Craig Reconsiders Resignation

Senator Larry Craig [R-Idaho] threw a potentially damaging monkey wrench into the GOP's breathlessly quick purge of him from the party late yesterday after a spokesperson announced he plans to reconsider his resignation. The social conservative announced his resignation on September 1 after his arrest inside a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport restroom in June.

Former U.S. Rep Mark Foley [F-Fla.], U.S. Sen. David Vitter [R-La] and U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens [R-Alaska] are among the Republican lawmakers who have tarnished the GOP's reputation with scandals and other improprieties over the last year. The Republican leadership knows full well the GOP could suffer another stinging political defeat next November that could very well result in their loss of the White House. It's decision to quickly distance themselves from the Craig scandal clearly indicates it remains highly sensitive to the impact additional bad publicity could have on their future aspirations. The question remains, however, as to whether the GOP practiced hypocrisy in its decision to purge Craig from its ranks.

Vitter remained in office despite the revelation his phone number appeared in a reputed Washington madam's black book. Stevens remains in office despite serious allegations of corruption and patronage lobbied against him. Foley quickly resigned after ABC News reported he sent illicit e-mails to a Congressional page. Craig followed suit but he appears to have changed his mind. He continues to send very mixed messages about the reasons he plead guilty to a charge in addition to his actual sexual orientation. His reconsideration remains, however, a serious problem which the GOP, rather foolishly perhaps, thought it had eliminated.