Apparently in my sleepy, pre-caffeinated state, I gave Larry Craig too much credit. According to Best of the Web by James Taranto, Craig has been hiding in the closet for a long long time:
Craig's sexual orientation has long been the subject of rumors in Washington. Last year, during the Mark Foley scandal, a gay blogger "outed" him--i.e., purportedly exposed him as a closeted homosexual. Even more odd, in 1982, when an earlier scandal involving sex between congressmen and underage pages erupted, Craig, then a freshman House member, took to the airwaves and issued a pre-emptive denial.
And the "come on" wasn't just foot tapping according to police:
At 1213 hours, I could see an older white male with grey hair standing outside my stall. . . . That male was later identified . . . as Larry Edwin Craig. . . . I could see Craig look through the crack in the door from his position. Craig would look down at his hands, "fidget" with his fingers, and then look through the crack into my stall again. Craig would repeat this cycle for about two minutes. . . .
At 1215 hours, the male in the stall to the left of me flushed the toilet and exited the stall. Craig entered the stall and placed his roller bag against the front of the stall door. My experience has shown that individuals engaging in lewd conduct use their bags to block the view from the front of their stall. From my seated position, I could observe the shoes and ankles of Craig seated to the left of me. . . . 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. . . .
At 1217 hours, I saw Craig swipe his hand under the stall divider for a few seconds. . . . At about 1219 hours, I held my Police Identification in my right hand down by the floor so that Craig could see it. With my left hand near the floor, I pointed toward the exit. Craig responded, "No!"
Although from now on I'll be looking for foot tapping in bathroom stalls and making sure I don't tap back.
Because Craig is a conservative, Republican, and has voted against gay marriage, we'll soon have the left calling him a self-loathing gay man. Here's a typical example:
I can’t help but smile when a Republican that has blasted gay and lesbian Americans, and has voted against a variety of GLBT issues, gets caught (forgive me, I have to say it) with their pants down. It’s also fun watching the rest of the party scurry like rats to try and 1) distance themselves from the issue, 2) distance themselves from the politician in trouble, or 3) come up with some political circus event to try and hide what’s going on.
Sure, Craig is a hypocrite. So are those on the left who'll have no compassion for this obviously troubled man.
But if I were to guess, I would say Craig votes against gay marriage and other "GLBT" issues not because he's a self-hating gay man, but because he believe on principle that those votes are what's best for the country yet he has his demons. You can drink and be against underage drinking. You can be "pro family" yet have a troubled marriage. There's no reason in the world Craig could not honestly and sincerely believe the positions he takes are the best for the nation, and still be a closet homosexual.
Let's hope he either doesn't run for Senate again or is defeated in the primary. I think Idaho (and remember, I've lived there) would vote for a Democrat before voting for a gay man. I think.