WHY IS REPUBLICAN CLOSET CASE MITCH McCONNELL IN SUCH A TIZZY OVER LARRY CRAIG? I BET YOU CAN GUESS

Voting-wise, Larry Craig's record is a bit to the right of Miss McConnell's but, when it comes right down to it, the two of them see almost eye to eye on everything: both are classic Bush-Cheney rubber stamps. Several of my friends can't understand why two closeted homosexuals have been so virulently anti-gay. I'm not a psychologist (though I gave it a shot yesterday) so let's just stick to the politics on this. And the GOP leadership is playing hardball-- against one of their own. After his pathetic "I'm not gay" press conference yesterday Tim Russert, on Nightly News, said "I talked to Republicans today -- they just want Senator Craig to exit, to leave."

In 2002 the two closeted far right extremists each went for the #2 slot in the Senate Republican leadership. McConnell beat him. Yesterday McConnell released this statement on behalf of the Republican leaders in the Senate:

Late yesterday we became aware of the incident involving Sen. Larry Craig and his subsequent admission of guilt in a Minnesota court. This is a serious matter. Due to the reported and disputed circumstances, and the legal resolution of this serious case, we will recommend that Sen. Craig’s incident be reported to the Senate Ethics Committee for its review. In the meantime, leadership is examining other aspects of the case to determine if additional action is required.

Interesting that McConnell is moving rapidly against his fellow homosexual-- who loudly denies having done anything wrong-- while he never did a thing when it came to David Diapers Vitter (R-LA), who admitted to hiring prostitutes (a crime).

The right-wing grassroots is howling for homo blood and McConnell is more than aware how quickly that could turn against him-- and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who is already in trouble with the violently homophobic Know Nothing wing of the GOP for his support of Bush's immigration agenda. One extremist, Robert Bluey, writes "How very sad for a party that once stood for moral values," while another is demanding something that scares the bloomers off McConnell:

I would like to argue that we should stop the bleeding, but if we're going to clean house then it might get a lot worse. Until we learn that daylight is the best cure for scandals, and that moral values mean more than a campaign slogan, there will be many more Larry Craigs elected to office, and our nation will suffer for it.

Today's NY Times wonders aloud what's next for the scandal-scarred GOP? Characterizing Craig's press conference as "a bizarre spectacle," the Times points out that it is "only the latest in a string of accusations of sexual foibles and financial misdeeds that have landed Republicans in the political equivalent of purgatory, the realm of late-night comic television."

“The real question for Republicans in Washington is how low can you go, because we are approaching a level of ridiculousness,” said [a Republican operative], sounding exasperated in an interview on Tuesday morning. “You can’t make this stuff up. And the impact this is having on the grass-roots around the country is devastating. Republicans think the governing class in Washington are a bunch of buffoons who have total disregard for the principles of the party, the law of the land and the future of the country.”

Then again, Washington does not have a monopoly on the latest trend among Republicans. Just ask Thomas Ravenel, the state treasurer of South Carolina, who had to step down as state chairman of Rudolph W. Giuliani’s presidential campaign after he was indicted on cocaine charges in June.

Or Bob Allen, a state representative in Florida who was jettisoned from the John McCain campaign last month after he was arrested on charges of soliciting sex in a public restroom.

And Romney, of course, fired Craig from his campaign in nano-seconds of the toilet revelations coming out. Flip Flop Mitt didn't want to hear any of that "I did nothing wrong," crapola, not from someone who everyone in Washington knows is a frustrated closet queen who has been prowling public restrooms look for quickie sex for years.

In an interview Tuesday on Kudlow and Company on CNBC, Mr. Romney could not distance himself fast enough. “Once again, we’ve found people in Washington have not lived up to the level of respect and dignity that we would expect for somebody that gets elected to a position of high influence,” Mr. Romney said. “Very disappointing. He’s no longer associated with my campaign, as you can imagine.”

The religionists aren't all that forgiving, not when it comes to homosexuals. Vitter in diapers chasing prostitutes for decades is one thing but a senator tapping his foot in a gay code in a public restroom is something else entirely. And, as the Times points out, this is hardly the beginning or the end of the Republican Party's addiction to high profile scandals. "...there is a sort of 'here we go again' sense among Republicans these days, especially since news of the Craig arrest broke on Monday afternoon. It is tough enough being in the minority, weighed down by the burden of the war in Iraq. Now Republicans have an even more pressing task: keeping their party from being portrayed not just as hypocritical and out of touch with the values of people they represent, but also as a laughingstock-- amid headlines like 'Senator’s Bathroom Bust,' which ran all Tuesday afternoon on CNN. The story also ran at the top of all the network evening newscasts on Tuesday."

Perhaps Craig should redo that press conference, the way Lauren Caitlin Upton, Miss South Carolina, got to do hers on NBC. South Park has carefully choreographed a more suitable response for Larry Craig, although I think that Miss McConnell, Lindsey Graham, David Dreier, Jim McCrery, Patrick McHenry and the rest of the boys team should be-- at least-- in the chorus.