exactly WHY so many like him pursue politics… hint… it is NOT the money….
Posted by: Bush-is-Guilty | August 31, 2007, 3:45 pm 3:45 pm
Jeez, you people who politicize everything, are truly disgusting. This has NOTHING to do with him being Republican. But when you make conclusions that this has something to do with his party, you show just how stupid you are… What a waste of my time reading these comments by stupid people, making stupid anti-Republican comments. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Posted by: JustMeKG | August 31, 2007, 3:57 pm 3:57 pm
JustMeKG – This has EVERYTHING to do with him being a Republican. As a Republican/Conservative Senator, Craig voted for legislation that denies civil liberties to gay people, and he’ put himself on a conservative pedestal rallying for “Family Values” – all while living a gay “double life” in men’s rooms. If you can’t see even a HINT of hypocrisy there……
Posted by: Scott | August 31, 2007, 4:02 pm 4:02 pm
Craig madea plea agreement because he figured it was the best way out. If he had gone to court to fight the charges, there would be the same media circus at the trial. As for the republicans calling for his resignation, they operate like Nazis, only party loyalty and no loyalty to each other. If he is forced out, he should write a tell all book about the creeps. I bet he has a lot of “Dirt” to spread.
Posted by: Becky | August 31, 2007, 4:26 pm 4:26 pm
Gosh. Good thing he pled out. He sure avoided a lot of bad media attention. ;^)
Posted by: Sets your toes a tappin' | August 31, 2007, 4:37 pm 4:37 pm
I disagree, Becky – Republicans are not like Nazis because Nazis had honor and were actually kind of competent, no matter how evil and insane they are. Republicans, on the other hand, are totally dishonorable and incompetent.
Posted by: Big Daddy-O | August 31, 2007, 4:41 pm 4:41 pm
Business as usual? Stay out of the men’s room in Washington!
Posted by: Diamond Dave | August 31, 2007, 4:42 pm 4:42 pm
Wrong, JustmeKG – it has everything to do with him being a big, fat Republican HYPOCRITE who works to deny gays their rights in public, and then takes it up the hershey highway in private!!!
Posted by: Diamond Dave | August 31, 2007, 4:44 pm 4:44 pm
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell should be asked to step down because he failed to defend a faithful and innocent colleague and the principle of the United States Constitution.
Posted by: shannangreen | August 31, 2007, 4:44 pm 4:44 pm
Is there a book out there with all the secret signals in life? This cop has a vivid imagination and probably gets off sitting on the toilet all day waiting for someone to occupy the next toilet so he can play “footsy” and make an arrest for tap dancing. What a sick-o! If Craig had actually propositioned him, I would say he deserved to be arrested. However, arresting someone for foot and hand signals is stupid.
Posted by: Becky | August 31, 2007, 4:47 pm 4:47 pm
Get rid of this bum now. Just becasue the Democrats adore dirtbags and continue to reelect them doesn’t mean the Republicans should.
Posted by: rplat | August 31, 2007, 5:01 pm 5:01 pm
Senator Larry Craig should not resign as he is a good citizen, a good Republican,and a good Senator. That cop Sgt. Dave Kasnia should be arrested for his allegation of violating Senator Craig’s human rights and conducting police atrocity!
Posted by: shannangreen | August 31, 2007, 5:07 pm 5:07 pm
“Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell should be asked to step down because he failed to defend a faithful and innocent colleague and the principle of the United States Constitution.
Posted by: shannangreen | Aug 31, 2007 4:44:17 PM
Sorry shannangreen, but when you plead GUILTY to a crime, you admit the elements of the crime, which makes you GUILTY not INNOCENT. Try actually reading the relevant portions of the constitutions.
Posted by: Emmazon | August 31, 2007, 5:15 pm 5:15 pm
You know… It doesn’t even matter if this is a Democrat or Republican thing anymore.. this dude has some serious denial issues, and is probably not a very effective leader. He should throw in the towel now.
Posted by: Troy Street | August 31, 2007, 5:22 pm 5:22 pm
Might I remind all the high and mighty Democrats:
Mr. Barney Frank was investigated and admitted to, having sex with a male prostitute. He is still in office.
Ted Kennedy allowed a woman to drown. He is still in office.
Hilary Clinton and her hubby were involved in numerous dirty deals, and some questionable deaths, among them Vince Foster. Also, Bill engaged in an affair in the White House and lied about it under oath. Democrats defended him.
