Sen. Larry Craig says he will file an appeal Monday over a judge’s refusal to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea stemming from his arrest in an airport bathroom sex sting.
In an interview Sunday with KTVB-TV, Craig repeated he will not resign his post in the Senate and said he will continue to work his legal options.
“It is my right to do what I’m doing,” said Craig, an Idaho Republican. “I’ve already provided for Idaho certainty that Idaho needed — I’m not running for re-election. I’m no longer in the way. I am pursuing my constitutional rights.”
Opposition to gay civil rights has become an extremely effective fundraising tool for the Christian right. In 2005, for example, four of the leading organizations focused on institutionalizing homophobia — Focus on the Family, the American Family Association, the Family Research Council and the Traditional Values Coalition (which advocates execution of gays) — raised $169 million.
Overall, 91 percent of 16- to 29-year-old non-Christians and 80 percent of young churchgoers believe Christianity is anti-gay.
But the effectiveness with which these groups have gotten their message out is proving to be a double-edged sword. While it has ginned up antipathy toward gays — which simultaneously stalled progress on gay civil rights and served as a powerful political tool that Republicans used to seize power — a poll released last month by Barna, a Christian research group, suggests that the relentless intolerance has seriously damaged the image of Christianity among young people:
Interestingly, the study discovered a new image that has steadily grown in prominence over the last decade. Today, the most common perception is that present-day Christianity is “anti-homosexual.” Overall, 91 percent of [16- to 29-year-old] non-Christians and 80 percent of young churchgoers say this phrase describes Christianity.
As the research probed this perception, non-Christians and Christians explained that beyond their recognition that Christians oppose homosexuality, they believe that Christians show excessive contempt and unloving attitudes towards gays and lesbians.
One of the most frequent criticisms of young Christians was that they believe the church has made homosexuality a “bigger sin” than anything else. Moreover, they claim that the church has not helped them apply the biblical teaching on homosexuality to their friendships with gays and lesbians.
Attitudes toward Christianity among today’s youth are much more negative than they were a generation ago, says Barna:
Come out, come out, wherever you closeted Republican hypocrites are! Oct. 11 is National Coming Out Day, a time to resolve to live openly as you are. And, in the case of some Republican politicians, to quit trying to make homosexuality go away by legislating it out of existence.
You can even find help at www.comeout.org. There, you’ll get answers to such questions as “Does the Bible really say gay people go to hell?” “Can you turn me straight?” and “Does God make mistakes?” (Hint: all the answers are “no.”)
If only former New Jersey Republican Governor James E. McGreevey, former Florida Republican Representative Mark Foley, and former evangelist Reverend Ted Haggard had come out sooner, who knows how many wives, pages, and victims of homophobia would have been spared.
So come on, Larry, come out! And while we’re at it, let’s not forget to invite:
Former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed (yeah I know he’s married but let’s get real)
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham (not married but ditto on the get real part)
Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell (labeled “My Old Kentucky Homo” by many in the state)
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (who owns a house with her long-time female “friend”)
Chief of Staff Josh Bolton (BFF with skank Bo Derrick — nuff said)
It’s no surprise that there was an A-list book party in Washington for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas last week.
In order to fool “values voters” — who would recoil at the thought of going to a party at a gay man’s home — Republicans like Clarence Thomas keep their acceptance of gays on the down low.
It is also unsurprising that the guest list included Dick and Lynne Cheney, the entire U.S. Supreme Court and a handful of senators, along with Will Smith, Barbara Walters, Charles Barkley, Bob Jones of uber-fundamentalist Bob Jones University, Al Sharpton and Julian Bond. (Okay, Sharpton and Bond are a bit of a surprise since Thomas says in the book that liberals are scarier than the KKK.)
But what might surprise the GOP rank and file about the party is that its host, Armstrong Williams, the former conservative TV pundit, is allegedly gay.
