05:08: "I don't know, I don't know"
05:20: "I don't recall that"
05:46: "I don't recall"
05:55: "I don't recall"
06:15: "I don't recall that"

Maybe that's because the affair is another nightmare of hypocrisy come true: Once again, the party that embraces a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and blocks laws that would stop discrimination against homosexuals finds itself with a loyal foot soldier who votes one way and allegedly acts another. Mr. Craig voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. He voted for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in 2004. Last year, he supported an Idaho constitutional amendment that prohibits gay marriage and civil unions. Mr. Craig is yet another willing accomplice in the machinery of intolerance that has stunted the lives of many gay men and lesbians. Maybe even his own.

Editorial: Sen. Larry Craig needs to resign

For the good of a state he loves, a state he has served for more than a quarter century.

It is difficult and unpleasant to call on Idaho's senior senator to end a career in public service. We don't do this casually, or unanimously.

However, we cannot abide an elected official who didn't disclose a lewd conduct arrest until the story broke 77 days later -- a lie by omission and a violation of the public trust. We cannot believe Craig can effectively serve Idaho, under the shadow of his guilty plea on a lesser charge of disorderly conduct. We cannot afford, as a state with but four congressional representatives, to have a senator who merely provides fodder for bloggers and late-night talk show hosts.

My original report: Senator Larry Craig.... What's with the gay bashing?

Spokesman Review: If our reporters had uncovered this information, it's unlikely we would run a story. However, because this information is already circulating through other media, it's a different situation.

Technorati: After outing, Larry Craig is number one blog search term

USA Today on Larry Craig being outed

CBS News weighs in on Larry Craig report

Video: Bill Maher and Barney Frank on Larry Craig

"Larry Craig should stand up and be honest with the citizens of Idaho about who he is," said Rogers, the country's top gay activist blogger. "Tonight is a historic opportunity for Senator Craig to run for re-election as a proud gay American. What a great turning point for one of the most conservative states in the country to be represented by an openly gay Senator."

"Senator Craig's situation is exacerbated by the fact that he has a voting record that is counter to the interest of lesbian and gay Americans. All too often, closeted men like Senator Craig use their voting record to hide their truth from the American people. With this news now out in the open, I call upon Senator Craig to reevaluate his votes on issues like the Federal Marriage Amendment, Don't Ask Don't Tell, and the Defense of Marriage Act.

"The Minnesota arrest is not a one-time occurrence," Rogers added. "Last October, I reported on three other encounters that Senator Craig had with men – including one in a bathroom in Washington's Union Station. What's troubling about this is Larry Craig's hypocrisy: he repeatedly votes against the gay community during his day job, while engaging in same-sex encounters as extra curricular activity. Now is a good time for Larry Craig to join millions of other Americans and be proud of who he is.

Read the entire statement here

Check out these video clips from 1982 when he preemptively denied his involvement in a Congressional sex and drug scandal. (I love what he says about unmarried people back then and how often do politicians issue preemptive denials based on rumors?)

WOW!

Craig Arrested, Pleads Guilty Following Incident in Airport Restroom

Craig’s arrest occurred just after noon on June 11 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. On Aug. 8, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in the Hennepin County District Court. He paid more than $500 in fines and fees, and a 10-day jail sentence was stayed. He also was given one year of probation with the court that began on Aug. 8.

A spokesman for Craig described the incident as a “he said/he said misunderstanding,” and said the office would release a fuller statement later Monday afternoon.

After he was arrested, Craig, who is married, was taken to the Airport Police Operations Center to be interviewed about the lewd conduct incident, according to the police report. At one point during the interview, Craig handed the plainclothes sergeant who arrested him a business card that identified him as a U.S. Senator and said, “What do you think about that?” the report states.

DNC Supports FEC Complaint Against Fred Thompson

Testing the Waters Campaign Goes Beyond Scope of the Law

Washington, DC – Today, the Democratic National Committee issued a statement in support of the Federal Election Commission complaint filed by Lane Hudson against Fred Thompson's "Test the Waters" Campaign.

"Voters deserve to know whether Fred Thompson is in or out," said Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney. "Thompson continues to skirt the same campaign finance laws that he once championed by running a shadow campaign in order to avoid financial disclosure requirements which would force him to reveal his donors. In addition to skirting campaign finance laws, Thompson also appears to be trying to avoid the rigors of the campaign trail, including debates, serious interviews with the media and details on where he stands on the issues important to the American people. Thompson should stop trying to skirt the laws. Americans have already had six years of an Administration that believes it's above the law – we don't need more of the same."

If you are really for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, why haven't you introduced a bill to repeal the law and will you commit to doing so in the next sixty days?

Ned, If you are really for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, would you have introduced a bill in favor of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Ned, can you tell me, if you were in the senate would you at least co-sponsor or pledge to vote for a law that repealed the ban on lesbian and gay servicemembers?

A megachurch canceled a memorial service for a Navy veteran 24 hours before it was to start because the deceased was gay.

Officials at the nondenominational High Point Church knew that Cecil Howard Sinclair was gay when they offered to host his service, said his sister, Kathleen Wright. But after his obituary listed his life partner as one of his survivors, she said, it was called off.

"It's a slap in the face. It's like, 'Oh, we're sorry he died, but he's gay so we can't help you,'" she said Friday.

Wright said High Point offered to hold the service for Sinclair because their brother is a janitor there. Sinclair, who served in the first Gulf War, died Monday at age 46 from an infection after surgery to prepare him for a heart transplant.

The church's pastor, the Rev. Gary Simons, said no one knew Sinclair, who was not a church member, was gay until the day before the Thursday service, when staff members putting together his video tribute saw pictures of men "engaging in clear affection, kissing and embracing."

Simons said the church believes homosexuality is a sin, and it would have appeared to endorse that lifestyle if the service had been held there.

"We did decline to host the service - not based on hatred, not based on discrimination, but based on principle," Simons told The Associated Press. "Had we known it on the day they first spoke about it - yes, we would have declined then. It's not that we didn't love the family."

"There on the hill outside of Juarez [Mexico], the taste of dust in my mouth, I found myself face to face with the latest manifestation of a virulent capitalism in which masses of humanity become pawns for massive profits for a few. What does this mean, I thought, to gay people?" -Mab Segrest, 1993