Hillyer’s choice is Lindsey Graham, and his devastating concatenation of the case against the Senator I have dubbed “Dramatic Chipmunk” (after his resemblance to the subject of this viral YouTube clip) is useful and timely:

He praises liberals, but reserves particular venom for conservatives who disagree with him. The most infamous example came at a speech to the utterly radical Hispanic group La Raza — it was bad enough that he spoke to them, much less what he said — when he described what he would do to opponents of the awful immigration proposal he helped Ted Kennedy craft: “We’re going to tell the bigots to shut up.” The idea that only a bigot could oppose the Kennedy amnesty plan was a recurring theme with Graham: On This Week, he told George Stephanopoulos that opponents were like those in earlier years who put up signs that said “No Catholics, no Jews, no Irish need apply.”

MEANWHILE, GRAHAM deserves every bit of abuse conservatives can heap on him for his record on judicial nominees, which swings back and forth between pathetically ineffective and absolutely counterproductive. Of his leading role in the “Gang of 14,” which saved the Democrats’ unprecedented option of filibustering President Bush’s nominees, Graham clearly thought his gesture of goodwill would win him some chits with Democrats. Think again.

Read the whole thing. I say it’s timely because Grahamnesty is, I fear, on the short list of McCain choices for the Vice Presidency–or at least for a cabinet position. McShamnesty relied on him as his go-to guy and amanuensis on the campaign trail, and they really seem to be two of a kind.

I used to think McCain would be too smart and too considerate of conservative opinion to pick Graham. Recent events have disabused me of such illusions.

I’m sure there’s some payoff for Graham down the line. If that payoff is the VP slot, so help me, I’m writing a check for $20 to Bob Barr on the spot.* I’ve promised myself I’d never vote for a candidate who advocated the legalization of narcotics, but I don’t recall any promises about sending him money. And if you think that the GOP is bummed now, there will be open revolt if Graham gets too prominent a post. Think the Democrats had an interesting convention in ’68?

___________________

Oh, right: I said LG was second worst. The worst Republican Senator is, of course, Larry Craig. What a creep. What a hideous embarrassment. Albatross around the GOP’s neck, you say? More like some giant incontinent pterodactyl around the GOP’s neck. Like an incontinent pterodactyl with a furtive predilection for illicit pterodactyl sodomy in public restrooms. Why Idaho hasn’t risen up en masse and demanded his resignation is beyond me. He’ll be a real asset in the upcoming gay-marriage debate, I’ll tell you that.

And as Michelle noted, Craig’s not just serving out his term to get the pension. He’s still making trouble.

Come on, Idaho. Next thing you know gay pterodactyls will be getting married, and when we need someone to blame, we’re going to blame you.

*I was listening to Glenn Beck a little while ago and he was venting about the Feinstein/Craig shamnesty sneak, and he paused and told his producer: “You know what? Book Bob Barr for another hour for TV next week, and an hour for radio.”

MORE:

Thanks, Weaz.

UPDATES: Post getting too long. Will be quick–

Lindsey Graham’s primary opponent!!!!!
Commenter Tyrion: “Best photo of McCain evah!”
Commenter Retired Grunt e-mails this from the Boortz Blast:

Neal and Bob Barr spar over war in Iraq
Bob Barr attempts to defend referring to our troops in Iraq as an occupying army. You’ll see in the hate mail this that at least one person agrees with Barr.

Okay, screw him. Freeweeder.

______________________

{Post by See-Dubya.}

Idaho Statesman explains:

U.S. Sen. Larry Craig says he might reconsider his decision to resign if he clears his name in his arrest for disorderly conduct in a restroom sex scandal.

That’s why Craig chose his words carefully during his resignation speech Saturday in Boise, according to a voice mail message he mistakenly left on a stranger’s phone. In the message obtained by the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, Craig tells a man named “Billy” that his choice of language is deliberate because it leaves the door open for him to stay in office.

Craig made the call just minutes before his speech.

“We have reshaped my statement a little bit to say it is my intent to resign on Sept. 30,” Craig said. “I think it is important for you to make as bold a statement as you are comfortable with this afternoon, and I would hope you could make it in front of the cameras. I think it would help drive the story that I’m willing to fight, that I’ve got quality people out there fighting in my defense, and that this thing could take a new turn or a new shape, it has that potential.”

