I know it is tempting to use stories of republicans going over to "the dark side" to reveal their hypocracy.

I think it is unfortunate that the left feels compelled to use homosexuality in this divisive way, separating us from them.

I know it is titillating and satisfying to watch many of these old white guys get such a public outing after all the harm they've caused to gays and gay families... But what if, just for a minute, we decided to welcome these shriveled and tortured souls, with open arms, to the out-of-the closet and tolerant world? Offer them a vision of a world in which they can be accepted and not hide in fear or being discovered.

Be as compassionate as we like to think we are, in other words. Seriously, other than our pride, what could it hurt?

Another one bites the dust!!! All "morality and family values" blather on the outside, until they think no one is watching and then they are exposed as the great big fat hypocrites they are. The mens rooms of America seem to be swarming with desperate Republicans looking for love nowadays! I wonder if Republican wives have a support group to deal with the double lives of their in-the-closet pillars of the community....

Beyond being compassionate to our fellow man (gender intended, in this case), a more useful reaction is to call out repressed sexuality of all kinds and educate the public of the harm it causes. Being compassionate towards one hypocritical public figure here and there (and there seems to be quite a few these days) puts the incidents behind us. Showing that this is an ongoing pattern, not just lately but throughout all of history, would be far more useful. Human beings need to address their collective impulses in a more public manner rather than dwell in constant denial. (A further argument on this topic strongly suggests that much of the mentality of Islamic hard-liners can be traced to how these men were isolated from women as boys and cannot function in a mixed society any more, but that's straying from the immediate story here.)

Of course the big problem with any candid discussion about sexuality is the enormous brick wall you'll run into. It's called 'religion'.

I call 'em "Crotch Christians". Those are the so-far-right-that-hypocrisy-is-normal Christians who infest our government and are obsessed with ANYthing even remotely sexual. Their mantra is "If it's between the neck and the knee, it's bad for you and me!"

From nursing moms to abortion to school sex-ed to gay issues to pre-marital sex to...who knows what else...these people see prurience everywhere. Our Pilgrim ancestors are alive and unwell.

Matter of fact, the right-wing moral mullahs Focus On The Family are so obsessed with the subject that their name should be changed to Focus On The Fanny.

So, for Senator Craig to be a closet-pervert and yet be a member of the Crotch Christian cabal makes perfect sense to these people; remember the sexual misadventures of Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker and the rest of the preachers and moral puppets of the Right?

Always beware the High Priests of Morality; you can be sure that they have some skeletons in their closets...pun intended.

You are right, that it is not nice to take real joy in another person's pain--I'm not a big fan of "schadenfreude". BUT, hypocrisy is BAD. This senator hurt other people--gay people and the people who love and support gays, or who just believe in equal rights--he hurt them by trying to deny them their rights, by demonizing them. He helped create a hostile environment and he did it to people apparently just like himself!

So, certainly, if he sees the light and apologizes, if he sees how cruel he has been, then I would be glad to forgive. But don't forget, in order to forgive, the other person must SEEK FORGIVENESS.

what it must be like to hate myself so much that I must enact laws that would prevent me from enjoying my life were I brave enough to accept my own desires. It must be nightmarish.

That said, I'm sure Hitler had self-esteem issues. Compassion has limits when the object of compassion would happily destroy the compassionate.

One more "closet" Republican hypocrite whose "wide stance" on anti-gay issues has come back to bite him right on the ass. I bet he likes that more than he will ever admit. And whent he is finally "outed", and admits to his discrestions, he'll find a god who will forgive him as he stands with his teary-eyed wife infront of the cameras begging forgiveness from that newly found deity and from his mouth gaped constituents onlooking in complete disbelief. Nauseating...

Sure, there's a titilating factor to this story. But there is also a factor of personal responsibility which Craig needs to own up to.

From CNN's story this morning:

"Craig has also opposed expanding the federal hate crimes law to cover offenses motivated by anti-gay bias and, in 1996, voted against a bill that would have outlawed employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, which failed by a single vote in the Senate."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/27/craig.arrest/index.html

If they can lie and be deceitful about something as fundamental as this, they can lie and be deceitful about ANYTHING.

This goes directly to character. Craig and his ilk have none.

The self loathing of Craig and his ilk is not my concern. The loathing they also have for everyone else is.

The first order of business should be to get this kind of sicko out of office. Then one can start thinking about compassion.

... then I desperately want to be straight. If these nasty old Republicans keep getting outed, it might produce more recruits for those "ex-gay" groups. Sign me up.

Absolutely no sympathy from this bona fide gay guy, however. Craig and his ilk are cowards and charlatans of the worst order, and I hope he suffers greatly for his complicity in making life difficult for gays and lesbians everywhere.

Before anyone feels sympathy for Craig, perhaps that person should think about a gay or lesbian teenager in some godforsaken town in Idaho who's terrified to come out for fear of being disowned or even murdered. Or the teenagers who kill themselves because they think they might be gay. That's the world Craig has helped to perpetuate. A pox upon him.