Idahoans React to Craig's Gay Denial
Many still support the embattled senator, despite allegations of lewd behavior.
Aug. 30, 2007 — -- For nearly a week, Republicans across the nation have sought to distance themselves from Idaho's Republican Sen. Larry Craig. Yet, reaction in his home state to news that the senator pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge from alleged behavior in a Minneapolis restroom has been less frenetic.
Craig was arrested in a sting set up by airport police to deter solicitation of sex in the airport's public restrooms.
Elsewhere, Republicans have issued statements denouncing Craig as a hypocrite and calling for his resignation. At a sports bar in downtown Boise Wednesday, however, no one was focused on the latest Craig news leading each hour on the cable news stations playing from televisions mounted around the restaurant.
In Idaho, the first college football game of the season for Boise State, tonight, is in some respects, more the talk of the town than the news about the senator.
Craig, who is married, maintains that he pleaded guilty to make the incident go away, that he is not gay and that the whole matter was a misunderstanding.
News of the arrest led the Idaho Statesman to publish a series of anonymous allegations of homosexual encounters with Craig. In this socially conservative state, where Craig has enjoyed wide margins of electoral victory, the allegations can be explosive.
But, rumors about Craig's sexuality have been swirling around the senator for decades, and for most in Idaho, it is not the first time they have heard that their senator might be gay.
While some Idahoans have expressed disappointment in Craig, many are still willing to give their senator the benefit of the doubt. Idaho's populace also has a libertarian streak and many here say the public scrutiny of Craig's sex life is in bad taste or irrelevant.
Local reporters call Craig the face of Idaho politics and doubt that Idahoans would not return him to the Senate if he ran again.
But, Craig has undoubtedly done himself damage with his guilty plea. Many close watchers of the senator do not find his excuse believable.
