Conflict of Interest
Okay, I’m completely glad that Larry Craig got busted for being a hypocrite. I am all about exposing hypocrisy.
He has voted against every gay-friendly bill put before him, probably out of a good degree of self-hatred and to protect his own closeting. The closet must be such a sad place - being that scared of yourself (or your community) has to be devastating. That being said, Craig’s self-hatred has helped to deny rights to gays and lesbians in the United States, so I’m glad he’s been exposed as the hypocrite he is.
But the press is beating this a bit hard, though (no pun intended). David Vitter (R-LA) hasn’t yet been charged with solitication of a female prostitute, nor is the Republican leadership in the Senate seeking to have him investigated by the Ethics Committee (though that may soon change since being coupled (no pun again, I swear) with the Craig matter).
Meanwhile, CNN is running images of playground children in tandem with the Craig story. This is, as Dan Savage pointed out on CNN last night, is ‘to create an image of children in peril’. There is no peril here for kids - these aren’t pedophiles, they’re consenting adults who perform private acts in public places to keep their true desires a secret.
Tucker Carlson is over at MSNBC talking about beating up a gay man who approached him in a bathroom (he is now calling it an ‘assault’). The most appalling part of the clip isn’t even Carlson’s story, but Joe Scarborough and whoever that other guy is repeatedly assuring themselves, each other and the public that they’re not gay. They go back to the story more than once, giggling like pathetic, mean schoolboys.
There’s politics at play as well, of course. An investigation of Vitter resulting his resignation or expulsion from the Senate would give Louisiana governor Blanco (D) the chance to firm up the Democrats’ hold on the Senate. Craig’s safe Idaho seat means he can be treated with abandon (hell, John McCain might even get another couple months of presidential campaigning out of ‘values voters’).
The hypocrisy is the story - not the gay. If Craig hadn’t been in the closet, he wouldn’t have been in the bathroom (for that matter, he wouldn’t have been in Congress). And he wouldn’t be now part of this sad little show, equal parts rank hypocrisy and pitiable closeting.
GOP Senators Abandon Craig, Call for Resignation [ABC News]
Here’s Your Double Standard [SLOG]
Me [Dan Savage] On CNN Last Night [SLOG]
Tucker Carlson, Another Tragic Victim of Sexual Assault [Wonkette]
