Not Now, Not Ever — The GOP’s Craig Woes

So much for the hope held out by some in the GOP that Larry Craig would make this embarrassing episode go away quickly by announcing that he wouldn’t seek re-election. Instead, as the senator just made clear, for at least the next month (when, he said, he’ll announce his 2008 intentions), the Craig scandal will continue to percolate in Washington and Idaho, causing yet more problems for a party that is trying to revive itself after the 2006 mid-term election debacle. Iraq and corruption were the biggest drags on Republicans last fall, but the Mark Foley scandal was a factor, too. Now — like Iraq and public corruption (thanks to Ted Stevens) — the sex scandal-as-proof-of-moral-hypocrisy story line will continue to stick to the Republican Party as well.