Shall I go on?
Posted by: Someone | August 31, 2007, 5:24 pm 5:24 pm
So Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, won’t pass judgment on this creepy criminal, but him and his whole putrid, corrupt, hate-mongering, hypocritical Republican party think it’s OK to pass judgment on, and condemn and oppress, law abiding American citizens who happen to be homosexual and don’t hurt anybody? Let’s ship all the Republicans in the country to Idaho and rename it the State of (Division? Corruption? Criminals? Hypocrites?…), and then the rest of us can go about living our lives in peace without having to be assaulted by these bigots everyday. Senator Craig claims his hand was under the stall divider to pick up a piece of toilet paper. Why would you bother picking up a piece of toilet paper off the filthy floor? What was he going to do, use it? Wasn’t there toilet paper on the roll he could have used? And shame on him for calling this cop’s honesty into question. The cop is just trying to do his job. And congratulations to the cop for standing up to Senator Craig and not being intimidated when Craig tried to use his position as a Senator to weasel his way out of the charges. Another Republican abusing power, lying, engaging in criminal actions, viciously attacking opponents, lying, being a hypocrite, conducting a secret sex life, lying, preaching one thing while doing the exact opposite, thinking they don’t have to live by the rules the rest of us have to live by, lying, deflecting blame for his own criminal conduct onto others, blaming the “liberal media” for his problems, and lying. A big thank you to the dimwitted Idahoan bigots who keep forcing the rest of us put up with their slimy Republican politicians.
Posted by: informedone | August 31, 2007, 5:24 pm 5:24 pm
Hey Becky… have you actually read any of the reports?? This cop was sent there to investigate just that.. toe tapping and sexual activity at this particular place. He’s not the sicko.. the sicko was the senator in the next stall
Posted by: Troy Street | August 31, 2007, 5:26 pm 5:26 pm
Senator Craig is showing Americans what Senators can do and get away with. It is our Government who wants to tell the rest of the world how democracy works. We have laws for ordinary citizens and for politicians. The world is laughing at us all the way to Iraq.
Posted by: Armin Baur | August 31, 2007, 5:34 pm 5:34 pm
Hey Someone: you got some good points there, but what weakens your position is the Republicans preach (and would legislate) anti-homosexual and family values to every other American. That makes you, and Senator Larry Craig, a hypocrite, which in my book (and alot of other people’s) is far worse then any group we have in America.
Posted by: Troy Street | August 31, 2007, 5:35 pm 5:35 pm
shannangreen: You have even more issues then Senator Craig. Not that I feel sorry for you, nor do I expect you to realize it on your own. Free thought is a cool thing.. you should try it.
Posted by: Troy Street | August 31, 2007, 5:40 pm 5:40 pm
Hey Becky… have you actually read any of the reports?? This cop was sent there to investigate just that.. toe tapping and sexual activity at this particular place. He’s not the sicko.. the sicko was the senator in the next stall spending 3 minutes begging for the cops wee-wee.
Posted by: Troy Street | Aug 31, 2007 5:26:40 PM
No, the cop was sent there to set up his money trap, just like a speed trap. If he was interested in arresting people he would have waited for the sentaor to proposition him and then he would have had a case. Instead, he arrested him for this toe tapping nonsense in hopes he could get him to accept a plea and pay a fine, just what he wanted is the money. How many times a day does he carry out the sick crap?
Posted by: Becky | August 31, 2007, 5:55 pm 5:55 pm
Senator Larry Craig is not a gay, that’s why he is not a hypocrite!
Liberal Democrats called themselves the progressive people, the intelligent ones yet their endless hatred and narrow-minded view towards someone that is faithful to his position, his party, his principle just reflected that they are being so hypocritical!!!
Posted by: shannangreen | August 31, 2007, 6:08 pm 6:08 pm
WHO will replace Craig? Don’t the ABC writers of this story think that’s the least bit important???
Posted by: Big Dan | August 31, 2007, 7:02 pm 7:02 pm
The first thing you should try to learn is liberating your body speech and mind from the self-indulgently and self-destructively abnormal carnal desires to save yourself then we will talk about the other things that you should do to free yourself from, like drug abusing, uncontrollable hatred, unlimited intolerance…… A free soul should not come with any attachment.
Doing thing without self-discipline and the ability to tell right from wrong, just do whatever you want/like/love to do is not “To free yourself”. It’s called self-indulgence. It is not right!
