Two More Craig Points
MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Obermann reenacted the Craig bathroom scene tonight, complete with a Dragnet intro and Obermann reading the police report pretending to be the arresting officer. The link to the video is over at Crooks and Liars.
I tend to find the show a bit smug anyway, but I found the segment appalling - so much so that I wrote in to complain and… I can’t believe I’m saying this… vaguely defend a Republican senator. What I wrote makes my point better than I did in the previous post, so I’m putting it up:
The Dragnet-style piece you did on Larry Craig was lame bordering on pathetic. It was bad enough for me to write in defending a Republican Senator - something I would never in my wildest dreams imagine I’d be doing tonight.
I was pleased to hear the news of Craig’s arrest because I think it’s good to see hypocrisy exposed - perhaps especially when it stands to benefit the Democrats.
The media, however, have not focused on the hypocrisy so much as the sad, pitiable actions of Craig in the bathroom stall. As much as I’d like to see him removed from Congress (or better yet, refuse to leave with the possibility of a strong Democratic challenger), focusing on how funny and gay he is, I find appalling.
Craig was in the closet for years, and sad encounters in bathroom stalls are the only outlets he had (self-imposed or no) for his true desires and sexuality. Not only does mocking certain types of gay sex (not that many out gay men participate in bathroom encounters) help keep others in the closet, it detracts from the true story of Craig: a man who hated himself and tried to deny rights to other homosexuals. Senator Craig loathes himself so much, he would rather put all homosexuals back in toilets and rest stops than admit who he is.
This makes him a hypocrite and a bad senator, but also worthy of our pity. Your piece was very disappointing.
That bit of grandstanding done, I direct your attention to the fact that the Republican Convention is being held in the Twin Cities next year. What are the odds of that? Tim Pawlenty just saw his VP chances dry up in an airport toilet. How many shots of Republicans walking past the ‘bathroom of doom’ at MSP do you think we’re going to see?
I admit, that cracks me up.
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