[Vision2020] Craig Calls Blog's Claims 'Ridiculous'

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (October 18, 2006) Spokesman review -

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Craig calls blog's claims 'ridiculous' 
Self-described activist says Idaho senator had gay relationships

Jim Camden 
Staff writer

October 18, 2006

Sen. Larry Craig on Tuesday called allegations from a gay-rights activist
that he's had homosexual relationships "completely ridiculous."

Mike Rogers, who bills himself as the nation's top gay activist blogger,
BlogActive.com, published the allegations on his Internet site Tuesday. He
repeated them on the Ed Schultz show, a syndicated liberal radio talk show.

Rogers refuses to name his sources but said he is confident from the
information they provided him that the incidents of consensual sex with a
male partner did occur.
 
"I have enough information and corroboration of my sources to protect
myself," Rogers told Schultz.

Craig, who is married, denied the allegations through his staff, saying they
"have no basis in fact." Sid Smith, spokesman for the Idaho Republican, said
it would be hard to independently check Rogers' sources, adding, "saying you
have anonymous sources doesn't seem very convincing to me."

A lawsuit "isn't out of the question," but Craig hasn't considered it at
this point, Smith said. "That would be taking it a little more seriously
than it deserves," he added.

Rogers, who is also president of a gay-rights organization called Proud of
Who We Are, said that while there is nothing wrong with being gay, Craig was
being hypocritical for opposing gay rights and voting for laws that limit
marriage to heterosexual couples.

"You can be gay and against same-sex marriage, but you should be honest and
open," Rogers said in a subsequent interview with The Spokesman-Review. "Why
should the gay community protect an enemy of the community?"

Smith said the senator was campaigning Tuesday afternoon with Rep. Butch
Otter, who is running for governor, and didn't hear the broadcast. The
Schultz show isn't carried on any station in Idaho, but does reach some
parts of the Panhandle from a Spokane station, KPTQ 1280 AM.

But his staff did contact Craig and told him about the contents of the Web
site and the radio program, Smith said.

"The senator says the story is completely ridiculous. Mr. Rogers has no
facts to back up his story," Smith said.

Told of Craig's reaction, Rogers replied that it sounded like "a non-denial
denial" because the senator wasn't denying the events occurred.

No, Smith said later, it's a denial: "They absolutely did not (occur); there
is no basis in fact."

Rogers said he has a track record of successfully "outing" homosexual
members of Congress, including a report a year and a half ago that Rep. Mark
Foley, R-Fla., was gay. 

Foley resigned last month when confronted with sexually explicit e-mails and
instant messages he sent to congressional pages.

"I have never been wrong, and in this, you can't be 99 percent right. It's
100 percent or nothing." Rogers said.

But even if he is right, revealing something so private about a public
figure can be controversial.

State Rep. Nicole LeFavour, the only openly gay member of the Idaho
Legislature, said such a revelation can be devastating to a politician. 

"Officials who vote in ways that hurt the gay community are probably opening
themselves up to real disappointment from the gay community," said LeFavour,
who was open about being gay when she first ran in 2002. "But gays and
lesbians make sacrifices when they come out." 

LeFavour said she disagrees with Craig on some issues, including gay
marriage, but has great respect for him on others.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Vandalville, Idaho


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"In America, anybody can become president.  
That's one of the risks you take . . ."

- Adlai Stevenson

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