Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, has a lot of explaining to do about his June arrest and guilty plea on charges of soliciting sex in an airport men’s restroom. Suspicions that Craig is gay have been following him for years, the Idaho Statesman reports today.
In May, the paper asked him in an interview if he was homosexual (he denied it) after a man claimed he had sex with Craig in a Washington, D.C., restroom, probably in 2004.
By the way, that’s the year Craig voted for the failed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The social conservative also has opposed allowing gays in the military and extending civil rights protections to gays in the workplace.
He’s up for re-election in 2008, and unless Craig has some really good explanations for his restroom foot-tapping — restless leg syndrome? — his seat could be wide open next year.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
A compelling and informative Newsweek cover story tries to answer the question: Why can’t we catch Osama bin Laden?
Manhunts are never easy, the piece reminds us. But the search for the terrorist leader has been hampered by turf battles, risk aversion and the diversion of military resources and troops to Iraq.
The trail has gone cold. U.S. forces are relying on guesswork in finding bin Laden, with little actionable intelligence.
And al-Qaida is said to be close to launching another major attack: "It’s bad; it’s going to come," said a State Department counterterrorism expert.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
When state lawmakers committed themselves in 2005 to giving $250,000 each to the families of three fallen Kansas National Guardsmen on top of other death benefits, they made a tacit promise to those whose grief was still to come. After a problematic attempt to cover further payouts via an insurance plan left four more families with fewer benefits, legislators rightly acted this year to equalize the benefits, including to the family of Staff Sgt. David Russell Berry of Wichita. Since adjournment, though, two more Guard members have been killed, leaving their families short until or unless lawmakers can act. As Rep. Lee Tafanelli, R-Ozawkie, a colonel in the Kansas National Guard, told the Topeka Capital-Journal, “Clearly we need to have some uniform policy.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
A 2010 gubernatorial run for veteran Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh now seems more a certainty than a likelihood. A month after announcing he’d appointed a campaign treasurer, Thornburgh told the Wichita Pachyderm Club last week, “I think the time is right for me to move forward,” and took credit for being “the leading vote-getter on the ballot” among state officeholders in 2006 and 2002 (except for Sen. Pat Roberts in 2002). First, though, he’ll have to address the “Republican in name only” reputation that drew him a conservative primary challenge last year. Thanks to (and unlike) his predecessor as secretary of state, two-term Gov. Bill Graves, Thornburgh at least shouldn’t have to convince voters that his job is sufficient preparation to be the state’s CEO. But there is that matter of Thornburgh having spent his entire adult life, since he was still a junior in college, working in one state office, a total 27 years by Election Day 2010.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The setting was a Topeka gathering of 2nd Congressional District Republicans. The topic was “Working With the Enemy (media relations).” The presenter was David Kensinger, Sen. Sam Brownback’s former chief of staff. The talking points included, according to the Lawrence Journal-World: The media are too powerful to be ignored. Reporters are biased; get over it. Make the bias work for you. Do not deny the undeniable. Share the sugar.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee joked that, if elected, he might be able to get the Rolling Stones to play at his inauguration party — because guitarist Keith Richards owes him. As one of his last acts as governor of Arkansas, Huckabee pardoned Richards last year for a misdemeanor reckless driving conviction that he received in Arkansas in 1975.
Huckabee said some cynics complained that he gave the Rolling Stone special treatment. Huckabee didn’t disagree but offered a deal: “If you can play guitar like Keith Richards, I’ll do it for you.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