Williams is a familiar face because he was a frequent rightwing pundit on cable news, a stint that ended abruptly in January 2005 when it was revealed he had been paid $241,000 to speak favorability about Bush education policies in his capacity as a TV pundit and elsewhere. (More Bush incompetence and profligacy: Williams would have happily shilled for free.)
The prime indicator that Williams might be gay is the fact he settled a sexual harassment suit with a male employee in 1998:
Williams was trotted out on CNN and other cable nets repeatedly [in 2004] during the gay marriage controversy to trash those who argued that marriage equality for same-sex lovers was a “civil right,” an argument which Williams’ pigmentation–in the eyes of TV news producers–gave him standing to make. As originally reported by New York magazine back in 1998:
Armstrong Williams, the conservative talk-show host who instigated a firestorm last week by asking the senator from Mississippi [Trent Lott] whether homosexuality is a sin, is being sued for sexual harassment by a former employee who happens to be male. Last year, Stephen Gregory — the former YMCA personal trainer whom Williams promoted to executive producer of his show — alleged in his suit that the boss grabbed his buttocks and penis, tried to kiss him, and climbed into his hotel-room bed asking for “affection” while they were traveling together. Williams immediately held a press conference to denounce Gregory’s allegations as “false, baseless, and completely completely without merit.”
After the man who was suing him produced affidavits from other men on whom Williams had pressed his unwanted attentions, Williams was forced to admit his denial was a lie, and settled the lawsuit — which alleged 50 separate incidents of rejected physical advances–for $200,000.
With so many sex scandals bubbling up in the GOP of late, surely even the most feeble-minded “values voters” must realize that the gay community is over-represented within the Republican elite. The scales dropping from the eyes among the party’s base can’t be good news for the GOP who have relied on homophobia to get out the vote recently — especially including 2004, when an anti-gay ballot initiative may have delivered Ohio, and thus reelection, to Bush and Cheney.
Iranian Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent declaration that there are no gay people in Iran brought attention to the fact gays in Iran who are discovered are sentenced to death, and that a pair of teenaged boys were executed for being gay in 2005.
American conservatives, many of whom advocate re-criminalizing gay behavior, may have been able to distance themselves from the story because Iran is an enemy of the United States. But now comes word that a major U.S. ally has sentenced two men to be tortured by flogging, and that part of the sentence has already been carried out in public:
Prison authorities in Saudi Arabia have begun administering 7,000 lashes to each of two men convicted of committing “homosexual acts”, a local newspaper reported yesterday.
The Okaz newspaper says that the sentence was being meted out in “phases” and was being conducted in a public square in the southwestern city of Al-Bahah.
Neither man has been named.
The floggings began on Tuesday. The men were dragged into the square, their shirts removed and they were whipped. They were then returned to prison. The process was repeated on Wednesday and will continue daily until all 7,000 lashes have been administered.
Among the Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence (madhahib), the Hanafi school mandates a severe beating for the first offense, and the death penalty for a repeat offender. The Shafi’i school calls for 100 lashes for an unmarried homosexual, death by stoning for a married one. The Hanbali school requires stoning across the board. Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, directed his followers to kill the one who sodomizes and the one who lets it be done to him”(‘Umdat al-Salik, p17.3).
UPDATE:
Contact info:
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
601 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20037
Main Number: (202) 342-3800
Information/Press Office: (202) 337-4076
e-mail: info@saudiembassy.net
The Log Cabin Club, a gay Republican organization, has an ad up in which they expose Mitt Romney’s egregious flipflops on social issues. Here’s the transcript:
Narrator: For years he’s fought conservatives and religious extremists — Mitt Romney.
Romney: “I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country … I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years that we should sustain and support it.” — Massachusetts Senate Debate, October 25, 1994, Boston, Faneuil Hall.
Narrator: Mitt Romney opposed the gun lobby…
Even Ronald Reagan…
Romney: I was independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I’m not trying to return to Reagan-Bush. — Massachusetts Senate Debate, October 25, 1994, Boston, Faneuil Hall.
