Sen. David Vitter Flips Out at Airport

Photo from source, Raw Story

Don't you just hate it when a celebrity or politician pulls the "Do you know who I am?" card to try to get his way, or get out of something? Sen. Larry Craig (R-Of Course) tried it to get out of his bathroom arrest. And now, Sen. David "Adult Diaper" Vitter (R-You Betcha) has tried the same thing to get out of causing disruption at an airport. Well, at least it had nothing to do with prostitutes this time.

[Excerpt]

GOP senator flips out at airline, sets off security alarm

. . .After missing a flight last Thursday from Washington to New Orleans,Louisiana Sen. David Vitter opened an armed security door and went off on a United Airlines employee, according to a report filed Wednesday by (paid-restricted) Roll Call. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

I'm an Al Franken Fan. Here's Why.

Photo from Al Franken's campaign website

I don't and have never lived in Minnesota. I've never even visited the Sen. Larry Craig Memorial Restroom in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport. But I really want Al Franken to become a US Senator from Minnesota. Sure, he's a comedian. That could be a strike against him, but it is one of my top five reasons for wanting him in there!

I loved his writing and appearances on Saturday Night Live, as well as his books Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot (and Other Observations), Lies (and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them), and The Truth (With Jokes). These books, while funny, were fairly in-depth political works with highly intelligent arguments. He parlayed that experience into a radio talk show, first called The O'Franken Factor (to enrage Bill O'Reilly). The show ran for two years, was very informative, and introduced me to (frequent guests) David Sirota, Howard Fineman, David Brock and Jonathan Alter among many others.

Minnesota, in other words, would not be voting for Carrot Top here. They'd get a smart, informed, and yes funny guy who isn't afraid to ask questions, challenge the conventional wisdom, and surround himself with other smart people. And C-SPAN would be a lot more fun. Plus, that Norm Coleman gives me the creeps.

Now, a little evidence to support my endorsement:




#1 - Al discussing where Rush Limbaugh gets his "facts."
#2 - Al drawing the 48 lower states freehand. Can Norm Coleman do that?

#3 - A lame Norm Coleman ad, taking a career comedian's jokes and quotes out of context.

#4 - An Al Franken campaign commercial.

I wanted to include a clip or two from Saturday Night Live or the short-lived (but hilarious) LateLine. Maybe for a future post, after I track some clips down. Meanwhile Go, Al, go!

David Letterman: Larry Craig Internship

Wow, I haven't put up anything about Larry Craig in a long time! And I wouldn't now, but this David Letterman clip is pretty funny. Also, it's Friday, it's payday and it's the last day of the month. In other words, a "casual Friday" is in order here. While I'm all about the political posts, it's a lot more fun to do them with entertainment mixed in! Enjoy.

Probably My Last Larry Craig Post

Photo from source, TowleRoad

Yeah, all the fun has been wrung out of the Larry Craig story for me. The tapping jokes just got old, I guess. So, unless he comes swinging out of the closet on a rope, this will be the last time his visage graces the blog. The story this time is that the Senate gave him a wrist slap, not a toe-tap.

[Excerpt]

Senate Issues Letter of Admonition to Larry Craig

The Senate Ethics Committee released a 'Public Letter of Admonition' today to Idaho Senator Larry Craig with regard to Craig's conduct following his arrest last June in a men's room at the Minneapolis airport. . .

Read more at: TowleRoad

Sen. Larry Craig Tapped LOTS of Men?

Photo from source, Idaho Statesman

Interesting. Larry Craig has former fellow toe-tappers coming out of the wood-work, it would seem. I'm with Kathy Griffin and Larry Flynt; I don't care what you're up to, or who it's with, just don't be a hypocrite. Larry Craig was actively pursuing legislation against gay people's rights, and yet seems to have been having a gay old time for quite a while now. Check it out. . .

[Excerpt]

More gay men describe sexual encounters with U.S. Sen. Craig

David Phillips. Mike Jones. Greg Ruth. Tom Russell.
Four gay men, willing to put their names in print and whose allegations can't be disproved, have come forward since news of U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's guilty plea. They say they had sex with Craig or that he made a sexual advance or that he paid them unusual attention.

