Smokin' in the boys' room

Bathroom arrest clouds Senator's future, reputation, underpants
What is it with these guys?

Republican Sen. Larry Craig, who voted against gay marriage, finds his political future in doubt after pleading guilty to gay gay gay sex charges.

Sen. Craig pleaded guilty earlier this month to misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges stemming from his June arrest by an undercover police officer in a men's restroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, a court spokeswoman and the senator's office said yesterday. Craig issued a statement confirming his arrest and guilty plea.

Craig's arrest is no surprise to those who have heard the gay rumors about him for years, says blogger:

His office must have been working overtime to suppress the news of the arrest...

Craig is a conservative Republican with an abysmal record on gay issues and a 100 percent favorable rating from the Christian Coalition. Oh, and he's married.

Ahhh, those rethug moral and family values! The sanctity of marriage! From part of the report -- apparently, he's blaming the size of his ballsack:

Sgt. Dave Karsnia was working as a plainclothes officer on June 11 investigating civilian complaints regarding sexual activity in the men's public restroom in which Craig was arrested.

Karsnia entered the bathroom at noon that day and about 13 minutes after taking a seat in a stall, he stated he could see "an older white male with grey hair standing outside my stall." The man, who lingered in front of the stall for two minutes, was later identified as Craig.

"I could see Craig look through the crack in the door from his position. Craig would look down at his hands, 'fidget' with his fingers, and then look through the crack into my stall again. Craig would repeat this cycle for about two minutes," the report states.

Craig then entered the stall next to Karsnia's.

"At 1216 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct, since it was in time to the Liza Minelli version of 'It's Raining Men' (OK, not really). Craig tapped his toes several times and moves his foot closer to my foot... The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig as he moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot which was within my stall area," the report states.

Craig proceeded to swipe his hand under the stall divider several times. Karsnia then held his police identification down by the floor so that Craig could see it.

"With my left hand near the floor, I pointed towards the exit. Craig responded, 'No!' I again pointed towards the exit. Craig exited the stall with his roller bags without flushing the toilet. ... Craig said he would not go. I told Craig that he was under arrest, he had to go, and that I didn't want to make a scene. Craig then left the restroom."

In a recorded interview after his arrest, Craig stated "that he has a wide stance when going to the bathroom and that his foot may have touched mine," the report states. Craig also told the arresting officer that he reached down with his right hand to pick up a piece of paper that was on the floor.

"It should be noted that there was not a piece of paper on the bathroom floor, nor did Craig pick up a piece of paper," the arresting officer said in the report.

Update: Craig is now denying any "inappropriate conduct" and said his actions had been misconstrued. Yes, after pleading guilty, Craig has flipflopped and says his plea was a mistake, plus he's found Jesus or something.



Oh, and he's resigned as Senate co-chairman for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.