The GOP may be reaching for the Panic button

In what has to be one of the most outrageous and egomaniacal political moves of the decade, Senator Larry Craig (R-Chutzpah) may renege on his promise to resign from the Senate. Apparently, he is going to fight his own guilty plea to charges that he solicited gay sex in a public men’s room (BTW – I cannot believe I just wrote that sentence). Craig may be gearing up for a kamikaze mission of mythic proportions. Here is why:

Many have asked why Senator David Vitter (R-Brothel) got a pass on his sex scandal while Craig got the hook. Some say it is because a Democrat would have replaced Vitter. Others, myself included, believed that a sizable portion of the GOP finds trolling for gay sex more insidious than actual, adulterous sex. At any rate, most of the Republicans that called for his resignation claimed that because Craig admitted guilt in a court, he was unfit to serve, something Vitter did not do. It is a mild distinction, I know, but a distinction on which they cling. So imagine this scenario.

Craig could very well beat his disorderly conduct charge and in doing so, undercut his critics’ rationale for demanding he leave the Senate. So the damaged Senator returns and runs for re-election. Craig then forces every GOP member of the House and Senate to respond to the question, “Do you think the Sen. Craig should have resigned and why?”

Here are the options:
1. One can say yes, he should go, which will please the base but runs seriously towards the homophobic because a good reporter would immediately follow up with “And what of Sen. Vitter?” Checkmate, you’re a bigoted hypocrite.
2. One can say no, he has cleared his name and as such, there is no reason for the Senator to resign. Unfortunately, that would kill your support in the Christian Conservative wing.
3. Run, obfuscate, dodge, spin, or “No Comment” your way out. And now you look like a huge pussy.

As you can see, there are no good answers. In a year that is already shaping up to be a real challenge for Republicans, Larry Craig may just push the whole thing over a cliff. If you are running in a tight race, this is not what you want to talk about, ever. Not to mention the delicious irony at work here. Craig, abandoned by his friends like a sinking ship when the scandal broke, returns to scuttle their chances in 2008. The whole thing reminds me of the Count of Monte Cristo, only less noble and more tawdry.