Boehner and the Bunker Mentality

In other primary news, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.) eked out a narrow victory in her primary challenge, which served as a referendum on the indictment of her son, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. And today, all eyes are on Memphis, where freshman Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) is battling lawyer Nikki Tinker. Cohen is the only white House member representing a district that has a majority of black voters, providing for a racial undercurrent to the final days of the campaign.

Cohen, who recently introduced a resolution apologizing to black voters for Jim Crow laws, is trying to defeat Tinker, an African American, for the second straight election cycle.

For those who can't get enough of him, you won't have Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) to kick around at the Republican National Convention in Minnesota.

Heading out the Senate door last week, Craig told On the Hill that he will not be returning to the scene of the crime he pleaded guilty to one year ago this week.

"Goin' fishing," Craig said.

Sadly, this means there won't be a single member of the Singing Senators, the old senatorial barbershop quartet, on hand at the convention as an incumbent. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) has retired to be a lobbyist, John Ashcroft (R-Mo.) lost his 2000 election and retired as attorney general in 2004, and Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.) famously switched parties and then retired in 2006.

The big national debut for the Singing Senators came at the 1996 convention in San Diego. "That was the first one I ever attended," said Craig, who said he attended one other GOP convention.

Craig, who is retiring, has appealed his case to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, seeking to revoke his guilty plea from the June 2007 arrest in the undercover sting in a men's restroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

The convention begins Sept. 1, the one-year anniversary of when Craig publicly declared his "intention" to resign -- a pledge he took back weeks later.

Here's a rundown of convention plans for other lawmakers having a bit of trouble with the law:

· Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska): No go. A spokesman for Stevens, 84, indicted last week for allegedly receiving more than $250,000 in unreported gifts, told the Associated Press that he will be campaigning for reelection rather than flying to the Twin Cities.

· Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.): All in. A spokeswoman said Jefferson, indicted for allegedly receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for helping businesses looking for trade deals in Africa, will be on hand for the Democratic National Convention in Denver. The aide said the convention is "on his agenda."

· Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.): Undeclared. Aides did not return phone calls or e-mails seeking comment about the lawmaker's plans. He's been indicted for allegedly performing official favors that benefited his family business in a federal land-swap deal.

· Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Calif.): Undecided. An aide to Doolittle said the retiring lawmaker has until Aug. 15 to let the California Republican Party know whether he will be on hand in St. Paul. Doolittle has not been charged with a crime, but the FBI raided his home last year in connection with the ongoing federal probe into imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff's dealings on Capitol Hill.