Ben Stein Says Craig Was Lynched Twice

Commentator Says GOP Senator Was Set-Up By "Stalinist" Police, And Then Tossed Overboard By Own Party

(CBS)  Sunday Morning commentator Ben Stein has a few words for the Minneapolis police's behavior in the arrest of Sen. Larry Craig, and for the Republican leadership's response - and they're not very flattering.

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The whole story of Senator Larry Craig, the Republican of Idaho who announced his resignation yesterday, is a nightmare of out-of-control police and weak politicians.

Senator Craig has been the innocent victim of a set-up by the evil-minded police of Minneapolis-St. Paul that Stalin would have admired.

Here's the deal: Senator Craig went into a men's room at the Twin Cities airport. He entered a lavatory stall. He tapped his foot. He may or may not have reached his hand down under the lavatory partition to pick up a piece of paper or to make a signal.

That's it. That's the whole thing. There was no sex act of any kind.

So the policeman who happened to be in the next stall walks Senator Craig off, starts bullying him, accusing him of lying and, implicitly, threatens to ruin Senator Craig's career.

ALL FOR A MAN TAPPING HIS FOOT IN A PUBLIC BATHROOM.

This is insane.

If a police officer can wreck a man's career over this trifle, then we might as well not have a Constitution or a Bill of Rights.

Look, I spend a lot of time in Idaho. These are good people. I can readily see why a Senator from there would quietly plead guilty to a small charge rather than risk a public fight - even though the police seem to have wrecked Craig's career anyway.

What I don't understand is why the GOP is tossing Senator Craig overboard as if he were a terrorist.

Even if it turns Senator Craig is gay, so what? Barney Frank is gay and he's one of the best members of the Congress. There are lots of fine gay public servants.

Senator Craig has been the victim of a police lynching. A party that believes in individual rights should be rallying to his defense, not making him walk the plank.

Shame on the GOP leadership, and utter disgrace to the airport police and their thug behavior.

These are security people in airports. Hello! An airport? Don't they have anything better to do?

[canyondancer]

Stein has it right. What''s in your closet?

[xiilh]

Stein seems to be in pretty deep denial about what happened in that Minneapolis restroom. The police officer wasn''t there to arrest people for random foot tapping. He was there because of repeated complaints about lewd behavior taking place there. The lewd behavior going on was ***, in a public restroom. This behavior, as the police were well aware, followed a series of signals shared between two interested parties. These signals aren''t themselves rude. But when they are carried out in a particular order, they signifiy willingness to engage in illegal, public sexual behavior. The signals are, by design, particular enough so as not to be confused with ordinary bathroom behavior. Otherwise they wouldn''t even work for their intended purpose. Everyone knows this. The odds against Craig accidentally making all of these signals in this particular restroom are astronomical. Stein knows this too, or else he''s an idiot.

[xiilh]

Stein seems to be in pretty deep denial about what happened in that Minneapolis restroom. The police officer wasn''t there to arrest people for random foot tapping. He was there because of repeated complaints about lewd behavior taking place there. The lewd behavior going on was ***, in a public restroom. This behavior, as the police were well aware, followed a series of signals shared between two interested parties. These signals aren''t themselves rude. But when they are carried out in a particular order, they signifiy willingness to engage in illegal, public sexual behavior. The signals are, by design, particular enough so as not to be confused with ordinary bathroom behavior. Otherwise they wouldn''t even work for their intended purpose. Everyone knows this. The odds against Craig accidentally making all of these signals in this particular restroom are astronomical. Stein knows this too, or else he''s an idiot.

[oleander8]

I am amazed that this article would even get published. Talk about reaching for straws. Mr Stein, you have seriously damaged whatever credibility you had. THE MAN PLED GUILTY!

[pilgrimbrent]

Ben says that all the Senator did was to tap his foot. Ben, you''re missing the point. If the senator was innocent, and meant nothing by this, he would have said to the policeman, "What on earth are you talking about? I never heard of such a thing!" Instead, he said "You solicited me" and "you entrapped me." That is, he knew very well that foot tapping, accompanied by shoe-touching and the hand under the divider means "I want ***." His admission of knowledge of these secret codes among gay men seeking toilet room ***, and his attempt to remove suspicion from himself by attempting to turn the tables on the cop, show very clearly what he intended by these acts -- which for other people, would have been innocent. His comments showed that they were not.

[david75701]

Maybe Ben is upset because maybe Ben is gay. These days, who knows? The whole deal is that Craig went about railing against *** while he himself behaves, well, gay. He dragged the private bodily functions of others into the political arena and found his own put up for display.

