Oh, Those Frisky Republicans

Senator Larry Craig of Idaho pleaded guilty to “lewd behavior” in a men’s room at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Now he’s saying his behavior was “misconstrued” and he should have talked to a lawyer before making a guilty plea.

So what exactly did he do, that it could have been misconstrued?

According to Roll Call, the arresting officer alleged that Craig lingered outside a rest room stall where the officer was sitting, then entered the stall next door and blocked the door with his luggage.
 

According to the arrest report cited by Roll Call, Craig tapped his right foot, which the officer said he recognized “as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct.”
 

The report alleges Craig then touched the officer’s foot with his foot and the senator “proceeded to swipe his hand under the stall divider several times,” according to Roll Call.

Maybe Senator Craig noticed his own stall was out of toilet paper and was trying to get the guy in the next stall to hand him some. And he was too embarrassed to ask for it outright, so he hoped the guy would interpret his gestures correctly, and of course he’s too innocent and straight to know that his gestures were recognizable signals for soliciting “lewd conduct”.

Or maybe he figured his “social conservative” voting record would camouflage his private behavior; and being a Republican, he didn’t think he’d be held accountable for his actions; and then he thought a quick guilty plea would keep this embarrassing incident from becoming public.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It would be irresponsible not to.