The recording was offered for sale to the Idaho Statesman, which turned it down because the newspaper’s ethics policy precludes it from paying for information from sources. A Roll Call editor said that publication wouldn’t pay either, but managed to obtain the recording without charge.

The White House speaks:

The White House on Wednesday strongly suggested that US Senator Larry Craig should not reverse his decision to resign after pleading guilty in an airport bathroom sex sting.

Spokeswoman Dana Perino declined to confirm media reports that Craig might be reconsidering his plan to leave his seat but stood by an earlier statement welcoming his decision to quit.

“I saw that report that his spokesperson said that. I don’t think that our views have changed but, of course, this is the Senator’s decision and the Senator’s seat,” she told reporters.

***

Oh, triple crikey:

AP: Craig reconsiders decision to resign

Sen. Larry Craig is reconsidering his decision to resign after his arrest in a Minnesota airport sex sting and may still fight for his Senate seat, his spokesman said Tuesday evening.

“It’s not such a foregone conclusion anymore, that the only thing he could do was resign,” Sidney Smith, Craig’s spokesman in Idaho’s capital, told The Associated Press. “We’re still preparing as if Senator Craig will resign Sept. 30, but the outcome of the legal case in Minnesota and the ethics investigation will have an impact on whether we’re able to stay in the fight — and stay in the Senate,” Smith said.

Craig, a Republican who has represented Idaho in Congress for 27 years, announced Saturday that he intends to resign from the Senate on Sept. 30. But since then, he’s hired a prominent lawyer to investigate the possibility of reversing his plea, his spokesman said. Craig was a no-show Tuesday as Congress reconvened after a summer break and it wasn’t clear whether he’ll return at all since deciding to resign over his guilty plea in a sex sting this summer at the Minneapolis airport.

Another spokesman, Dan Whiting in Washington, said Tuesday that Craig was expected to spend the week in Idaho as the Senate votes on spending bills for veterans and other programs. Whiting did not rule out Craig’s returning to Washington before the end of the month. A telephone call Craig received last week from Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., urging him to consider fighting for his seat is affecting Craig’s decision to reconsider his resignation, Smith said.

Allah notes Craig’s push to get his guilty plea vacated.

Now, just pause and reflect: It is Arlen Specter egging Larry Craig on to help sabotage what’s left of the Republican Party’s credibility.

Arlen Specter. You know, the liberal Republican horse the Bush White House backed instead of conservative stalwart Pat Toomey.

Reap. Sow. Sigh.

***

Quick and scripted, here a few rough notes on Larry Craig’s press conference, just ended:

“I apologize for what I have caused. I am deeply sorry. I have little control over what people choose to believe…to pursue my legal options as I continue to serve Idaho, would be an unwanted distraction from my job and my colleagues…These are times of war…with sadness and deep regret…I announce that is my intent to resign effective September 30.

…I apologize for being unable to serve out a term to which I have been elected…I hope you do not regret the confidence you have placed in me all these years…”

Large crowd of supporters surrounded him on a hilltop. He was accompanied by his wife. Gov. Butch Otter also attended alongside Craig.

When Craig announced his intent to resign, Democrat detractors in the audience cheered and hollered.

WaPo:

Idaho Sen. Larry Craig resigned Saturday over a men’s room sex sting, bowing to pressure from fellow Republicans worried about a scandal dimming their election prospects.

“I apologize for what I have caused,” Craig said.

Craig’s resignation completed a stunning downfall that began Monday with the disclosure that he had pleaded guilty to a reduced charge following his arrest during a sex sting in a Minneapolis airport men’s room.

Although leading members of his own party had called for him to step down, Craig steadfastly resisted resigning for days, contending that he had done nothing wrong and that his only
mistake was pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge.

Idaho Statesman reports on other public officials who came out to support Craig:

Sen. Larry Craig, surrounded by his family, Gov. Butch Otter, State Schools Superintendent Tom Luna and Congressman Bill Sali, resigned from the U.S. Senate, effective Sept. 30.

He thanked his family for supporting him, and thanked Idahoans for letting him serve as senator. “I am grateful for the opportunity they have given me.”

“What is best of Idaho has always been the focus of my efforts,” Craig said. He said pursing his legal options while serving as a senator would distract from the business of Idaho.

Responding to reports of the last week, he said only: “I have no control over what people choose to believe.”

Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on Aug. 1 after his arrest in June in a police undercover operation at an airport men’s room. And while he has since said he did nothing wrong, the episode roiled the Republican party and produced numerous calls for him to step down.