[faithnomoor]

We as Americans have a right and responsibility to put an end to this and if think someone else will do it, we%u2019re wrong.
It doesn''t matter if Craig is or is not gay. It doesn''t matter if he did or didn''t ask this cop for ***.
He did not commit a crime and his "confession" was coerced.
What is your confession going to be coerced with? An ACOD? Your home? Your children?
You need to watch these real court TV shows. If you are a man accused, you are guilty until you prove innocence, and innocence is not obtainable; for your crime is simply being a man and the government has sent out so much propaganda against men that everyone fears them and that alone fits the legal description of harassment under domestic violence laws. $$$$
Others have stated: %u201CIt''s not Stalinist to curtail lewd behavior in public places so that the rest of us who may happen to walk in with our six year old son don''t have to hear two men grunting and groaning- disgusting.%u201D
Yes it''s crude for perverts to approach children but honestly here, Craig didn%u2019t, so what does your children have to do with this?
"The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation."
Is this what you believe?
Well people, guess who said this and why...Stein was right and he really should know.
ADOLPH HITLER
"Mein Kompf"

[idmom1]

Thank you Ben Stein. Shame on those who kicked Larry Craig while he was down. All of these hypocrites who have blasted him, making gross assumptions, wouldn''t stand up to their own judgements!

[dirtydog55]

Apparently, this cop was pissed because no one had hit on him that day. He was tired of being ignored or not found attractivfe enough to be hit on. Posted by bebe28 at 09:41 AM : Sep 04, 2007
_____________________

Apparently, you are just concluding that something is the case on the basis of only limited evidence or intuitive feeling.

[nordeck52]

Who cares what Ben Stein thinks? Craig has a history of homosexual behavior and has been able to hide it due to his profession.
Posted by ravnslikbals at 02:03 PM : Sep 04, 2007

Who cares whether Larry Craig has a history of homosexual behavior? While I do have a problem with the truth being hidden because of one''s profession, it doesn''t make any difference whether Craig is gay or not. Seriously people, calm down.

[ravnslikbals]

Who cares what Ben Stein thinks? Craig has a history of homosexual behavior and has been able to hide it due to his profession. Finally people have no respect for the majority of politicians realizing that most of them are greedy on the take opportunists. The few that go dark will finally be caught, held in public court and be dismissed. If people are stupid enough to re-elect reformed *** addicts then god help us all.

[oneillwfx]

ha ha, another anti-gay republican. it is scary that people are ignorant enough to vote for these republicans as they go around and trash the gay community. they paint pictures of *** as being dark and seedy. it is these closeted freaks who are performing these dark and seedy acts. they are so scared of themselves that they attack good, honest, grounded people to hide the truth. the gay community has taken enough sh*t from these people and we need to start holding them accountable for all the damage they are doing to our wellbeing.

[rotscegner-2009]

Ben is right only about 1 thing--the Senate republicans tossed Craig overboard. There are two other republican senators, Ten Stevens and Dave Vitter, who should be vilified. Stevens is being investigated for corruption by the FBI & Vitter admitted using the DC Madam''s services (he got a standing ovation from his republican colleagues--I guess adulterous heterosexual *** warrants that & gay *** gets you fired). Neither has been tossed out of the senate.
The St Paul Airport police were just doing their job--& gay trists in a public bathroom ARE a problem--just send your young son into one and you get the picture. Sgt Dave Karsnia who arrested Craig is an exemplary officer and Ben should apologize to him. Just 29, his record has been that of a rising young officer. He joined the Minneapolis Airport Police in 2000 as a community services officer, just out of college. Three years later, he was named the department''s Officer of the Year, and in 2005 he was promoted to sergeant. Last year, he finished his master''s degree. Stop picking on the average guy doing his job Mr. Very Rich Ben Stein...

[duffyn]

What is insane is this article. There is no basis in fact anywhere in this article. For starters, he was never accused of tapping his foot (that I know of). Abd it ends with the oldest thing about the police "don''t you have anything better to do"? No, they don''t. And I want them to clear our bathrooms of people looking for anonymous "bathroom ***". Can we say disease, pedophilic activity. I really don''t want to go to the bathroom and see people "going at it"!!

[dj0114]

Larry Craig has been suspected of illegal homosexual activities since at least 1982 (he himself thought he was being investigated for having *** with Congressional pages back in 1982- go to YouTube and you can see his denials). At that time he was the ONLY Congressman to publicly deny involvement.

If Mr. Craig is gay then he was also guilty of hypocrisy. That is the biggest reason the GOP did all they could to drum him out. For someone to fight against rights such as gay marriage and then is found to be a closeted homosexual would place him squarely in the league of the likes of Mark Foley and the Rev. Ted Haggard.

If Mr. Craig isn%u2019t a closeted gay man you would have to say he is the unluckiest man in the world. Being suspected of such activities since 1982 and not being gay would be such a crazy thing.

