Larry Craig: The Future of the GOP?

President George Bush's beloved Republican party once again has another politician who has been accused of lewd conduct in its ranks. This time, it's Idaho Senator Larry Craig.

Craig was arrested in June at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport by a police officer in the men's bathroom, who claims that Craig made gestures underneath the stall that the office was occupying that alluded to the wish to engage in lewd conduct.

Congress' newspaper Roll Call broke the story after Craig pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct in the Minneapolis airport.

Senator Craig has publicly stated since the incident that he is not gay and that he regrets making the guilty plea.

Craig was elected to the House of Representatives in 1980 and then to the Senate in 1990 and is up for re-election in 2008 in the state of Idaho. This is not the first time that accusations have flown that Craig is gay, with him denying rumors of sleeping with congressional pages in 1982 along with other various claims since.

Incidentally, the Senator's voting record on same sex marriage rights and the opposition of hate crime legislation has gained him top ratings from social conservative groups such as the American Family Association, Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council.

What do these actions mean for a party that is against same-sex marriage and gay rights in general?