Posted by: shannangreen | August 31, 2007, 7:04 pm 7:04 pm
Big Dan- Senator Craig will not be replaced as he is innocent and irreplaceable!
Posted by: shannangreen | August 31, 2007, 7:08 pm 7:08 pm
Troy Street- Toe tapping and hand gesture do not make a person a criminal.
Admit it! Senator Craig is innocent!
Posted by: shannangreen | August 31, 2007, 7:18 pm 7:18 pm
“I’m a dem…I heard the tape, he didn’t do anything wrong.” Oh please, you are in denial too.
I am wondering how many other republican men frequent public restrooms/parks for man on man sex and go home to their wives?
Sick, sick sick…deeply closeted homosexuality hurts everyone, including heterosexual marriage. Be a democrat-we don’t feel the need to beat you up for being gay. It’s OK to be honest.
Posted by: captain crunch | August 31, 2007, 8:59 pm 8:59 pm
“Mr Barney Frank” is not pretending to be a married heterosexual.
Posted by: John | August 31, 2007, 9:01 pm 9:01 pm
It is amazing how self-delusional some of these Republican posters are. First of all, it’s not the Democrats who are going after Craig – it’s the Republicans. Primarily because of their moral majority posturings. We don’t see homosexuality as a sin nor a crime. Conducting sexual interactions in a public bathroom is the crime here: lewd and indecent behavior. I’m assuming that the airport bathroom stalls are a ‘hotbed’ of sexual misconduct, which is why they have police undercovers operating there. There has to be some boundaries for certain behaviors as these bathrooms are open to all including children. They should be made safe for all.
As far as President Clinton, they spent over $50 Million dollars to go on a fishing expedition when it was supposedly because of Whitewater dealings – which by the way they were found innocent of any wrongdoing. All these subsequent fishing expeditions should have been illegal – it’s illegal for every other citizen. Even Starr finally admitted that he shouldn’t have gone on that extended ‘fishing expedition’. But it became a political witchhunt. It was a very long and involved investigation ranging wide to all subjects and issues not covered in the initial issure which was: Whitewater. In spite of that, what they found him in violation of was trying to cover up having oral sex done – crude, but not illegal. Again not the ‘crime’ he was being investigated for. And to most of you guys, understandable unless you’re being hypocritical about it. In essence, his violation was to his wife and their marriage vows. To keep going back to Clinton as having ‘committed’ all these crimes is to say that the $50 million plus investigation done by the Republicans was not only wasteful but totally stupid and inept. So Starr and all the other Republicans were stupid at not having found anything Pres Clinton was in violation of – apart from cheating on his wife… which again was not part of the original issue.
As far as Craig is concerned, he is the one who opted to admit to a crime. He is presumably a smart, mature, experienced individual with access to money, legal representation and power. He was not a naive young boy with no power and experience in this world quivering with anxiety and fear for the unknown. This is a powerful man who chose his actions and his life. It is sad to see people humiliate themselves esp in public, but this is hubris. He made his decision himself. What he is being castigated for is his deception and his hypocrisy.
Crai
Posted by: Debra | August 31, 2007, 9:27 pm 9:27 pm
Craig did NOT plead guilty to “lewd behavior.” He pled guilty to the lesser charge of “disorderly conduct.” He has maintained from the beginning that he did NOT engage in any sexual behavior.
Posted by: yesitsahomerun | August 31, 2007, 11:51 pm 11:51 pm
Well he did nothing except make shoe contact which doesn’t mean much. The whole thing is bizarre. Don’t really care what he does but I find this media reaction to this weird story simply bizarre. I don’t recall such media coverage about Jefferson’s $90,000 found in his fridge. I also don’t recall too many if any dems asking for Jefferson to resign.
Posted by: jon | September 1, 2007, 12:37 am 12:37 am
I don’t think Craig is guilty.I think that cop knew what he was doing to get Craig.I think that cop should have been on the street doing something useful.
Posted by: Allen | September 1, 2007, 6:13 am 6:13 am
GOP – Gay Old Party.
Republicans are family values hypocrites.
To listen to Larry Craig, George W. Bush, Mark Foley, Karl Rove, Ted Haggard, and Dick Cheney blatting on about family values is to listen to the worst slimy hypocrites. Could anyone believe a word any of the above?
Posted by: US Citizen | September 1, 2007, 9:24 am 9:24 am