Loveless Larry

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Can't get enough Larry Craig? (We've posted on the latest Republican sex scandal here, here, here, and here.)

Well, his own party -- you know, the one that doesn't much care for homosexuality, nor for those who practise it -- certainly has had enough of him:

A) The Senate Republican leadership has forced Craig to "step down" (he agreed), if only "temporarily" (until he resigns, that is), from his committee assignments, notably on the Veterans Affairs Committee.

B) Two Republican senators, John McCain of Arizona and Norm Coleman of Minnesota, have called for Craig to resign. McCain: "I believe that he -- that he pled guilty and he had the opportunity to plead innocent. So I think he should resign." Coleman: "Senator Craig pled guilty to a crime involving conduct unbecoming a senator." At the other end of Capitol Hill, Peter Hoekstra, a Republican Congressman from Michigan, has also called for Craig's resignation: Craig "represents the Republican party, and I believe he should step down, as his conduct throughout this matter has been inappropriate for a U.S. senator."

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At TPM, David Kurtz calls this "a sign of how toxic the political environment is for Senate Republicans". It's also a sign of the regressive sexual politics of the Republican Party. (Make no mistake, it's the gay thing that matters here. Is what Craig did any worse than what, say, Newt Gingrich did?)

And Steve Benen predicts that "Craig may soon have to decide to spend more time with his family". (The question is, does his family want to spend more time with Craig?)

Once again, you can find a whole lot more over at Memeorandum.

(Check out Jon Swift's post on why conservatives seem so gay, as well as Joe Gandelman's post on how Republicans are putting a wide stance between themselves and Craig.)