Larry Craig to resign tomorrow

I’m not exactly surprised, but that it happened so quickly as opposed to being all drawn out like ol’ Foley did surprise me. So Larry Craig will resign Saturday, and yet another chapter of the GOP party (which a few have started referring to as “Gross Old Perverts”) goes by.

Asked Friday at the White House if the senator should resign, President Bush said nothing and walked off stage.

Republican officeholders and party leaders maintained a steady drumbeat of actions and words aimed at persuading Craig to vacate his Senate seat.

GOP lawmakers, hoping to get the embarrassment to the party behind them quickly, stripped Craig of leadership posts on Wednesday, one day after they called for an investigation of Craig’s actions by the Senate Ethics Committee. Craig complied with the request.

I caught that bit with Bush on MSNBC earlier today. It was during the press conference concerning Tony Snow’s resignation, and he did indeed swiftly walk off after being asked that.

You know, I’ve been accused a lot of hypocrisy because I still support Bill Clinton but vilify someone like Larry Craig. The thing is, the GOP continually touts itself as the party of good ol’ fashioned family values. Vote Republican because they represent the pure and pious family lifestyle, as opposed to those pervert-coddling Democrats. Ann Coulter once referred to the “Marquis de Sade” lifestyle of the liberals.

So when a Larry Craig pops up, it’s especially scandalous since it’s someone who purported to represent that pure, wholesome ideology. And it’s always a lot creepier anyway. I mean, adultery’s bad to be sure (so there’s Newt and Clinton both), but Craig’s little bathroom fracas is just plain weird. I’m sure a whole boatload of political officials have cheated on their wives, but I don’t think quite as many are trying to hit on guys in bathrooms or offering random men money for sex secretly.

That and the fact that, aside from Clinton, there’s not much on the Democratic side. While Larry Craig by himself is hardly enough to cause a ripple, when it comes as part of a series of GOP freakboxes, it’s that much more severe.

Military bans ThinkProgress from their network

It isn’t often that the government does something that so blatantly exhibits their hostility toward dissent. Earlier we got news of that whole “how to deal with dissenters” handbook the Bush team was using, but this is just ridiculous. It seems the United States military has banned the website ThinkProgress from their network.

The ban began sometime shortly after Aug. 22, when Ret. Maj. Gen. John Batiste was our guest blogger on ThinkProgress. He posted an op-ed that was strongly critical of the President’s policies and advocated a “responsible and deliberate redeployment from Iraq.” Previously, both the Wall Street Journal and Washington Times had rejected the piece. An excerpt:

It is disappointing that so many elected representatives of my [Republican] party continue to blindly support the administration rather than doing what is in the best interests of our country. Traditionally, my party has maintained a conservative view on questions regarding our Armed Forces. For example, we commit our military only when absolutely necessary. […]

Rush Limbaugh’s show is broadcast in Iraq on the American Forces Network right with Sean Hannity and Colmes’ respective radio shows, and they’ve blocked a progressive website.

I’d be curious as to whether Free Republic, Powerline, and Michelle Malkin are available on their networks.