August 28, 2007

Another GOP politician caught in sex scandal

http://www.jewishjournal.com/blog/item/another_gop_politician_caught_in_sex_scandal/

It seems like twice a week I get an e-mail in my inbox from a certain family member that has a link to MSNBC and says something like the one I received today, “GOP hypocrisy goes on.” Here’s the story:

WASHINGTON - Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, who has voted against gay marriage and opposes extending special protections to gay and lesbian crime victims, finds his political future in doubt after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges stemming from complaints of lewd conduct in a men’s room.
The conservative three-term senator, who has represented Idaho in Congress for more than a quarter-century, is up for re-election next year. He hasn’t said if he will run for a fourth term in 2008 and was expected to announce his plans this fall. (skip) The married Craig, 62, has faced rumors about his sexuality since the 1980s, but allegations that he has engaged in gay sex have never been substantiated. Craig has denied the assertions, which he calls ridiculous.

When I started on the religion beat in San Bernardino, a colleague on the local politics beat thought a should pay more attention to the stories about how socially conservative politicians—the so-called family-values folk—fared when their behavior was unholy. In the two-plus years since then, I can’t even count the number of these stories, from city councils to Capitol Hill, and across party lines, that have arisen.