Senator Larry Craig

[xxThe_Lebowskixx]

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But everyone in a free society should protect individual liberty which is being violated in the Craig case.

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So are you saying that a month ago Craig was against these lewd bathroom laws that violate people's personal liberties? I am guessing he was all for them, the same way that he is against internet gambling, drugs, etc. So again, he is a hypocrite, and its awesome that his career is ruined.

[Boris]

Here is an interesting take on the random gay sex signaling conventions from Tyler Cowen's Marginal Revolution blog:

Maybe I spent too much time reading Thomas Schelling (is that possible?), but my main reaction was to wonder how such trade-maximizing conventions get started. I mean the foot tapping, the leaning of the bag against the stall door, and the like. In the early stages of such conventions, I can think of a few paths:

1. Signal something harmless and non-incriminating and hope for reciprocation. Yelling out a clue-laden but non-obscene word or phrase ("Fire Island!") might do the trick. But if the other guy yells back "Berlin!", is that enough to act upon?

2. Signal something costly -- incriminating or at least potentially embarrassing -- in the hope of establishing your credibility as a social transgressor. Of course you hope to get a costly signal in return. A step-by-step escalation of the signals then follows, so that trust in mutual social deviance is established prior to action. At some point in the escalation the action is worth the risk because the other person is sufficiently out on a limb. As the years pass the escalation of signals proceeds more quickly and cuts out some of the intermediate steps.

3. The initial gains from trade are so high that most participants are willing to run the risk of the blatant signal and the equilibrium is inevitable.

4. High-demanding and reckless "pioneers" establish the convention, by signaling blatantly but against their self-interest. Nonetheless the convention becomes relatively safe once it spreads to many traders.

5. The convention never become so safe (ask Larry Craig) and so we have a separating equilibrium in which only the risk lovers manage to trade in this public environment.

My intuition suggests a mix of #2 and #4 as the most likely paths.

How might you signal your willingness, to a friend, to make fun of or gossip about a common acquaintance?

[TheHusky]

Here is a song about Sen. Larry Craig.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOQer...ed&search=

[Howard Treesong]

Who does this guy think he is, Russ Georgiev? Fox News is reporting that he's considering a recant of his resignation. Idiot.

[ElSapo]

Sounded like it might be dependent on recanting his guilty plea. This will be hilarious if he tries to not resign.

Having plead guilty and intending to resign, I can't imagine who thought this owuld be a good idea. Pete Dominici, apparently.

[BigPoppa]

Arlen Spector has publically asked him to recant both the guilty plea and the resignation. He's got a legal team working on the guilty plea. If it does get thrown out, it'll be a slap at the right-wingers who said he should resign because he'd plead guilty and tried to pretend it wasn't about being gay.

[suzzer99]

I just assume all this is for his wife and kids, who apparently need to believe him. No on else does.