Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Larry Craig is breaking new ground in closeted gay liberation. Like most gay Republican politicians, his sexual preference has been more or less common knowledge since puberty. Usually, as long as no major public exposure occurs, nothing threatens a boring, conservative, political career. As society has become more liberal, over the last several decades, standards of allowed sexual deviancy among closeted, gay politicians have relaxed. Presently, it is to the point, where a Republican politician can pretty much live openly as a gay American as long as he/she does not present as gay while engaged in official activities, in public. It has always been the rule, however, that if caught in homosexual behavior that comes to light as a result of an investigation into immorality, or arrest by a law enforcement agency, the closeted, gay, Republican politician will immediately resign his/her position and leave Washington for at least a token period of shame and disgrace.

Larry Craig is changing the rules. He has decided not to resign. He has also decided, even though everyone in the country knows who he is and harbors no doubt as to his sexual preference, to stay in the closet. What he is saying to the Republican establishment and the Idaho voters is, it's OK, you can trust me. Even though I'm gay I will continue to vote in keeping with the covenant we have always had. Kind of like those little powdered wigs that Officers of the Court wear in England, Larry is offering to wear a surrogate authoritarian, heterosexual guise while acting in his official capacity a a Senator. He is getting some resistance but not much and certainly none that will force him to leave his Senate seat before his term is up. This is important, because it signals a major achievement in conservative political goals, relative to the separation of reality from relevancy. The requirement for Republican politicians to give personal lip service to the restrictive and often conflicting codes of behavior and prejudice that make the Republican coalition possible, is making it increasingly difficult to find people willing to accept political office. This is one of the reasons that closeted gays are often the only ones willing to accept it, other than complete idiots. In the end, if conditions don't change, the Republicans will be left with only candidates like George W. Bush and my Congressman, Dana Rohrabacher, to offer up to the voters, who are both closeted gays and complete idiots.

This is a painful transition for the Republican infrastructure to make but the highly diverse nature of their coalition demands it. If they are to have any hope of bringing new groups into their coalition or even maintaining the present one, they must make it.