They are telling their stories now because they are offended by Craig's denials, including his famous statement, "I am not gay, I never have been gay." Those words, spoken on live national TV on Aug. 28, are now memorialized on a just-released-for-Christmas Talking Senator Larry Craig Action Figure. . .

Read more at: Idaho Statesman

Kathy Griffin Takes on Sen. Larry Craig

Photo from Queerty

I just loves me some Kathy Griffin! Her latest comedy special on Bravo, Kathy Griffin: Straight to Hell just aired this past Thursday, but I'm sure its available in reruns over the month of December.

It's a shame that Kathy only gets an hour to strut her stuff. Her comedy is rather long-form, and thrives on digressions. She needs more space for that. Anyway, here is a clip from the show, with Kathy pantomiming Senator Larry Craig's infamous bathroom toe-tapping and hand signals. Because this video is naughty (even the censors at Bravo couldn't clean it up), I'm putting it "below the fold." Click the line at the bottom of this post that says If post says "Continued," click here! to see it.

Continued

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One More Larry Craig Post?

Oh, come on. Give me one more. This one is from Air America Radio's The Young Turks. They go as far in the description of a man who claims to have hooked up with Larry Craig as they could on radio. It's got a certain humor quotient, I've got to say. Next time The Stephanie Miller Show is a rerun, I may have to give The Young Turks a try.

SNL: "Really?" With Seth & Amy (Larry Craig)

Saturday Night Live's second episode was rather flat again this week. I'm not sure what's going on. They have the same cast as last year, and the same head writer (Seth Meyers). You can usually count on Weekend Update to deliver, if nothing else does, and this week's WU was an improvement. They even brought back Chevy Chase (in his old Weekend Update set), and he did better than I ever thought he would.

I'm hoping for better next week, but one segment was worth a look. This is a riff on Senator Larry Craig (yes, him again), in a recurring bit called "Really? With Seth & Amy." I wish the rest of the show was this funny.

11/05/07 UPDATE: I noticed that this clip was getting some traffic, so I was checking in to see if the clip still works. It doesn't. YouTube or NBC/Universal has apparently pulled the clip, and there is no replacement (at least not today). If you'd still like to see it, try NBC.com

Larry Craig to be Honored in Idaho

I'm just. . .well, I'm practically speechless. The Sen. Larry Craig story rolls on, and gets weirder as it goes. . .

[Excerpt]

Embattled Idaho Senator Honored in State
BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- Sen. Larry Craig has been chosen for induction into the Idaho Hall of Fame, despite his well-publicized arrest and guilty plea in an airport sex sting, officials said.

The nonprofit Idaho Hall of Fame Association picked Craig in March, months before he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after a Minneapolis airport police officer accused him of soliciting sex in the men's restroom, the organization's board chairman said. . .

Read the rest at: NYTimes.com

Update: Sen. Craig, Ted Haggard, and Mike Jones

The story I posted just a few slots down has started to hit the news. It would be really interesting to see if it hits the Sunday morning talk shows!

More interesting will be to see if this story gains steam, or if it just fizzles out. So far, it seems to be a local story, but it's lighting up the blogosphere. Stay tuned.

[Excerpt]

Infamous Male Escort Claims Sen. Craig Saw Him

DENVER -- The male escort responsible for the downfall of Christian evangelist Ted Haggard is now alleging Idaho Sen. Larry Craig also came to see him in Denver.

In a new radio interview with a station in Palm Springs, Calif., Mike Jones hesitated from making the allegation on the air but a TV camera was rolling during a radio commercial break and that's when he made the accusation.

Jones was in the studios of a news radio station to promote his new book.

