In the continuing effort to clear his name, Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, this week filed an appeal to withdraw his guilty plea in connection with an arrest in an airport men's room sex sting. But many Republicans are furious that he's still around at all, drawing media attention and, in their view, embarrassing the Republican Party. The four-page appeal does not explain under what basis Craig is filing his appeal to the order issued Oct. 4, 2007, by Hennepin County District Court Judge Charles Porter for Craig's original guilty plea not to stand. Craig must prove that Porter committed an "abuse of discretion" in his ruling. "The facts in the case speak for themselves, and we are confident the senator's guilty plea will stand," said Patrick Hogan, spokesman for the Metropolitan Airports Commission. In an interview with Idaho's KTVB to air this evening, Craig said he is merely exercising the same rights available to any citizen. "It is my right to do what I am doing," Craig said, suggesting that since he is retiring from the U.S. Senate at the end of his term, "I am no longer in the way. I am no longer blocking the political process of Idaho, but I am pursuing my constitutional rights."