I think, "He said he was protecting us from a bogeyman, but the bogeyman was he," is a particularly clear way to put it.

There was a cop in the restroom cuz they don't want people getting it on in the restroom; doesn't have anything to do with bieng gay. I don't know about any of you, but when I do my sexual activites I prefer to do them in private. This is not a gay bash issue. This is about a scared selfish liar trying to protect his "political career" and self-interest's over those of the most repressed and helpless protected class in our retarded Judeo-Christian ethic based bible thumping society. Pick the bible of your choice: I don't discriminate! Flame on trolls, ha hah hah. Have a nice day.

It's about hypocrisy. The guy who wanted to crucify Bill Clinton for getting his BJ in the oval office goes cruising for it in public places.

The self-loathing this man must feel is a thing to pity. He's made a lifelong career out of bashing homosexuals, preventing equal rights for homosexuals, and touting the right-wing "Focus on the Family" agenda. Craig's long history of similar behavior, including the 1982 Senate Page scandal, shows how hypocritical this man is.

Larry, accept yourself for who you are. A gay man trapped in a Republican's body with no one left to defend you.

The person to feel compassion for is Craig's wife- unless they really did marry to provide a lifelong beard for Craig. Then she's as guilty as he is of defrauding all the Idaho homophobes who have voted for him for 25 years.

I really feel sorry for the Minneapolis cop who drew that assignment- wonder what he did to get stuck with that? Heck, I guess it's better than parking ticket duty...

Mamabigdog is speaking the truth.

This is not a happy occasion for the Craigs, of course. And no one really likes to see a person's life destroyed.

Of course, Craig has been outspoken against gay rights, just like dozens of other Republican elected officials who have turned out to be gay.

I think we should offer forgiveness to these men (and potentially lesbian women) who are closeted if they have the courage to tell us who they are. They will find much more understanding than they might expect.

All this bullshit is way overblown, as if being gay is a new thing. Country folk have known gays and lesbians for a thousand years and more. Mostly, folks just make room for it. Which is how it ought to be. It's only the weirdo rules of the priesthood, dating back many hundreds of years, that ever made it a political issue.

Very sad. Reminds me of that movie set in the 50s with a closeted gay guy and a wife having an affair with an African American... forget its name, but it was pretty good.

Torridjoe and DJD have the correct tack. You don't have to accept men having sex in public places in order to not be homophobic. That is indeed wrong for both gay or strait. Just lay into him for trying to have sex in a public restroom. Then, pause a bit and say, "but since he was trying to have sex with men, it seems to call into question his motives for defending the anti-gay rights movement."

For the subtler audience you can suggest that his desire to keep gay sex illicit and degrading might stem from a wish to keep the world hostile toward open and healthy gay relationships. He seems to prefer the seedier, repressed expressions of gay life from decades past. How quaint.

Dan.

Here's my perverse take on the matter...

First of all, gay men having anonymous sex in a bathroom stall seems almost what you might call "natural". The thing with Senator Craig is that I think he is pretty much what he looks like, sounds like and claims he is, i.e., an old, repressed, priggish, hetero Republican white man. He just happens to like doing the nasty with strange guys in public places. That's what makes his behavior pervy, and "unnatural".

But hey, that's okay with me -- it's a matter between him and his consenting adult partner. Unfortunately for him, it is now a matter involving his family, the media, the law, his constituency and the general public. The truly disgusting, unforgivable behavior on his part is his bald face mendacity, hypocrisy and cowardice in not owing up to the truth.

Reminds me of that movie set in the 50s with a closeted gay guy and a wife having an affair with an African American...

Far From Heaven, starring Dennis Quaid and Julianne Moore.

Then you're an idiot.

Mitch, honestly... why the constant knee jerk? Roberto (purposely if i might venture a guess) is alluding to modern GLBTQ theology which essentially boils Romans 1 down to the notion that Paul wasn't even addressing gays, since for them, homosexual behavior (regardless of inappropriate location) is "natural." Paul described people in his Epistle who had given up their "natural" desires. If homosexual acts were contrary to their "natural orientation," then these people were presumably heterosexuals, like Sen. Craig (R-ID).

Thom, leaving Paul's Epistle out of it, that is close to my point. My comment tries to address the question in the original post of "how do we criticize Craig's actions without falling into the right-wing homophobic frame?". Evidently, my inclusion of the phenomenon of anonymous gay sex derailed my point, so let me restate it in a simpler form:

It is certainly more "natural" for a homosexual to engage in homosexual acts, regardless of the location, than it is for a heterosexual to engage in homosexual acts. If Craig is a heterosexual as he claims, and I don't think it is entirely out of the question, then his behavior is more "unnatural"... perverse, if you will.

But the salient political point in the entire matter, as I noted in my post, and as Oregonian37 re-emphasizes, is Craig's stunning, lifelong public hypocrisy on such matters of morality.

I figured something along those lines. The Romans 1 thing makes for an interesting study...

I'm with Scott Moore on this one, and actually quit watching Craig's pity party when he started blaming the Idaho newspaper for his troubles. Michael Vick may be charged with some pretty heinous things, in terms of the dog fighting, but he at least had the decency to apologize and take responsibility for his actions.

I caught John McCain on Jay Leno last night (which was pathetic and surreal on several levels). He's kicking Craig to the curb.

"The people of Idaho will reach a pretty rapid verdict in this situation."

