I admit to being extremely disappointed by Larry Craig's apparent affinity for bathroom trysts. He was one of the most solid conservatives in the Senate, and he will be tough to replace. As a matter of political strategy and crisis management however, I find the situation pretty interesting.
First off, there are groups that try to embarrass closeted homo politicians, particularly if they are conservative republicans. They had been after Craig for months, with allegations of bathroom sex at Union Station, which is a couple of blocks from Capitol Hill. Whether true or not, these attacks should have put him on red alert status about the danger of exposure. Under those circumstances, what in the world was he doing in an airport bathroom without a minder?
Second, when I heard about the Minneapolis Airport incident, I wondered if it was possible he had been set up by Soros-funded crazies or homosexual activists. Remember, this was an incident with no witnesses other than the cop, no recording, no video. The things he was charged with doing, eg putting his suitcase in front of the stall, tapping his foot, having a wide stance, seemed at worst ambiguous. As an article i read confirmed, virtually all bathroom sex busts involve actual sexual activity, touching private areas or at least lewd behavior such as waving the equipment around suggestively. He was not accused of anything like that.
So why cop a plea? Did he think it would somehow escape public notice? Criminal attorneys quoted in the article I read said there was virtually no chance the police could have gotten a conviction on the evidence they had. In fact, it seemed to me it would likely not even be prosecuted but for the fact he was a public official. Did he fear that the other evidence of bathroom sexual escapades would come out at trial?
Surely, the actual outcome was the worst possible result, at least for his career. He could hardly have been more humiliated if he denied everything, went to trial and lost. At least, he would have had the ability to say it was all a misunderstanding. When you plead guilty in a case like this, no one is going to buy that excuse.
I find the whole incident perplexing, not least the idea of a policeman sitting in a john stall for hours hoping someone will solicit him. Surely they have better things to do than that, and surely there are better ways to discourage actual bathroom sex. Perhaps stationing a uniformed officer in the vicinity would be one idea.
First off, there are groups that try to embarrass closeted homo politicians, particularly if they are conservative republicans. They had been after Craig for months, with allegations of bathroom sex at Union Station, which is a couple of blocks from Capitol Hill. Whether true or not, these attacks should have put him on red alert status about the danger of exposure. Under those circumstances, what in the world was he doing in an airport bathroom without a minder?
Second, when I heard about the Minneapolis Airport incident, I wondered if it was possible he had been set up by Soros-funded crazies or homosexual activists. Remember, this was an incident with no witnesses other than the cop, no recording, no video. The things he was charged with doing, eg putting his suitcase in front of the stall, tapping his foot, having a wide stance, seemed at worst ambiguous. As an article i read confirmed, virtually all bathroom sex busts involve actual sexual activity, touching private areas or at least lewd behavior such as waving the equipment around suggestively. He was not accused of anything like that.
So why cop a plea? Did he think it would somehow escape public notice? Criminal attorneys quoted in the article I read said there was virtually no chance the police could have gotten a conviction on the evidence they had. In fact, it seemed to me it would likely not even be prosecuted but for the fact he was a public official. Did he fear that the other evidence of bathroom sexual escapades would come out at trial?
Surely, the actual outcome was the worst possible result, at least for his career. He could hardly have been more humiliated if he denied everything, went to trial and lost. At least, he would have had the ability to say it was all a misunderstanding. When you plead guilty in a case like this, no one is going to buy that excuse.
I find the whole incident perplexing, not least the idea of a policeman sitting in a john stall for hours hoping someone will solicit him. Surely they have better things to do than that, and surely there are better ways to discourage actual bathroom sex. Perhaps stationing a uniformed officer in the vicinity would be one idea.
