ProfessorVP

Are you aware that the United States has Prisons and Mental Health hospitals for sick criminals like Larry either gay or otherwise? A crime is a crime regardless of sexual orientation and taxpayers have this man on payroll.

As far as my being “sheltered” Ha… I worked in a bathhouse for seven years in Reno Nevada and saw many men just like Larry Craig who denied being “gay” come through the doors… Taking their wedding rings off and placing them in the lock-box upon check-in… and heading straight for the “confessionals”.

Me-Again, are you Larry, someone who works for Larry, or just incredibly sheltered?

Merely seeing and hearing Larry is enough for anyone over the age of 12 to know he’s gay.  Most mammals and reptiles would be aware he is gay.  A broad spectrum of multi-celled organisms would recognize that Larry is gay, including plankton.  I’ll go a step further.  If the earth was visited by creatures from adjacent galaxies, they would, upon encountering Larry, report to their leader: “Just spotted this really gay dude.”  I think that about covers it.

What does his sexual orientation have to do with his pleading guilty to committing crimes?

Craig may have queer tendencies but he definitely isn’t gay….

My point is who cares what his sexual orientation is… He’s a criminal.

Everyone focuses on whether or not he’s “gay”...
He is a criminal and is in office and his salary is tax dollars.

So Americans pay people to travel the world representing them all the while affording this criminal to commit lewd and lascivious acts…(accused by a 16 year old page and now a 20 something police officer and who knows how many other like instances),  now he’s resigned with a lifetime pension of tax dollars, now he has the time to lurk in parks and schoolyards…all funded by taxpayers…. He should of been fired and his pension & benefits revoked. But that just my opinion.

Me-Again, Larry Craig is sexually attracted to men.  He is a fussy old queen.  He is gay.  Nobody ever said that public bathroom trolling, in itself, is a sexual orientation.

It is so obvious that Sen. Craig “IS NOT” gay…

A Sexual Predator and/or Sex Offender is not a sexual orientation or a preference but a psychological disorder.

The acts that define his mental illness are criminal by character/activity and in violation of our laws set forth to protect common welfare of the general populace.

Craig’s deviancy is no more a sexual orientation than a person who wears nothing more than footwear and a long overcoat exposing his/her self randomly in a subway.

His actions are those of mental illness and criminal by standards of law.

Oh well, half right ain’t bad. Right about heterosexism. Wrong about picking Larry from a circle-jerk.

What I took so long to communicate is that a good part of Larry’s “problem” is actually CAUSED by society’s irrational attitude toward homosexuality. If being gay and being out was simply another valid variety in the smorgasbord of human sexualities the majority of “Larrys” would be happily settled down with the partner of their choice enjoying life as much as any of us gets to enjoy it.

When society arbitrarily picks some variation and declares it to be “wrong” (say, being left-handed a few decades ago) the problems DIRECTLY CAUSED by such stupidity far outweigh whatever intended benefit was to be obtained. Such discrimination NEVER WORKS but “society” never seems to stop trying.

Finally, I don’t believe to attempt to link Larry’s sexuality to a political persuasion is fair or valid. I’d be willing to bet there’s an even distribution of closet cases throughout politics just as there is thoughout society, though I’d give a little leeway on this estimate if we were talking about hairdressers, interior decorators, university professors, doctors, lawyers, judges, priests, construction bosses and truck drivers and Truthdig contributors!

Vet240, it is same-old, same-old.  Look at Clinton, for example.  (And for the record, I’m an Independent.)

Clinton was a pot and coke user, so he was very aggressive about fighting the War on Drugs, and having the Justice Dept. fight loosening up the medical marijuana laws.

Clinton’s marriage may have been a real marriage in the beginning, but afterward was merely a business arrangement.  He even told Monica Lewinsky that he has had “hundreds” of affairs, and has not had intercourse with Hillary for over a decade.  (This was said about ten years ago.)  So naturally, Clinton signed on to the Defense of Marriage Act, then boasted about it.  Bill’s fellow marriage expert, Hillary, has never recanted on her support for the Defense of Marriage Act, by the way.  Well, of course not, since the mere idea of same-sex marriage is what ruined the Clintons’ marriage.

Clinton’s private sexual behavior eventually got busted and led to his impeachment.  Not surprisingly, Clinton implemented Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell in the military, resulting in the expulsion of thousands of gay and lesbians trying to serve their nation.  Want hypocrisy and irony?  Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell forces gays and lesbians to put up a front about who they’re NOT sleeping with.  The Clinton marriage puts up a front that Bill and Hillary DO
sleep together.

I saved the best for last: Bill Clinton used to go around on the speaking circuit promoting—(drumroll, please…) abstinance.