An airport lavatory.... what a romantic setting.

I feel sorry for anyone who is that conflicted about their sexuality.

He'll probably finish out his term and just disappear.

"How do we criticize Larry Craig's actions without falling into the right-wing homophobic frame?"

Simple: It's not the homosexuality that's the problem -- it's the stinking HYPOCRISY. This is a "family values" Republican politician who consistently has opposed gay rights, and also supported the impeachment of Bill Clinton over consensual heterosexual activity.

But I really don't think we need to discuss Restroom Larry at all. He's toast.

"I think we also ask why there was a police officer staked out in the men's room -- is there a huge threat to men's rooms across America?"

It's my understanding there had been complaints about "lewd conduct" in that particular restroom.

Engaging/soliciting in a sexual act with a person of the same sex does not necessarily mean that a person is gay. There are people who engage in "homosexual acts" who are otherwise heterosexual. Thus the coined term, "down low". See wiki re: down low also Center for Disease Control Since Sen Craig is adamant that he is not gay and has never been gay, the possibility that he has been on the Down Low is certainly plausible, but perhaps not well understood. Without going into all the psychological/social reasons and speculation, some may see it as spitting hairs(sorry couldn't resist), it boils down to the hipocrasy as well as a few other items. The relative talking points could be the hipocrasy, dishonesty, criminality, arrogance and out right stupidity. Loudly and vehemantly touting christian family values, while soliciting sex in an airport rest room at high noon. Being so intent on having an illicit sexual encounter to actually go to two rest rooms in Union Station. Noting that both incidents apparently were at busy times of the day. The dishonesty of committing adultery along with the intended cover up by not disclosing what he was doing and what happened, hoping it would just go away. The criminality of not only what he plead guilty and admitted to, but also the implied coercion of a police officer, evidenced by the "What do you think about that?" comment when he pulled out his business card. The complete utter arrogance of the entire situation compounded by his statement. And the stupdity of it all, knowing full well he was under question for this very activity when he sought out that public rest room in an air port. Apparently he was only in there for that purpose. Otherwise, he'd have actually used and flushed the toilet. (Ok if he did use the toilet, then add inconsiderate to the list for not flusing) He's getting kicked to curb by his own. He'll not last the week. If we are to really look at framing how we talk about this, then maybe we need to talk about the elements of hipocrasy, dishonesty, criminality, arrogance and out right stupidity. Which by the way are also, the same elemments in the argument for impeachment of Bush, Cheeny, et al. The only difference is that they have not out right admitted they have a wide stance. The same elements apply to Vitter, Foley, Haggard, and all the rest on the list which is really getting fairly long.
God, Guns and Gays is quickly being replaced with Sex, Lies and Videotape.

IDAHO? No, CRAIG DA HO!!!

(sorry, couldn't resist).

Laura C., thank you for pointing out the fact of heteros being on the "down low". This is part of the point I had clumsily tried to make while also trying to be ironic. And there is an irony there - to the point of cognitive dissonance - which is that a hetero can engage in homosexual acts without being gay. Indeed, the poem from Huffington post exploits it for humor. I am reminded of the old Dom Irrera bit of "I find a man's ass nicely shaped and attractive. Hey, that don't make me gay or nuthin' does it?"

Browsing at some articles, mostly from gay oriented sites, here are a few interesting things I learned about cruising (anonymous sex in public places).

• While not an inherent part of gay culture, it is endemic to gay culture (a fine line, that).
• It is almost exclusively a male phenomenon.
• It is more about gender than about sexual orientation.
• Many men who engage in the practice do not consider themselves to be gay or bisexual.

The media and most people have been quick to label Craig as being gay. That was my first assumption too. While jumping to that conclusion is understandable, it is not necessarily accurate. Unless you happen to think that men like Craig who deny being gay are lying or in denial. (I didn't come across any authoritative opinions on that.)

I'm sorry, but I can't look/listen to Craig and at the same time think "gay guy". If he's gay, then what has gaydom come to? If he's gay, then I must be Liza Minelli.

? How do we criticize Larry Craig's actions without falling ?> into the right-wing homophobic frame?

No problem. Since Gore lost the Democrats have made it policy to, like the Reps, use anything, anytime if it will lead to political advantage. Who thinks you're gay bashing? He's in the news, the other party, he's down, so you jump!

Oh, right. You asked that in the Blue Oregon context where Dems take on a progressive mantle. That is a tough one.

Then you're an idiot.

Mitch, honestly... why the constant knee jerk? Roberto (purposely if i might venture a guess) is alluding to modern GLBTQ theology which essentially boils Romans 1 down > to the notion that Paul wasn't

I know what you mean, totally. I got into really big trouble with my PE instructor. I refused to learn the Heimlich manover because I think it's, like, totally natural to see a white middle-class American choking on food. They probably want to die that way. Who am I to pull it out and condemnt them to a life of disease and the slow ravages of white sugar addiction? They're doin' what they love best!

I hope when my time comes I'm doing what I love and nobody stops me!

You know what else amazes me? How animals know to go to the side of the road when it's their time to die. Isn't God amazing?!

Let's see. What is the better use of an airport's police resources--scanning the place for security threats in an age of terror, or arresting old married men looking to jerk off in a bathroom? (and no I am not endorsing racial profiling).

what a bunch of assholes the police are. and what a hypocrite Larry Craig is.

Mother to young son as he enters the mensroom: