Larry Craig stays the course

Convicted Idaho senator Larry Craig said he'll serve out the rest of his term rather than resign. While some Republicans think he should go, others defended him, including his fellow Idahoan sentor, the widely respected Mike Crapo.

And no, I didn't just make that name up.

Said the esteemed Mr. Crapo, "I look forward to working with him in the Senate as he resolves his legal battles." Source

Yeah, good luck with that.

It doesn't appear that Craig is at all likely to get kicked out, either -- a two-thirds majority is needed, and there just aren't enough votes for that.

My favorite quote in Craig's defense belongs to Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. In his opinion, "Disorderly conduct is not moral turpitude and it is no basis for leaving the Senate."

While that conforms with the State Department's definition of moral turpitude (for visa purposes, as found on Wikipedia and the State Dept website), I doubt the voters of Idaho would agree.

Considering what Mr. Craig was convicted for, I think we need to take another look at the definition of Moral Turpitude.

To let Mr. Craig remain in the Senate is to say his conduct was entirely without depravity. I'd like to know how many Republicans are willing to go on the record and state that. Do you suppose their base would agree?