Larry Craig
Larry Craig has been a Republican United States Senator from the state of Idaho since 1991. From 1981 to 1991 he represented Idaho in the United States House of Representatives. He is generally considered to be a social conservative and is also a strong advocate of the proposed Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution.
He will end his term in November 2008.
Incident at Minneapolis Airport
On June 11, 2007, Craig was arrested by an officer investigating complaints of lewd conduct in a men's bathroom at the Minneapolis airport. The officer alleged that Craig looked through a restroom stall door for two minutes and tapped his toes several times as a signal.[1] Despite pleading guilty to a disorderly conduct charge stemming from that incident, Craig denies the allegations and has since said that he regrets pleading guilty.[2]
Reaction
According to Craig's media person, the incident in Minneapolis is one in a series of smears by the local media. In a statement released on August 28, 2007, Craig said "For 8 months leading up to June, my family and I had been relentlessly and viciously harassed by the Idaho Statesman. If you’ve seen today’s paper, you know why. Let me be clear: I am not gay and never have been."[3]
On August 27, Craig resigned from a prominent role with Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. He had been one of Romney's top Senate supporters, serving as a liaison since early 2007.
Asked about Craig, Romney said, "He's disappointed the American people. I think it reminds us of Mark Foley and Bill Clinton," he said on CNBC's "Kudlow & Company." [4].
On a television interview, Presidential candidate John McCain commented on the case: "It's disgraceful." [5]