Read the rest at: TheDenverChannel.com

And here: 9News.com

UPDATE: On perusal of my favorite blog, AmericaBlog.com, I found this related story, which is from one of my other favorite blogs, Bloggernista.com. According to Robert Novak (not one of my favorite people), other Senators knew about Senator Craig's ways before his restroom encounter with the cop happened. Check it out:

Republican Senators Knew About Larry Craig

Larry Craig and Ted Haggard Stories Connected?

Photo from source, KennethInThe212.blogspot.com

While I'm on the topic of GOP Sex scandals (see previous post), this one really blows the lid off of the Larry Craig story. I have no way of verifying the veracity of this story, but if it's true, we will have our all-consuming news story for the next week. But oh, how we'll LAUGH!

WARNING: Sites linked in this article may be NSFW (Not Safe For Work) and may contain images you do not want to see. Or maybe you do. . . Anyway, keep that in mind.

[Excerpt]

Hook, Line and Sinker

Blogger JoeMyGod says gay hooker Mike Jones (who famously defrocked Rev. Ted Haggard not too long ago) told him that Idaho Senator Larry Craig was also a customer of his. Joe believes him -- and so do I. . .

Read the rest (warning in mind): KennethInThe212.blogspot.com

Sen. Larry Craig to Provide Comedy Until 2009

Photo from source, CNN.com

The story that Republicans want to just go away got another boost (and then another) today.

First up, Senator Larry Craig was denied having his guilty plea overturned in Minneapolis today:

Actual court document, in PDF format

The decision wasn't too surprising, as his argument--he panicked--didn't convince anyone any more than "I am not gay. I have never been gay."

That could have been the news punch line for the day, and the story would probably have died out fairly quickly. Except:

[Excerpt]

Sen. Craig not resigning despite judge's ruling

(CNN) -- Sen. Larry Craig on Thursday said he was not resigning from the Senate despite a Minnesota judge denying his request to withdraw his guilty plea stemming from his arrest in a sex sting at an airport men's room.

"I am extremely disappointed with the ruling issued today," Craig said in a statement. "I am innocent of the charges against me. I continue to work with my legal team to explore my additional legal options."

"I will continue to serve Idaho in the United States Senate, and there are several reasons for that," the Republican said. . .

Hee hee! So we WILL have Larry Craig to kick around, all the way up to and through the next election. He should really have his own reality show. . .with a laugh track.

Read the rest of the CNN story here: CNN.com

More Larry Craig: GOP Threatens Probe!

Photo from source (with editing!), TowleRoad.com

Ouch! Let's hope they don't mean that literally. Comedy goldmine for Democrats, political landmine for Republicans.

[Excerpt]

GOP Threatens Probe: Is Larry Craig Ready for His Close Up?

Worried that disgraced Idaho Senator Larry Craig may dig in his heels and never leave the Senate, his Republican colleagues are threatening an ethics probe that would pick apart every moment of his arrest, dig through past records to find any more dirt on the Senator, and force him and other witnesses to testify publicly about the activities. . .

Read the rest at: TowleRoad.com (Warning: Some posts on this site not safe for work)

Sen. Larry Craig's New Ally: The ACLU

Photo from source, RawStory.com

It's true what they say. Politics does make strange bedfellows. Or stall-fellows, whatever the case may be. Yes, the much-maligned ACLU, demonized as Nazis and worse by the far-right, has come to Craig's defense, taking a (ahem) wide-stance in his support. It just goes to show, the ACLU cares about everybody's rights, even closeted anti-gay gay Senators. Allegedly.

[Excerpt]

Craig's foot taps are 'constitutionally protected,' ACLU says

One of the nation's oldest advocates of civil rights has come to the defense of alleged bathroom-sex-soliciting Sen. Larry Craig, saying his foot tapping and hand waving in an airport restroom do not provide enough evidence that he was going to engage in sexual activity in public.

The American Civil Liberties Union criticized the Minneapolis airport police sting aimed at preventing public sex in its restrooms. The ACLU filed a "friend of the court" brief Monday arguing that Craig should be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea to a disorderly conduct charge and fight the case because police failed to prove he attempted to engage in sexual activity in public.

Read the rest at: RawStory.com