Craig Makes Surprise Return to Capitol Hill, Cornyn Still Supporting!

Twelve days before his "intended" resignation, Larry Craig surprises many colleagues by ducking into a policy lunch, before joining the Republicans in the chamber.

"Senators and aides were caught off-guard by the embattled conservative’s appearance in a chamber where many had expected the stigma of a gay sex sting arrest to keep Craig away for good," according to The Hill.

Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), vice chairman of the GOP conference, has stayed mum on the scandal due to the Ethics Committee investigation he may have to help steer against Craig if the Idahoan hangs on to his seat. But Cornyn was supportive with a kind word for Craig on Tuesday, telling reporters that he told Craig, “My family and I are praying for you.”

Watts Calls out Cornyn on Craig

Yesterday Junior Senator John Cornyn told the Dallas Morning News about Larry Craig, "I'm limited in what I can discuss. If a senator is alleged to have violated any Senate rule or regulation or statute, whether or not it's in the conduct of their official duties," seemingly still dodging the issue. Earlier, he made another statement, saying Mr. Craig's political future "is best left up to Senator Craig and his constituents. I make it a point not to comment on the personal problems of other senators."

Apparently, Cornyn actually can't talk about the case, as he serves on the ethics committee that may review whether Craig may be able to continue to serve, but also because he's standing up for his fellow GOPers - but is Craig worth standing up for?

Opponent and San Antonio millionaire Mikal Watts, called Cornyn to "come out of hiding" on the Craig issue, as well as two other GOP Senators that have been in question - David Vitter (LA), who admitted using escort services, and Ted Stevens (AK), whose home was raided by FBI and IRS agents in connection with a bribery investigation.

Cornyn shoots back at Watts, calling it the "desperate cry of a would-be political candidate for attention," and one that ignores his duties as a member of the ethics panel. "I'm trying to do my best to meet my responsibilities here."

Even Sean at Save the GOP jumps in on the issue:

From the files of “You can’t make this stuff up”: There is currently a debate going on at DailyKos over whether Senate candidate Mikal Watts has contributed enough to Democrat legislative candidates to get a free pass for telling a legal opponent that he had effectively bought a Texas appellate court. The Democrats have been in the Majority for less than a year and they have already gone from overlooking their incumbents’ ethical problems to recruiting candidates who think buying the government is acceptable. Not for anything, but if Craig’s alleged conduct was enough to force him out of the Senate, this should force Watts out of the race. I’d say that there should be an investigation of the incident and that Watts should probably end up in court, but we all know how that would turn out.

I'm sorry to say, Sean, that campaign contributions and speech are completely legal (albeit a little shady), while soliciting in a public bathroom most definitely is not. I'm not supporting Watts by any means, as his actions are still quite questionable, but Craig has dug himself a much deeper hole than Watts' and while Craig has voted against legislation for homosexuals, Watts doesn't even have any legislative experience to be a hypocrite in that regard - they don't even begin to compare.

Will Cornyn Keep $10,000 From Larry Craig?

Here's a List of Senate Candidates and their contributions from Larry Craig's "Alliance For The West" PAC in the 2oo2 election cycle. [opensecrets]

Alexander, Lamar (R-TN) $5,000
Allard, Wayne (R-CO) $10,000
Chambliss, Saxby (R-GA) $10,000
Coleman, Norm (R-MN) $10,000
Collins, Susan M (R-ME) $1,000
Cornyn, John (R-TX) $10,000
Dole, Elizabeth (R-NC) $10,000
Enzi, Mike (R-WY) $5,000
Ganske, Greg (R-IA) $10,000
Graham, Lindsey (R-SC) $10,000
Hutchinson, Tim (R-AR) $5,000
Smith, Gordon H (R-OR) $2,500
Sununu, John E (R-NH) $5,000
Talent, James M (R-MO) $6,845
Terrell, Suzanne (R-LA) $1,000
Thune, John (R-SD) $10,000

Total to Republican Senate Candidates: $111,345

Craig only made contributions to Republicans (apparently, Democrats can't support the west?), but has made sizable contributions across the country. Norm Coleman redonated Craig's money to a local charity. Susan Collins did the same thing. Pete Domenici (different election cycle, not on the list above) donated his as well.

So what happened to the $10,000 John Cornyn received from Craig? There's been no comments from the Junior Senator's office yet. I'll be waiting.

Cornyn Stands Up for Larry Craig?

Junior Senator John Cornyn said that Mr. Craig's political future "is best left up to Senator Craig and his constituents. I make it a point not to comment on the personal problems of other senators." [DMN]

This comes after not signing a letter drafted by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stripping Craig of his committee assignments and opening an ethics investigation. Cornyn couldn't sign the letter, as he is a member of the ethics committee that may be investigating the "allegations," but his rhetoric makes it pretty clear that Cornyn sees no issue with Craig's dealings last month.

Although Hutchison signed the letter, [DMN] "She never said publicly if she thought he should resign. Repeated queries last week to aides yielded only extra copies of the McConnell news release."

Craig is Gone!

It's official!

After calls from both sides of the isle for disgraced Idaho Senator Larry Craig to step down, he announced earlier today that he will be. Check out a great post by Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake.

Craig Resigns?

Just heard on NPR that said disgraced Republican Idaho Senator Larry Craig has called a press conference for tomorrow probably in Boise. At least one credible source says Craig plans to resign, amid calls from colleagues on both sides of the isle... More to come I'm sure!

UPDATE: I wrote that posting from my iPhone while driving down the highway... Here's the scoop from NPR:

Embattled Idaho Sen. Larry Craig will announce Saturday what he plans to do in the wake of a chorus of calls from fellow Republicans to step down from the post he has held for 16 years. He has faced increasing pressure to resign in the wake of the news that he was caught in June in an undercover vice operation at the Minneapolis airport.

What It With Republicans and Weird Sex?

"What It With Republicans and Weird Sex?"
- Jay Leno