More reax:

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said from Kentucky that Craig “made a difficult decision, but the right one. ”

“It is my hope he will be remembered not for this, but for his three decades of dedicated public service,” McConnell said. McConnell had been one of Craig’s harshest critics, calling his actions “unforgivable.” He and other GOP leaders asked Craig to give up his senior positions on Senate committees on Wednesday, a day after they asked the Senate ethics committee to investigate his actions.

Craig spokesman Sidney Smith said he didn’t know if Craig would return to Washington. “We haven’t decided that yet, whether he’s going to return or not,” Smith said.

The WashTimes examines the political impact: “Amid the blogospheric frenzy over that juiciest of subjects, a Washington sex scandal, the reality of politics moves forward. The scandal that forced Idaho Sen. Larry Craig’s retirement, combined with Virginia Sen. John Warner’s announcement that he will not seek re-election, have boosted Democrats’ hopes of expanding their Senate majority next year.”

And, in the end, the GOP has no one to blame but itself.

Accountability: Accept it. Learn from it. Deal with it.

Judging from this morning’s press conference, Larry Craig isn’t ready to do any of that. Republicans in Washington, however, can’t afford to wallow and fight lost battles.

Move on.

***

1:30pm Eastern. More observations…

Regarding the applause at the press conference, Fox News Channel’s Major Garrett reported that it was Dems who clapped (and probably supporters who countered with “We love you!”). As for the purported GOP sexual double standard with regard to Sen. David Vitter: If Vitter had been charged and pleaded guilty to an offense similar to or graver than Craig’s, I’m sure GOP leaders would be calling for him to resign in the very same way that Craig was called to do so. The libs who keep harping on double standards conveniently forget that it was and has been Republicans in Vitter’s home turf who first blew the whistle on his extracurricular activities. Reminder:

Christopher Tidmore of Metairie, now a Republican candidate for the state Legislature, wrote the Louisiana Weekly article five years ago about Vitter’s relationship with Canal Street brothel prostitute Wendy Cortez. Vitter continuously denied any relationship. Tidmore said Vitter has tried to sabotage his career since he wrote the article.

“For five years, David Vitter conducted a pattern of lies. Now, we know it was to conceal a pattern of behavior,” Tidmore said. “He has to strongly consider his next action because his remaining in office will be very damaging to the people of Louisiana and to the State Republican Party.”

So far, Vitter has managed to avoid further questions about his admission of “sin.” He better enjoy the Labor Day holiday. When he gets back to Washington, I have a feeling he’ll be feeling the post-Craig heat.

Update 7pm Eastern. Via the Idaho Statesman…

Idaho Sen. Larry Craig will announce his career plans Saturday morning after widespread calls from fellow Republicans to resign over a men’s room sex sting, his spokesman said today.

“We haven’t quite scheduled anything, but we’re looking at doing something tomorrow,” said Craig’s spokesman Sid Smith. “We haven’t set a time or place yet.”

Dan Whiting, another Craig spokesman, said there would be an announcement Saturday but would not say whether Craig will step down.

Gov. Butch Otter already appears to have settled on a successor: Lt. Gov. Jim Risch, according to several Republicans familiar with internal deliberations.

Here’s the resignation ultimatum from the GOP.

Update 11:30am Eastern. Poll results so far…

I think the clear message to the GOP here is that the sooner Sen. Craig steps out of the spotlight, the better.

Newsbusters points out today’s NYTimes editorial supporting Craig and bashing GOP members who have called for his resignation as symbols of the “party’s intolerance” who are “demonizing homosexuality.” The NYTimes fumes that no Republican has called for Sen. David Vitter’s resignation, conveniently omitting the fact that Vitter hasn’t pleaded guilty to violating any laws.

You can’t win with these people. If the GOP leadership had embraced Craig, who do you think would be the first out of the block editorializing about Republican hypocrisy, corruption, and double standards? As I noted earlier this week on tee-vee, it ain’t who Craig is accused of playing footsie with…it’s where. The NYTimes sniffs that Craig was just “being stupid.” Try arguing that next time to a parent who takes his kid to a public restroom and is subjected to the kind of crap that the police were trying to crack down at the Minneapolis airport on June 11.

Update: Quittin’ time today?

***

“No wonder why we’re going down the tubes.”