Craig’s biggest mistake is being a Republican - intolerant, homophobic, self-righteous…(It’s, afterall, his hypocracy that makes him such a rotter.)

What would have happened if he’d been a Democrat?  Hypocrite?  Not likely.  Clandestine, annonymous, yucky sexual encounters in public toilets? If you spout the Republican mantra, what else can you do.

Actually, looking back at recent and not so recent free-falls of other Republican administrations, getting caught with their pants down seems to do their party in every time.  Hopefully, history will repeat itself. 

That’s not to say that Democrats don’t run around unzipped.  But, thanks to Republicans, Democrats are so morally corrupt anyway that when they get caught unzipped, it’s just another ho-hum-what-did-you expect.

What I have yet to see discussed in the media is to ask the question, “When you (Larry) are in a position of trust, and you’re hiding a dark secret from the public, a secret behavior that you have always been participating in, but publicly stated you’re against, are you more or less likely to have your integrety compromised (black-mailed) by special interest groups demanding your support.

In short. How can anyone in the state of Idaho believe you ever had their interests in mind while in the legislature? Is this thirty years of betrayal?

When I was in the service serving over-seas I and everybody else were warned to not participate in any type of potentially compromising activities, due to the possibility of blackmail by foreign or other interests.

It’s a wonder that Larry craig was never caught in Idaho. Especially with all those extra “eyes’ *in Idaho.
* Potatoes have eyes and where do the best potatoes come from. “Eye-dee ho.”

Larry Craig is so full of crap can somebody please sent him a box of “Correctol” laxative for women.

Hey Rae, no offense,but the second I saw this dudes picture I pegged him. He does protest to much. “Him ,” OMG, pick up a piece of paper off the floor in a public restroom. Hell, he would never pick up a piece of paper off the floor in his own home. Now,on the other hand he was partially right. He was there to pick up something on the floor.Sort of like shopping for something you wanted at the local store.

Rae, you are correct about heterosexism.  Unless we actually have a notarized photograph of some man-on-man action, we go to the default: straight.  Or if the man “confesses” or “admits” being gay, he’s assumed straight.  One is assumed innocent until proven guilty; one is assumed straight until proven gay.  Heterosexism.

Yes, I’ve often wondered why lesbianism doesn’t press people’s buttons as gay male homosexuality does, and I’ve come up with two reasons: 1) Lesbianism is a turn-on for straight men, which accounts for so much girl-on-girl porn aimed at the het guys, and 2) the “don’t drop the soap” fears- even if one disapproves of lesbianism, women don’t have the appendage that can do harm.  Yes, all this is like Gilligan’s Island.  “It’s primitive as can be.”

That said, Rae, you are wrong about Doug V’s comment that anybody could tell Larry was gay.  On the surface, it may seem like a mean-spirited thing to say, but Doug is correct.  Larry Craig is an old-fashioned fussbudget of the Franklin Pangborn variety.  (For you younger folks, he played the prim and easily annoyed, eye-rolling gay fellow usually found behind a hotel clerk’s counter or department store complaint department.)  Only in a place like Idaho could Larry Craig be mistaken for straight.  In any urban area, he would be spotted as gay in a New Yawk minute.  He is the traditional unmarried uncle with a decorative porcelain thimble display and a trove of Judy Garland collectibles.  There is no getting around it and no other way to say it: Larry Craig is a queen.  Now I’ll say something to get my head chopped off, but it’s true: there is a distinct manner of speech that marks many, but not all, gay men.  And gay men are often easy to spot.

Hey Doug V…

“Everybody thats seen a video of Craig could tell he was gay.”

Cut the BS. Quit repeating this crap. There are very few “gay” people anyone can “spot” unless they want you to know. The VAST majority of gay people look, act, speak, walk and in every other way appear INDISTINGUISHABLE from non-gay people. So please quit pushing your inaccurate, unsupportable, glib BS on us. Thank you.

The fundamental human flaw in the issue has to do with lack of truth.

Society ASSUMES everyone is “straight,” or should be. The official term for this bias is heterosexism. It’s a built in prejudice and fully understandable from the point of view that it’s reasonable to make that assumption because most people are, even if it’s unfair and inaccurate to those who are different from this norm.

Our society has yet to accept those whose sexuality varies from the “norm” as fully valid human beings. Because, and only because of this prejudice, is being gay not a “good thing.”

“Straight” males especially, whose greatest fear and shame lies in “failure to perform,” seem terrified that another male might find them attractive. I do not understand this attitude at all. Having someone, male or female, find me attractive enought to want to share sexual intimacy with me I take as a COMPLIMENT not a threat. But that’s just me I guess.