Narrator: … a record fighting the religious right … a pro-choice record … Massachusetts values … Mitt Romney.
It’s hard to parse the thinking behind the fact that the LCC decided not to mention Romney’s former support of gay civil rights in the ad — but then it’s impossible to figure why any gay person would be a Republican. There can’t be a more friendless group in politics.
Sen. Craig was supposed to step down on Sept. 30 but apparently has not. Maybe he was waiting on this:
Senator Larry E. Craig failed today in his effort to withdraw his guilty plea in connection with an undercover sex sting operation. The decision dealt the Idaho Republican a crippling setback in his attempt to hold on to his seat and caused new anxiety for other Republicans.
A Minnesota judge rejected Mr. Craig’s arguments entirely, declaring that, contrary to what Mr. Craig asserted, his guilty plea was made unambiguously and without coercion.
“The defendant, a career politician with a college education, is of, at least, above-average intelligence,†Judge Charles A. Porter Jr. ruled in Hennepin County District Court. “He knew what he was saying, reading, and signing.â€
“I am extremely disappointed with the ruling issued today. I am innocent of the charges against me. I continue to work with my legal team to explore my additional legal options.
“I will continue to serve Idaho in the United States Senate, and there are several reasons for that. As I continued to work for Idaho over the past three weeks here in the Senate, I have seen that it is possible for me to work here effectively …
“In addition, I will continue my effort to clear my name in the Senate Ethics Committee – something that is not possible if I am not serving in the Senate.
“When my term has expired, I will retire and not seek reelection. I hope this provides the certainty Idaho needs and deserves.”
Iranian Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking today at Columbia University:
“In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals like in your country. We don’t have that in our country. In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon. I do not know who has told you that we have it.”
Three weeks ago, two Iranian teenagers who had been imprisoned and mercilessly beaten, were finally executed by hanging in Iran for the crime of sex with another male, indeed, apparently it now seems within the context of a committed relationship. At that time, … The young guys, one of whom was under the age of 18 at the time of the execution and both of whom were under 18 at the time of their arrest, underwent more than a year in prison and were subjected to 228 lashes of a whip, before Iran robbed them of their young lives on Tuesday, July 19, 2005.
The teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni (yes, these two human beings had names), still call to me from their graves. I can hear their plaintive cries that we shall forget them and their deaths will be for naught.
The Republican mayor of San Diego — the last remaining large city in California with a conservative base — changed his position on gay marriage last week:
“In the end, I couldn’t look any of them in the face and tell them that their relationships, their very lives, were any less meaningful than the marriage I share with my wife, Rana.” Jerry Sanders, Mayor of San Diego (R)
A tearful Mayor Jerry Sanders made a dramatic shift yesterday, explaining that he can no longer oppose same-sex marriages because he does not want to deny justice to people like his daughter, who is a lesbian.
Joined at a late afternoon news conference by his wife, Rana Sampson, the San Diego mayor announced he will back a City Council decision to support same-sex marriage before the state Supreme Court, where California’s ban on it awaits review.
“I decided to lead with my heart, which is probably obvious at the moment,” said Sanders, moments before he revealed his daughter’s sexual orientation.
The mayor’s new stance marked a reversal of his pledge Tuesday to use his veto power to block the council’s move. At the time, he repeated his preference for civil unions, partnerships between same-sex couples that offer some but not all of the legal protections given to those who marry.
Describing what led to his decision, Sanders referred to friends and staffers who are gay, as well as his daughter:
“In the end, I couldn’t look any of them in the face and tell them that their relationships, their very lives, were any less meaningful than the marriage I share with my wife, Rana,” said Sanders, who quickly thanked reporters and dashed from the room.
