Talk show host Rush Limbaugh says it would be "a huge mistake" for Sen. Larry Craig to withdraw his resignation and continue to fight to hold onto his seat in the Senate.
"There's no question they buffaloed [Sen. Craig] out of there," Limbaugh told listeners on Wednesday, but he added that it is too late for Craig to change his mind.
On Tuesday, Limbaugh told listeners that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and other Republicans "threw Larry Craig under the bus."
"The Republicans threw Larry Craig under the bus, and you know who was driving the bus, Mitt Romney," Limbaugh said.
Craig had served as Senate liaison for Romney's campaign for president since February. Romney had characterized the Idaho Republican's behavior as "disappointing and disgraceful," and Craig resigned from Romney's campaign.
Limbaugh added Tuesday that Republicans called for Craig's resignation because they were afraid of the impact an ongoing scandal would have on the 2008 elections.
"Larry Craig was forced out," he said, "because the Republicans are scared. The Republicans have been told they can't win the next election. They have been told that they have no chance and that they're going to lose even more seats. The Republicans accept the labels that liberals apply to them, and they refuse to stand and fight.
“Now, the most logical way for the Republicans to have responded to [Vermont Sen.] Patrick Leahy and other Senate Democrats on Larry Craig was to say this: ‘You know, Senator Leahy, when you leaked to NBC News and were forced to resign from the Intel Committee, we didn't call for your resignation from the Senate. When [Massachusetts Rep.] Barney Frank knew of a male prostitution ring being run from his townhouse, he didn't resign. When [Nevada Sen.] Harry Reid was involved in sleazy land deals, several of them in Nevada, he didn't resign from the Senate. So who are you to lecture anybody about any of this?
“You people have committed far more grievous acts of indecency than Larry Craig committed here by tapping his foot in a bathroom."
On Wednesday, Limbaugh suggested that although Craig was railroaded, it is too late for him to hang onto his job.
"Sen. Craig is making a huge mistake by trying to reverse course on this," Limbaugh said.
On Saturday Craig announced his resignation from the U.S. Senate effective Sept. 30, and said, "The people of Idaho deserve a senator who can devote 100 percent of his time and effort to the critical issues of our state and of our nation."
Limbaugh questioned the logic behind Craig staying on, given that the legal cloud hovering over him would almost certainly continue.
"We'll have to call Bill Clinton to see what [Craig] means by this," Limbaugh said Wednesday. "We'll have to start parsing his words."
Limbaugh added, "Having resigned effective Sept. 30, I don't think he can now argue a few days later that he has changed his mind and rationale. The fact of the matter is he has no political support left, other than Sen. Specter.
Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Craig should seek to withdraw his guilty plea for disorderly conduct, and possibly his resignation from the Senate.
"I'd like to see Larry Craig go back to court, seek to withdraw his guilty plea and fight the case," Specter said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after he was arrested for tapping his foot in a bathroom stall at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. Minneapolis police say foot tapping is a common overture used to signal interest in a sexual encounter, and add that they have made several arrests in recent months for lewd conduct in airport restrooms.
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