That’s the very last, fitting comment on the Larry Craig police tape. Here’s the full transcript. If you haven’t listened to the whole thing yet, it’s at HA and all over the cable TV airwaves. I’ve gotten a few e-mails from readers who say the tape has changed their minds and made them more sympathetic to Craig. But as one reader e-mailed, Craig’s guilty “tell” came in the first 30 seconds of the tape. Right off the bat, Craig goes on record arguing that the police officer started it, not him:

OFFICER: All right. I know I can bring you to jail, but that’s not my goal here, okay? (inaudible)

CRAIG: Don’t do that. You. You.

OFFICER: I’m not going to bring you to jail.

CRAIG: You solicited me.

Hmmmmm. If he “didn’t do these kinds of things,” as he stated later in the tape, how did he know he was being “solicited?”

Has the tape changed your mind?

Weigh in:

***

CQ Politics looks at the electoral prospects:

Idaho Republican Sen. Larry E. Craig so far has withstood the gale of controversy that has surrounded him since Monday’s revelations of his recent conviction after an incident in a Minnesota airport men’s room, resisting calls from some of his Republican congressional colleagues for him to resign his seat — and a SurveyUSA poll in which 55 percent of adult Idaho respondents said he should step down…

…Given the very personal nature of Craig’s dilemma, his problems are not likely to deeply erode the Republican Party’s typical strong advantage in next year’s Senate race if he steps aside. President Bush piled up 68 percent of the state’s vote in 2004; in the state’s most recent Senate elections, Republican Michael D. Crapo won a second term in 2004 with no Democratic challenger on the ballot and Craig in 2002 defeated Democrat Alan Blinken, a former U.S. ambassador to Belgium, with 65 percent.

Speculation about possible Republican replacement candidates has swirled around two highly prominent officeholders: Mike Simpson, who is in his fifth term as representative of eastern Idaho’s 2nd District, and Jim Risch, who last year was elected for the second time as lieutenant governor after spending a brief stint as Idaho’s interim governor.

Before the Craig controversy broke, Simpson had been spreading the word that he would not run for the Senate next year. Dan Popkey, a columnist for the Idaho Statesman newspaper in Boise, wrote in an Aug. 12 column that Simpson would not run because doing so would almost certainly leave Idaho without a member on either chamber’s Appropriations Committee. Simpson, who had to climb the seniority ladder to gain a seat on House Appropriations, would be unlikely to immediately claim the Senate Appropriations seat that Craig long held.

Since then, though, Craig’s scandal — which on Wednesday forced him to give up his seat on Appropriations and other committees under pressure from the Senate Republican leadership — may have given Simpson a change of heart about next year’s Senate race.

“Rep. Simpson could hit the ground running in a way that other state-level officials couldn’t,” said Simpson spokesman Nikki Watts. “I wouldn’t even say it’s appealing. This is about Idaho being in a crisis and who can step up and help out. It’s not about what’s appealing for the congressman.” Watts added that Simpson was waiting to see how the Craig story unfolds before giving the contest more serious thought.

Risch has not been as reticent about his Senate ambitions, stating earlier this year that he would consider seeking the seat should Craig not run again.

In Washington, pressure continues to build for Craig’s resignation.

He’s a supremely arrogant, lying crapweasel. Blaming the press. Non-apology apologizing. How do you spell creep? C-r-a-i-g.

Update 4:30pm Eastern press conference scheduled. Here’s the vid.

Update 1:30pm Eastern 8/28. The poll results so far…

***

Update: The Idaho Statesman has two detailed articles. The first recaps the Minnesota incident. The second is a five-month investigative piece into Craig’s past alleged acts of indecency and solicitation dating back to 1982, when an underage page made allegations that he had had sex with three House members.

ABC News has the docs from the Minnesota incident.

Any takers on a Larry Craig Resignation Date/Time Betting Pool?

***

What a weasel.

He plays the “Don’t you know who I am?” game by whipping out his Senate business card. He pleads guilty. Then he blames the police for misunderstanding him and “misconstruing” all his bathroom antics.

Bleccch.

Let me amend my reaction. He’s not just a weasel.

He’s a lying crapweasel.

Should he resign? Well, yeah. If he cared about the dignity of his office, he would. But he obviously doesn’t, does he?

Here’s a poll. Have at it:

***

Here’s the Romney endorsement video Craig made that has been disappeared from the Romney YouTube channel.