Ben Stein is way off on this. Mr. Craig isn%u2019t some poor non- savvy Joe Six-Pack. He is a long serving politician who should have known better than to plead without the advice of a lawyer. He had to know the odds of keeping this secret were bad. He also should have known better to speak to the police without an attorney present- that audio of his post arrest is pretty sad.

I don%u2019t pretend to know what constitutes an act of soliciting homosexual *** in a bathroom yet I do believe the police do. I don%u2019t think Mr. Craig was entrapped- I think he was trying to do what he has probably done in other places.

Most likely since way back in 1982.

[jcallaha1]

Stein, GROW UP! Scum-like actions, as those of Senator Craig are real and do happen! Just because he''s a senator doesn''t mean he isn''t "twisted." If he truly were innocent, instead of pleading guilty, he would have called his attorney or hired one and fought the charge. Stein, you are wrong on this one! Additionally, yes! Police Officers DO perform duty in airports, and I for one, am glad they do! Your comment, "Don''t they have better things to do" only proves YOUR ignorance!

[faithnomoor]

It is politically incorrect to do anything other then persecute men. In fear of a women''s wrath, people are turning their backs on men, including men themselves.
Craig supported laws that encourage this bias. A coerced guilty is guilty in the eyes of the law.
The GOP and the DEMS alike support bias laws that are aimed at mostly men, which encourage coercion. It''s never alright to violate one person''s rights in order to protect another''s yet Craig his self co-sponsored VAWA - an unconstitutional gender specific bill specifically set out to punish men for nothing more then being a man. VAWA has become nothing more then a big fat PORK account for special interest groups who are being paid millions of federal dollars to continue lobbying on behalf of these unconstitutional laws. In return they use this PORK to fill campaign troths, including Craig''s.
These people have been known to eat their own.
One of the most blatant statistics proving court bias and prejudges is that 95% +- of all court ordered custodial parents are mothers. To justify this a national organization for women released this:
"Since only 5% of cases are litigated, mothers get custody by agreement of the parties, whether or not the agreement is coerced".
There you have it, Craig is guilty. He pled guilty therefore he is guilty. He is a sexual deviant by his own definition.
Wake up.

[cozyguy]

I''ve been trying to figure out Craig''s ''crime'', and I honestly don''t think he committed one. Was he ''cruising'' for casual ***? Probably- but that''s not a crime, as is ''soliciting prostitution''. Did he send ''signals''? Probably- also not a crime, at least in the context of what Craig did. Perhaps if he took out his wang and waved it at people. Was it ''creepy'' to stare into a crack in the stall? Absolutely- still, not a crime. A creep is not necessarily a criminal.

We have quite enough ''thought police'' in this country. We presume to grade crimes based on the attitude of the criminal, which we can''t possibly know. It appears we''re taking the additional step of eliminating the ''underlying crime'', and going directly to prosecution based on our perceptions of what people may or may not be thinking.

We must only prosecute people for what they do. Actions can have objective standards. Thoughts of others can only be subjective interpretations.

[Netterz]

I dont care what side this creep is on politically,but obviously there is a problem with this airport & solicitation, or they wouldnt have an officer posted in there, looking for specific signs for sexual behaviors to protect the people who enter this restroom. After all, how many men stand in a restroom & tap there feet while using the toilet? Most have a hard enough time hitting the hole while standing still. These types of stings go on all over the place all the time, to stop these types of things in public places. How would you feel if you teenage son was accosted in that restroom by Craig, because of some thing he did that was a supposed sign of a wanting $ex? He did it, hes guilty, his ex has even come forward with previous behavior, & how she feels sorry for his wife & family to have to deal with this. Im about sick of rich people thinking there special and getting away with crimes of all sorts. He deserves what ever he gets from this and hope he crawls off into the pit he came from. Police bust men this way often, the only reason your hearing of it, is because this man is a public servant and some what famous. At his age, he should have been much smarter than to try to solicit $ex in a public bathroom. There is no mention if he had protection, practicing for SafeSex. Heh

[aznyron-2009]

I could not agree more with Ben Stien it frieghting when a cop can accuse you of solitation based on tapping your foot in rest room stahl sorry this is not about R or D it is sad when your friends turn
away from you soley on a cop report and nothing took place just acusation of solitation I said in a prev. post they need to get arrest or the program get ended and the funds stop coming in as a former new yorker I saw what they did about parking tickets and inspection tickets they just write them and stick in your wind shield and you pay it to avoid the problems like now they have sanitation police looking in your garbage to make sure your resycables are not in the garbage if they find one you get a summons and if they need to give a summons because of a quota they will site any one guilty or not this is not the America I want to live in so I left I now live in south east asia and I am happy