Craig offers support to Vitter

Embattled Louisiana Sen. David Vitter (R) is getting support from fellow Republicans who say he should not resign over a public sex scandal — including from someone who can speak from experience.

Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho was among several GOP senators who say Vitter’s testimony in the “D.C. Madam” prostitution case should not compel his resignation.

{mosads}“First and foremost, in these kinds of issues, it’s the state and the relationship you have with your state that really determines where you ought to go,” Craig said. “That was certainly my case. The Senate itself wasn’t going to judge me. I would allow the citizens of my state to do so. And there is still strong support there.”

Craig went through his own trial-by-media last year, after his arrest for and guilty plea to soliciting sex from an undercover male officer in a Minneapolis airport.

Craig, who later tried to withdraw his guilty plea, said support from Idahoans convinced him to reverse his pledge to resign last year. He added that his decision last month not to file for reelection pre-dated the controversy.

Lawyers for Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called D.C. Madam, have called on Vitter to testify in the upcoming case, according to media reports. The Louisiana senator last year acknowledged a “serious sin” but has spoken little about it since, and his office did not respond to calls for comment Tuesday.

Craig said he has told Vitter he regretted the fact that his own case seemed to cause the media to dredge up and rehash Vitter’s situation. He also said he sympathizes with Vitter’s treatment by the media.

“My story became a situation where my wife and I watched it almost as if it were caricatures out there being talked about,” Craig said. “It certainly wasn’t me, but that was quite typical in a 24/7 news cycle like we have today.”

While Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) has avoided the topic of whether Vitter should go, the Louisiana Democratic Party has issued several statements urging his resignation.

“No way has this already been dealt with, we’re dealing with it day-by-day,” state Democratic Party Chairman Chris Whittington said Tuesday. “It’s a continuous distraction from his work on behalf of our state, and it’s a continuous blight on the state of Louisiana to have a sitting senator connected to a prostitution ring.”

Under Louisiana law, Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal would have the right to replace Vitter, meaning a Vitter resignation may do little to tip the 51-49 partisan split in the Senate.