Regardless of Idaho Senator Larry Craig’s standing, there is now time to consider what’s truly behind his fast fall.
On the surface, a long time public servant pled guilty to a misdemeanor and was forced to resign from the U.S. Senate. In fact, the evidence suggests he never came close to committing the actual crime of lewd public behavior. At most, he took preliminary steps in that direction.
As is often the case in matters of ethics, Craig’s supporters ask: What about Ted Kennedy, Barney Frank, Gerry Studds? Weren’t their crimes much worse?
Laying aside the fact that ethics standards are determined on a situational basis, at least three theories have emerged as to why the reaction to Craig’s case was so drastic. From revelation to resignation, it all took six days.
Partisans looking to make the Craig case into a campaign issue quickly seized on the hypocrisy of a conservative Republican who had taken strong stands against gay rights, then engaging in the very sort of behavior he seemed to detest. His case was bundled with those of Mark Foley, the Florida congressman accused of sending suggestive e-mails to male pages and Sen. David Vitter, who admitted to using a D.C. escort service. The combination of all three presumably demonstrates the bankruptcy of Republican family values.
Bundle the three Republican cases with Kennedy, Frank and Studds, however, and you get a different message that raises questions about the nature of congress as a whole.
The second reason Craig’s political death came so quickly was the nature of the behavior itself. No one likes to think a U.S. Senator would ever stoop so low as to be trolling for sex in a public place. This is the kind of behavior normally associated with people average Americans never come in contact with -— like George Michael.
Bad Vibes
The third, and most likely reason for Craig’s six day death spiral is how he handled it. He kept his arrest a secret. His explanations were not credible. He seems to have been caught in a bald faced lie.
As Americans, we are reluctant to declare anyone a liar. We always seem to grant the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it is an extension of our general belief in the concept of innocent until proven guilty. When someone is actually caught red handed failing to tell the truth we show no mercy.
By keeping his arrest secret from everyone, the public, his colleagues and apparently even his family, Craig was being dishonest — lying — by omission. By trying to retract his guilty plea, he was turning common sense on its head. Although people do plead guilty at times simply to end an ordeal, no one believes a sophisticated politician would plead guilty to a crime that might put his entire career in jeopardy unless he was.
His attempt to turn the story into a “wide stance” defense, matching his credibility against a police officer who had nothing to gain by making the charge, was the final lie that made the whole thing unravel.
The quick desertion of three Republican U.S. Senators from Craig’s camp sent another subtle, troubling signal. Incumbent politicians do not usually abandon a colleague. The fact Republicans were the first to bail suggests there is more to Craig’s secret life than has been made public.
People seem to accept the fact that there are times when politicians live at the edge of the truth. If a white lie is told in the public interest, we look the other way. The Craig case demonstrates that the one sin that is fatal to any public servant is to get caught selfishly telling a lie to protect yourself.
Dean Pagani is a former gubernatorial advisor. He is V.P. of Public Affairs for Cashman and Katz Integrated Communications in Glastonbury.
