Top Republicans want pol in toilet tempest to quit

30 Aug 2007 // GOP leaders pressured Idaho Sen. Larry Craig to resign yesterday as the political fallout from his men's bathroom bust threatened to engulf other Republicans.

President Bush also distanced himself from the three-term senator and staunch gay rights opponent, who was arrested for allegedly propositioning an undercover cop at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

"We are disappointed in the matter," said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel.

He urged the Senate Ethics Committee to speed its investigation "in the best interests of the Senate and the people of Idaho."

The married Craig, 62, said his arrest in June was a misunderstanding and that he should never have pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge in the matter.

He also maintained repeatedly, "I am not gay."

Arizona Sen. John McCain led the calls for Craig to quit immediately.

"When you plead guilty to a crime, you shouldn't serve," the GOP presidential hopeful told CNN.

Fellow Republican Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, who faces a tough reelection fight next year, also called on Craig to step down, as did Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.).

Following up on his call for an Ethics Committee investigation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Craig had been stripped of his ranking status on three committees.

"This is not a decision we take lightly," McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a statement signed by four other GOP leadership members.

The Republican moves were aimed at limiting the fallout to Craig, even as gay rights and other watchdog groups turned the focus on other senators.

The Ethics Committee should also be investigating Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), who owned up last month to "a very serious sin in my past" involving a heterosexual escort service, said Matt Foreman, head of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

"Apparently, in the view of the Republican conference there is almost nothing more serious than a member attempting to engage in gay sex," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.