Where There's Smoke, There's Usually Fire

In a press conference held yesterday, Idaho Senator Larry Craig declared that "I am not gay. I never have been gay." This is despite the fact that he pleaded guilty to a charge of soliciting for sex in an airport rest room earlier this summer.

Craig claims that his guilty plea was a "mistake", and that the police officer "misconstrued" his behavior in the rest room. "While I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct in the Minneapolis Airport or anywhere else, I chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge in hopes of making it go away," he claimed. He added that he didn't tell his friends, family and staff about what happened, nor did he hire a lawyer. "I wasn't eager to share this failure but I should have anyway because I am not gay."

This incident was not an isolated one for the Republican senator. There has been frequent speculation about Craig's sexual orientation since the 1980s, thought not concrete proof. Last fall, the Idaho Statesman had started an investigation into Craig's sexual orientation after reading a blogger's accusation that the Senator was gay.

One man came forward to the Statesman to claim he'd had sexual contact with Craig in a men's room in a Washington, D.C. rail station in 2004. Another man said Craig made a sexual advance toward him at the University of Idaho in 1967. The Statesman also explored dozens of allegations that proved untrue, unclear or unverifiable.

Hmm, it seems to me that where there's smoke, there's usually a fire. I'd say he's either fooling himself or trying to fool everyone else by saying he's not gay. And it's a sad and pathetic thing to have lived a lie all these years, instead of accepting who he is.

What bothers me here isn't what he did in that airport (and likely elsewhere). What bothers me is the denial and the hypocrisy.

As is often the case when a political figure is outed, Craig's record indicates a series of votes against gay rights and support of a 2006 amendment to the Idaho Constitution that bars gay marriage and civil unions.

Craig is up for re-election next year and it would seem as if he intends to run again. "Over the years, I have accomplished a lot for Idaho, and I hope Idahoans will allow me to continue to do that," he said. He had harsh words for the Idaho Statesman, accusing them of conducting a "witch hunt".

Craig doesn't get it. The negative attention he's getting now isn't because he's gay. It's because he's a dishonest hypocrite.

Thoughts?