And he did it without any public pressure because he did it years before the Madam or her list were in the news.
When the list was made public, he immediately confessed publically--but the transgression was years old and he had sought and gotten forgiveness and redemption from the person harmed.
I believe Craig probably can beat this charge because there is a track record on this cop and one of his underlings that stinks on ice.
OTOH I think it's pretty obvious that he was behaving in the way the cop described because he is inventing excuses for sticking his hand under the stall wall (to pick up paper from a public toidy floor?!!) etc. I don't think they can make even the misdemeanor stick in a real court of law, but most people are going to believe he was soliciting. I do.
Remember Foley didn't really break any laws either--he waited till the boys were of age before he took action. Craig wasn't soliciting kids, but it sure does look like he was soliciting and he's trying to bluff it out instead of coming clean.
As long as he's denying the obvious, he's vulnerable to blackmail which I believe has already happened many years ago, but that's a huge other subject for a later post.
And therein lies the HUGE difference between the two.
Wait a minute, Leahy says that Vitter used the Senate cloakroom phone to set up with the prostitute. I don't think that's right. He used his own phone. That's how they fingered him.
Absolutely great post
Bottom line - when a Republican starts acting like a Democrat, he has to go. That's not a double standard; that's having a standard and expecting people to live up to it.
Senator Vitter did something that many people have done, which is why they have a name for it and many people make a living at it. And he did it in private. Fortunately, or at least hopefully, he has never been blackmailed because of it. And it's unlikely that he will get caught doing that again.
Senator Craig? That's a whole new story, and the public reaction to it is a strong indication of how people feel about homosexuality in general. If he had kept his "habits" to himself, it would be no big deal and not a news story. But now it's public, and he needs to leave.
Excellent analysis here!
I did some quick googling on the cop involved in this "sting," Sgt. Dave Karsnia, and only found PR type stuff (mostly the same boilerplate about how "sensitive" he was to those he arrested). Can you point me to anything regarding the track record of this cop or his "underling?"