San Diego has a population of 1.26 million, and is the second largest city in California and the eighth largest city in the United States. It is home to a large population of military retirees, which explains its large number of Republican voters, but it has a sizable gay community, as well:
Nearly 62,000 San Diegans are part of households led by a same-sex couple, according to a U.S. Census Bureau survey conducted two years ago.
Sanders is a former police chief who won a hard-fought election two years ago in the wake of multiple GOP scandals in San Diego County, including bribery charges against Rep. Duke Cunningham and a sleazy case in which the acting mayor and a city council member, both Republicans, were sent to prison for conspiring to ease restrictions on strip clubs.
Sanders’ principled position stands in stark contrast with Vice Pres. Dick Cheney, who also has a gay daughter, but who has won election based in no small part on an anti-gay agenda.
With new elections underway, Sanders’ change of heart may well cost him the election but, unlike the vice president, he will leave office with his his personal integrity intact.
Mike Rogers of Blogactive, who is widely credited with setting the outing of Sen. Larry Craig in motion, wrote yesterday to disavow my assertion that two Republican senators were on his list to be outed.
If there are more outings in the offing, it will be interesting to see if the GOP continues its pursuit of moral relativism by allowing Sen. Vitter to stay in office while forcing out another one of their own because he is gay.
“Come on guys,” Rogers wrote. “Do the fact checking. I am not Down With Tyranny I am Blogactive. Please get my name off this rumor and innuendo…IT’S NOT ME.”
Rogers has a reputation for being careful about his reporting, and the attributions were confused, so I removed links to Rogers (including one to his site, Blogactive, and another to Counterpunch) but preserved sourcing to this and other assertions by Klein:
Interesting that [Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky)] is moving rapidly against his fellow homosexual [Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho] — who loudly denies having done anything wrong — while he never did a thing when it came to David Diapers Vitter (R-Louisiana), who admitted to hiring prostitutes (a crime). The right-wing grassroots is howling for homo blood and McConnell is more than aware how quickly that could turn against him — and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who is already in trouble with the violently homophobic Know Nothing wing of the GOP for his support of Bush’s immigration agenda.
Meanwhile, my colleague Trish noticed that ABC buried a lede in the final paragraphs of its story about Larry Flynt and Wendy Cortez, the New Orleans woman who says she had a four-month sex-for-pay relationship with Sen. David Vitter, the GOP family values ideologue from Louisiana:
“We’ve got a lot more coming,” claimed Flynt. “There is one more gay senator or congressman, and he also votes against matters of self-interest all the time. … I think he should go, he’s at the top of the agenda now.”
If there are more outings in the offing, it will be interesting to see if the GOP continues its pursuit of moral relativism by allowing Vitter, who has admitted illegally paying female prostitutes for sex, to stay in office because he would be replaced by a Democrat, while forcing another closeted gay congressman because his seat is safely Republican.
Pundits say that Trump’s $5,000 midterm bribe was an overreach,
And they agree that if lies were a crime, he’d be impeached.
Despite all the dividend promises he’s made,
The fact is, not one has ever been paid,
So even before the midterms, he already owes us $8,000* each.
*$5000 stimulus checks via “DOGE dividend”; $2000 stimulus checks via a “tariff dividend”; $1000-plus checks via “savings” from expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”
— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.
“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”
— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.
“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”
— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.
“Donald Trump made over a thousand stock sales and purchases worth between $79m and $270m in July,” The Guardian reports. “His two largest sales were of Amazon and Microsoft stock, selling between $5m and $25m each on 20 July. That same day, he also sold up to $5m worth of Oracle and Costco stock, $500,000 to $1m in Nvidia, and bought up to $5m worth of shares in Intuit and Salesforce, among dozens of other transactions.”
“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.
A new Fox News Poll finds 71% of voters think the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the Iran War, including 95% of Democrats, 83% of independents, and 43% of Republicans. Sixty percent say U.S. military action against Iran was the wrong decision, while just 37% say it was right.
“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.
Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.
