LARRY CRAIG HAS FINALLY MADE UP HIS MIND-- HE'S NOT RESIGNING

Although Hennepin County District Judge Charles Porter ruled against Wide Stance Larry Craig (R-ID), the reactionary closet case is still holding form that he was just tappin' his toes innocently in the humpy men's room at the Twin Cities Airport and that he's not gay (and never had been gay) and that he's not going away but will remain in the Senate until January, 2009. He wasn't permitted to withdraw his guilty plea, the outcome, perversely, that best serves his interests since the last thing he wants is the kind of public trial that would expose his toilet trawling behavior. Now he'll just try to ride out the clock in the Senate, although homophobic maniacs inside the GOP caucus-- his erstwhile allies-- are threatening to hold public hearings if he doesn't resign.

In a sharply worded, 27-page order, the judge found the Idaho Republican had freely given his plea after extensive discussions with prosecutors and after waiving his right to an attorney.

"The defendant, a career politician with a college education, is of at least above-average intelligence," Porter wrote. "He knew what he was saying, reading and signing."

...The judge also dismissed Craig's argument that he was unfairly pressured to enter a quick guilty plea to avoid a public court appearance.

"This pressure was entirely perceived by the defendant and was not a result of any action by the police, the prosecutor or the court," he wrote.

The judge also said the transcript of the dialogue between Craig and the arresting police officer did not show "an improperly aggressive interrogation."

"There was no manifest injustice in the pressures to plead as perceived by the defendant," Porter wrote.

Craig's office sent out a press release reacting to the ruling.

"I will continue to serve Idaho in the United States Senate, and there are several reasons for that. As I continued to work for Idaho over the past three weeks here in the Senate, I have seen that it is possible for me to work here effectively.

"Over the course of my three terms in the Senate and five terms in the House, I have accumulated seniority and important committee assignments* that are valuable to Idaho, not the least of which are my seats on the Appropriations Committee, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Veterans' Affairs Committee. A replacement would be highly unlikely to obtain these posts.

"In addition, I will continue my effort to clear my name in the Senate Ethics Committee-- something that is not possible if I am not serving in the Senate.

"When my term has expired, I will retire and not seek reelection. I hope this provides the certainty Idaho needs and deserves."

Republicans view Craig's continued presence in the Senate as a detriment to their efforts to lose less than 10 seats in 2008. Other GOP closet queens will also be put in jeopardy, particularly Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in the Senate and David Dreier (R-CA), Patrick McHenry (R-NC), and Adrian Smith (R-NE) in the House.

* I thought the Republicans kicked him off his committees, no?

Take a look at Roya's perspective and a cool Wolf Blintzer CNN video at Crooks & Liars.


UPDATE: REPUBLICAN HYPOCRITES DEMAND CRAIG RESIGN AT ONCE-- OR FACE THEIR WRATH

Given the nature of glass houses, it is unlikely that their "wrath" will be all that daunting. McConnell and Graham are well aware that if they were to push Craig far enough he could certainly end whatever chances either of them have at re-election since both are also hypocritical closet queens with long and tawdry histories not so very different from his own-- except neither has been caught and exposed... yet. So McConnell is laying low and found another schlemiel to poke Craig in the eye.

Senator John Ensign of Nevada, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, demanded that Mr. Craig keep his initial pledge and leave the Senate.

“The type of behavior we are talking about here is not exactly something that I think a senator should be engaged in,” said Mr. Ensign, who again raised the possibility of public ethics committee hearings into whether Mr. Craig brought discredit on the Senate, which could be grounds for action against him.

The leaders of the ethics panel said today that a complaint filed against Mr. Craig by the Republican leadership in August, when the news of his guilty plea became public, remained an open case, given his decision to remain in office.

Other Republicans stopped short of calling on Mr. Craig to give up his seat, but they were clearly dismayed that he would stay in office, citing the distraction his presence could provide as well as the potential harm to the party and the Senate.

“I can’t think of anything good about it,” said Senator Saxby Chambliss, Republican of Georgia.

“You don’t want to know what I really feel,” said Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina.

Republicans are getting uneasy that giving Craig the bum-rush makes them look like the bigots they are after they've gone so easy on David Diapers Vitter (R-LA), who admitted he's a whoremonger and adulterer, and Ted Stevens who's misappropriated millions of dollars in a series of schemes that have lined his pockets and corrupted Alaska's entire Republican Party.