Opinion: A call to arms on behalf of Larry Craig
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Allies have been scarce these days for Larry Craig.
The beleaguered Republican probably took cold comfort from the conciliatory words another sex-scandal veteran, ex-President Bill Clinton, offered during an interview with CNN’s Larry King on Wednesday night. But Thursday, a land-rights group that long has worked with the Idaho senator not only rallied to Craig’s defense, but went on offense for him.
The American Land Rights Assn., an advocate for those who own private property within public lands, called on its members and supporters to launch an economic boycott of the Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport, the starting point for the chain of events that apparently ended (but maybe not) Craig’s political career.
Chuck Cushman, the land group’s executive director, was blunt ...
in describing what he hopes to accomplish in targeting the facility where Craig, according to an undercover policeman, sought to engage in sex in a public bathroom.
‘We’re going to afflict economic pain on the Minneapolis airport until [its officials] apologize to Larry Craig for an inappropriate arrest, because they have killed his career [and] cost us an important ally in Congress,’ he told The Times’ Tina Macias.
He added: ‘Larry Craig is one of the lone senators on the [Senate’s] Energy and Local Resources Committee who stands up for private property, for mining and ranching and forestry .... And I’m not one of the guys who throws my friends on the side, like some of the Republicans do.’
In an e-mail Cushman sent out, he detailed why he thought Craig’s arrest was uncalled for; he also acknowledged that he did not expect airport officials ‘to correct this mistake in the near term.’
He went on: ‘So we must assume that a boycott of the Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport will take at least a year, perhaps more, before the airport authorities come to their senses.’
He also noted that Northwest Airlines uses the airport as its hub. ‘So we would suggest that you also avoid using Northwest Airlines,’ he wrote. ‘That will put additional pressure on the airport authorities and police to change their behavior.’
Cushman’s embrace of Craig came as it once again appeared that the senator would soon be resigning his seat. After saying Saturday he ‘intended’ to quit by Sept. 30, Craig floated hints that he was reconsidering. But the pressure continued to mount Thursday that he abide by his initial decision.
-- Don Frederick