Sen. Larry Craig, Despite Toilet Sex Scandal, Retains NRA Board of Directors Seat
(OFFICER: Okay, And then with the hand. Um, how many times did you put your hand under the stall? [...]OFFICER: Okay. Was your was your palm down or up when you were doing that?
CRAIG: I don't recall
OFFICER: Okay. I recall your palm being up. Okay.
From the transcript of Craig's interview with the police)
Today is day five of the Larry Craig scandal and I'm somewhat surprised his membership on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association has not been delved into by the mainstream press.
Given how Craig was forced to step down by Senate GOP leaders from his senior committee posts, I'd expect someone in the corporate news media to pose a few questions to the NRA leaders, starting with does the gun rights organization plan to ask him to step down from the board?
And how does the NRA view one of its board members arrested for soliciting another male for sex in an airport restroom? Does Craig's continued presence on the NRA board help advance the organization's agenda before Congress and the American public?
In a sense, as a gay rights activist, I can easily see the positive aspect of the NRA keeping a toilet sex troll, who is probably bisexual, on the board. Unlike his GOP colleagues in the Senate who couldn't find a bus fast and big enough to throw him under this week, the NRA shows no signs of asking him to resign or further explain himself. Craig's sex life and resultant public scrutiny, not to mention condemnations from conservative quarters, are of no concern to the NRA.
It says something that at the end of this scandal-plagued week for Craig, the NRA has not publicly asked him to step aside, nor has the enormous membership expressed any outrage or concerns over the revelations this week.
Knowing what we do now about Idahomo Larry Craig's predilection for tearooms, and his NRA connection, I think the gay gun owners' group, the Pink Pistols, should extend an honorary membership to him.
Click here to read the NRA page for Craig. Anyone care to place a bet he won't be on the NRA board for much longer?
1 comment:
The NRA probably isn't going to ask him to step down. Board members are elected by the membership, and Craig was just up. I don't think his seat will come up again until 2010. He might step down on his own, but I doubt you'll see much of a public outcry from NRA for his resignation. NRA staff will be pretty reluctant to go after a board member.
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