Free Republic

When the Larry Craig case broke, I noted the New York Times' unusual diffidence in reporting it. Senator, Arrested at Airport, Pleads Guilty was all the Times headline told us, giving no indication of Craig's name, party affiliation, or the crime for which he had not merely been "arrested" but pleaded guilty. At the time I surmised that the Times' shyness could have been "the triumph of political correctness on matters gay over the paper's partisan impulse." That theory is borne out by the paper's editorial of today, Disowning Senator Craig. The Times' bottom line on the matter: Being stupid...

Underlying the hurry to disown the senator, of course, is the party’s brutal agenda of trumpeting the gay-marriage issue. To the extent Senator Craig, a stalwart in the family values caucus, might morph into a blatant hypocrite before the voters’ eyes, he reflects on the party’s record in demonizing homosexuality. The rush to cast him out betrays the party’s intolerance, which is on display for the public in all of its ugliness. But it also betrays their political uneasiness as the next election approaches.