Sen. Larry Craig arrested in airport bathroom for lewd conduct

YOU'VE GOT TO BE FREAKIN' KIDDING ME! Are Republicans trying to lose every election for the next 20 years? Roll Call is reporting that Sen. Larry Craig, an Idaho Republican, was arrested earlier this summer in a men's room at the Minneapolis airport by an undercover officer investigating complaints about sexual activity. The Capitol Hill newspaper says it obtained the arrest report. So far, CNN and several blogs are reporting the news. On Aug. 8 Craig pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct. A 10-day sentence was stayed, but he received a year probation and paid more than $500 in fines and fees, Roll Call writes. A spokesman for Craig described the June 11 incident as a “he said/he said misunderstanding,” and said the senator's office would release a fuller statement later today. He said/he said misunderstanding... that has all the marks of an Onion news piece... But don't stop reading now... It only gets better... [...] After he was arrested, Craig, who is married, was taken to the Airport Police Operations Center to be interviewed about the lewd conduct incident, according to the police report. At one point during the interview, Craig handed the plainclothes sergeant who arrested him a business card that identified him as a U.S. Senator and said, “What do you think about that?” the report states. I'd be saying that that makes him a bigger loser than George Michael. [...] “At 1216 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times and moves his foot closer to my foot. I moved my foot up and down slowly. While this was occurring, the male in the stall to my right was still present. I could hear several unknown persons in the restroom that appeared to use the restroom for its intended use. The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig as he moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot which was within my stall area,” the report states. Craig then proceeded to swipe his hand under the stall divider several times, and Karsnia noted in his report that “I could ... see Craig had a gold ring on his ring finger as his hand was on my side of the stall divider.” Karsnia then held his police identification down by the floor so that Craig could see it. “With my left hand near the floor, I pointed towards the exit. Craig responded, ‘No!’ I again pointed towards the exit. Craig exited the stall with his roller bags without flushing the toilet. ... Craig said he would not go. I told Craig that he was under arrest, he had to go, and that I didn’t want to make a scene. Craig then left the restroom.” A caller to Hugh Hewitt's show made the excellent point that if Craig was doing this at high noon and knew all the signals, that this probably wasn't his first time getting busy in a bathroom. What the hell are Republican elected officials doing? Unbelievable...

Senate votes 50 to 48 to add expiration date to Iraq war

They also want to make sure all the pork is shoved down our throats before the American public wakes up and realizes the Democrats they elected just a few months ago have totally abandonned the middle-of-the-road positions they took during the campaigns, taking a sharp turn to the left. Thank you sir may I have another.... WASHINGTON, March 27 — The Senate defeated an attempt to erase an American troop withdrawal date from an Iraq spending bill this afternoon after an emotional debate about the powers of the presidency and Congress and the well-being of front-line soldiers. By a vote of 50 to 48, the Senate allowed a withdrawal date of March 31, 2008, to remain in the $122 billion bill, which has yet to be acted upon. The majority defeated an amendment offered by Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi, the ranking Republican on the Appropriations Committee, that would have removed the date. The March 31, 2008, date is nonbinding, so the spending bill emerging from the Senate differs markedly from the version narrowly passed by the House last week that demanded a withdrawal by Sept. 1, 2008. Moreover, the margins in both chambers were far too narrow to override a veto promised by President Bush. Republican Senators Chuck Hagel (Nebraska) and Gordon Smith (Oregon) voted with the Democrats to pass the bill. At least we know Bush will veto it, and as of now the cut-and-run Dems don't have the votes to overturn the veto.

Senate Republicans stand firm and block the Democrats attempt to force troop withdrawal

The only Republican that broke ranks and voted with the Dems was Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon. WASHINGTON, March 15 — The Senate on Thursday rejected a Democratic resolution to withdraw most American combat troops from Iraq in 2008, but a similar measure advanced in the House, and Democratic leaders vowed to keep challenging President Bush to change course in Iraq. Go to Complete Coverage » The vote in the Senate was 50 against and 48 in favor, 12 short of what was needed to pass, with just a few defections in each party. It came just hours after the House Appropriations Committee, in another vote largely on party lines, approved an emergency spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan that includes a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq. The House will vote on that legislation next Thursday, setting the stage for another confrontation. [...] The Democratic resolution in the Senate would have redefined the United States mission in Iraq and set a goal of withdrawing American combat troops by March 31, 2008, except for a “limited number” focused on counterterrorism, training and equipping Iraqi forces, and protecting American and allied personnel. The House measure set a withdrawal deadline of Sept. 1, 2008. Good work Senate Republicans blocking the Democrats proposal. Setting a set date for withdrawal is like giving the terrorists a date after which they can do whatever they want. It's like Aussie Prime Minister Howard had said about a possible presidential Democratic victory in '08: "If I were running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March, 2008, and pray as many times as possible for a victory, not only for Obama, but also for the Democrats." Whatever date we set for withdrawal, I'm sure the terrorists' calendar would have a big circle around that date. But cheer up Democrats. Your party finally did a couple things right. They finally had an original idea, and they actually tried to enact policy based on that idea. Sure it was about as wrong an idea as they could have possibly come up with, but at least it's more than the pointless anti-Bush blather that they usually rely on.

Democratic Senator Tim Johnson in critical condition

Everyone's thoughts and prayers are with Johnson and his family. South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson is responding almost 24 hours after his emergency brain surgery. Johnson is listed in critical but stable condition at George Washington University Hospital in Washington D.C. His doctors say a mass of abnormal blood vessels entangled with arteries in the brain started to bleed. Senator Johnson is responding to both voice and touch and at this time no further surgeries are required. I talked with his communications director this afternoon, by phone and she says Johnson's two and a half hour surgery late last night was a success. No politics on this one. All signs so far point to his recovery which is good news. And I'm sure the Republicans and Democrats alike wish him a speedy recovery. This does bring up an interesting governmental quandry... What happens in the unlikely event of his incapacitation? Hugh Hewitt was just discussing the situation and mentioned that it's extremely unlikely that he'll reliquish his seat. There have been lots of old people in the Senate and there age and various conditions may have made daily attendance impossible, but thanks to the hard worrk of their staff, they were more than capable of active participation in governmental processes. I'd love for Republicans to take control of the Senate, but not this way. Get well soon Senator Johnson...