We just passed the six-month anniversary of the day Roll Call broke the Larry Craig bathroom arrest. Remember that? The "wide stance"? The debates over what it means to run your hands under a stall divider? Craig's hilarious statement that he doesn't "go around anywhere hitting on men, and by God, if I did, I wouldn't do it in Boise, Idaho! Jiminy!"?
I'm a little nostalgic for that story now, what with these days' dreary and wearying arguments over who pandered to the Canadians and when. What's more, the Larry Craig story actually did what stories are supposed to do -- it ended. Craig remains in Congress, quietly serving the people of Idaho by, most recently, reassuring them that, even after the recent California beef recall, he "most certainly will continue eating U.S. beef." We're so glad you're here, Senator.
The only lasting effect his scandal appears to have had on the Senate Republican caucus is to make it even less respectful of gays than it was before. This from The Hill in February:
Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) recently played a gag on Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) on their Middle East congressional delegation trip last month.
Rehberg left an “Idaho Travel Package” on Simpson’s airplane seat.
Contents included a stuffed sheep with gloves attached to it (draw your own conclusions), a Village People CD, books on cross-dressing and sign language and a T-shirt that reads, “My senator may not be gay, but my governor is Butch.”
Rehberg is proud of the gift bag. “I spent a bit of time putting the things together,” he boasted.
Simpson was amused but not surprised that Rehberg was the bearer of such presents. “You can always find those materials in Montana,” he said, laughing.
--Eve Fairbanks