Stupid Politician Quote:
"I have a wide stance."--Senator Larry Craig, 2007
Context:
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, was arrested in a 2007 sting operation at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after sexually soliciting an undercover officer. When explaining why he slid his foot under the bathroom stall to tap the foot of the officer in the adjacent stall, Craig famously explained he had a "wide stance" and maintained his innocence.
The senator pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and the arrest remained unknown to the public until the Washington, D.C.–based newspaper Roll Call disclosed it in an article. The article drew widespread public attention as well as charges of hypocrisy against Craig, as he had been an opponent of LGBT rights in the United States. Despite stating that he was not and never had been homosexual, Craig announced on September 1, 2007, that he would resign from the Senate effective September 30, 2007. He later reversed this decision and chose to finish the remainder of his term, although he did not seek re-election in 2008.
Later Craig filed a motion to withdraw the guilty plea, saying he did nothing wrong, but the motion was rejected.
Who Said It:
Larry Craig is a retired politician from the state of Idaho. A member of the Republican Party, Craig represented Idaho in the United States Senate from 1991 to 2009 and represented Idaho's 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 to 1991.