Most guys are conditioned from birth to COMPETE with and BEAT all other males. They approach sex as a contest as well. They feel they must initiate the HUNT and effect the CONQUEST. The female is much smaller and weaker and is much easier “pickins” thus far less a threat than another male would be (boy, are they kidding themselves!)

But I stray. We were talking about lack of truth. That’s what I find most offensive about Craig and all the other closet cases who get caught with their “member” in the cookiejar. THEY LIE. They haven’t the courage to just stand up and say I AM WHAT I AM and I MAKE NO APOLOGIES FOR IT. I AM NOT HETEROSEXUAL. SO WHAT?

If they do this they’re immediately charged with pushing their sexuality onto others. They’re damned if they tell and damned if they don’t. Nevertheless… ALLOWING EVERYONE TO CONTINUE TO ASSUME YOU TO BE SOMETHING YOU ARE NOT… IS LYING.

I guess most guys judge being a SECRET LIAR is the better of the two evils - better than being a KNOWN, HONEST HOMO. But they sure pay a price for their dishonesty. Carrying that secret takes its toll on mental and physical health to say nothing about the short-changing their heterosexual partners are getting.

People like Craig are TRAINED BY SOCIETY TO subconsciously BELIEVE they are “unworthy” so for them to sink to look for sex, even anonymous, perhaps filthy, unhealthy, dangerous intimacy in public washrooms becomes an OK, possibly even exciting, thing to do.

Getting caught is, of course, often devastating. But, if you could get the Craig’s of this world to be HONEST about it, most of them would ADMIT that, finally, a great load has been taken off them and they can now pursue an HONEST life with HONEST relationships… and TO HELL WITH WHAT MAKES SOCIETY HAPPY. What Craig doesn’t understand is that 90% of us don’t give a damn about his sexuality. However, we DO give a damn that he’s a LIAR and HYPOCRITE.

The longer Craig denies, denies, denies, the longer his secret agony will continue. It’s his choice, of course, to continue living his lie but he’s kidding ONLY himself if he thinks everyone else in the world doesn’t know he’s gay at heart. I don’t believe any genuinely “straight” man has ever solicited sex with another man especially under a public washroom cubicle wall.

A topic for another time and place is to discuss the ENORMOUS disparity between how society views and treats LESBIANS vs GAY MEN. I read somewhere that society doesn’t get so upset about gay females because they’re already considered second class citizens by virtue of just being female!

The media (especially Ben Stein on CBS this morning) seems to be ignoring the fact that if this had happened to someone who was not a GOP senator it would be considered a clean bust of a “naughty” boy by 33% of society, including Senator Craig. One law for everyone Mr. Senator. Besides, who’s so comfortable sitting on a public crapper that they have a free foot to tap. More importantly, who reaches under an occupied stall unannounced for anything?  What did that paper say that was so important that he had to get it back? Seriously, I don’t care if the piece of paper had Ben Franklin’s face on it, you just don’t do that without saying “hey you nextdoor, I was going through my wallet and dropped a hundy by accident- I’m coming under for it!”

As Bill Clinton would ask, “Define ‘what I have caused.’”  What did Larry mean?  1) Possibly turning Idaho into a blue state in 2008?  2) Embarrassing his convenience-wife and adopted kids?  3) Creating a media circus?  4) Disrupting Mitt Romney’s campaign?  5) Giving ammo to the Democrats to knock Republicans off their moral pedestal- what’s left of it?  Or fill in your own: ____________?

Here is one thing I’m sure Larry didn’t mean: the continuing mistrust and lack of communication between straights and gays in this country.  That is what people like Larry Craig cause.  Shame.  Secrecy.  Hypocrisy.  Double lives.  Lack of same-sex equality.  Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell in the military.  Hate crimes.  That is what the Larry Craigs of the world cause.  And I could throw in Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Ken Mehlman, John Kasich, Barbara Mikulski, David Dreier and
Charlie Crist.  They cause fear, loathing, and mistrust.  Not for any lofty goals, mind you.  Just for power, money, fancy toys… and did I mention power.

http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2007/aug/31/meet_the_new_hypocrite

#98145

Doug,

It’s really never been about having a gay senator, (although for the people of Idaho it apparently was).

But for your question as a replacement, what difference would it make if the replacement was gay, as long as he or she wasn’t a hypocrite?

Same thing with Trent Lott. I never got the impression that he was gay, but that wasn’t why they needed to bash him. The problem was that he’s a blatant racist, and it’s bad for republican business. (not the racism, but the fact that it became obvious).

Same thing here. The repugs would have been OK with Craig being gay, as long as nobody knew it. Because…that’s their hypocrisy. As long as he was pushing the party agenda, it was cool. It was just his getting busted that shook things all up.

So, are you sure you’re not a gay basher?