Will The Gay Larry Craig Please Stand Up?
This past week-end I spent at least an hour over a rather fabulous dinner at 1480 KPHX sponsor Harley's Italian eaterie, with a very good friend (also rather fabulous I might add) discussing Senator Larry Craig.
My friend it seems, with the idealistic principles of Dennis Kucinich minus the desire to act on them, held the position that Democrats were missing a perfect opportunity. He thought Larry Craig the gay man, should find champions in some faction of the Democratic party, at least the GLBT sector, to come out (no pun intended) and advocate for his rights! Craig was, after all, being persecuted by Republicans for being gay, not for a misdemeanor crime. Senator David Vinter on the other hand is *not* facing Republican ousting (presuming he did have sex "with that woman") because he is straight.
While I spent most of the time arguing that having sex with the same sex did not make you gay (ambi-homosexuals and ambi-heterosexuals may be less known but make up some portion of "homosexual" activity) and secondarily that it was not in Democrats best interest to back a guy that was first, a hypocrite and second, accused of a crime, my friend kept hammering on the "principle" thing; it was a mater of principle: being gay should not net the punishment of expulsion from public service (again, no pun intended) and Democrats should be the party willing to say it!
Given all that, now that Larry has decided to fight back should he just "come out" as a gay man and fight the misdemeanor charge (maybe it was entrapment) still registered as a Republican? I think so, because that of course allows people like me to mercilessly roast the entire Republican party for throwing poor Larry "at" (not even under) the bus while the Gay Old Party goes into denial over Vinter, but what does it do for Craig?
Well, if --when the investigation gets really ugly decoding the Madam's diary linking Vinter with oh-- gay WH press/hooker Jeff Gannon --Larry's little rub (okay, that was a pun) starts to look like positively great news! Then Craig can reregister as an Independent, caucusing with Democrats to screw Republicans on important "family values" legislation (not to mention war funding) and throw the whole damn party under the bus!!
Well, it wasn't me who was arguing about principles!
Cross-posted on Voice of North America.
My friend it seems, with the idealistic principles of Dennis Kucinich minus the desire to act on them, held the position that Democrats were missing a perfect opportunity. He thought Larry Craig the gay man, should find champions in some faction of the Democratic party, at least the GLBT sector, to come out (no pun intended) and advocate for his rights! Craig was, after all, being persecuted by Republicans for being gay, not for a misdemeanor crime. Senator David Vinter on the other hand is *not* facing Republican ousting (presuming he did have sex "with that woman") because he is straight.
While I spent most of the time arguing that having sex with the same sex did not make you gay (ambi-homosexuals and ambi-heterosexuals may be less known but make up some portion of "homosexual" activity) and secondarily that it was not in Democrats best interest to back a guy that was first, a hypocrite and second, accused of a crime, my friend kept hammering on the "principle" thing; it was a mater of principle: being gay should not net the punishment of expulsion from public service (again, no pun intended) and Democrats should be the party willing to say it!
Given all that, now that Larry has decided to fight back should he just "come out" as a gay man and fight the misdemeanor charge (maybe it was entrapment) still registered as a Republican? I think so, because that of course allows people like me to mercilessly roast the entire Republican party for throwing poor Larry "at" (not even under) the bus while the Gay Old Party goes into denial over Vinter, but what does it do for Craig?
Well, if --when the investigation gets really ugly decoding the Madam's diary linking Vinter with oh-- gay WH press/hooker Jeff Gannon --Larry's little rub (okay, that was a pun) starts to look like positively great news! Then Craig can reregister as an Independent, caucusing with Democrats to screw Republicans on important "family values" legislation (not to mention war funding) and throw the whole damn party under the bus!!
Well, it wasn't me who was arguing about principles!
Cross-posted on Voice of North America.
Labels: Craig, gay, Republican, Vinter
posted by CLB at 9:40 AM
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