With less than fifty days until the mid-term elections, both Democrats and Republicans hope to define the differences between their two parties. But no matter how distinct the party line may be on issues such as the War in Iraq, taxes, or immigration, one issue unites Republicans and Democrats like no other: personal intoxication. Statistics and anecdotal evidence seem to indicate that holding a seat in Congress makes one more likely to abuse alcohol.
Recently, this issue has been brought to light by the revelation that Senate hopeful Mike McGavick (R-WA) was arrested for driving under the influence in 1993. McGavick volunteered the information himself in order to control the potential damage to his campaign. But when further investigation found the details of the incident to be much worse than those reported by McGavick, campaign spokesman Elliott Bundy declined further comment. Nevertheless, McGavick has little to fear, experience shows that a past DUI conviction doesn’t hinder a Congressional candidate’s chances. In fact, it might actually be a resumé enhancer.
Around the same time as the McGavick mea culpa, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) found himself in the media hot seat for suspicion of drunk driving after he crashed his car into a security barricade near the Capitol. Witnesses said they saw Kennedy, nephew of notorious drinker Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), “staggering” as he exited the vehicle. If so, it wouldn’t be a Congressional first. According to a report by CapitolHillBlue.com, “In the 1998 Congressional session, 84 Representatives and Senators were stopped for drunken driving.” That’s an astounding statistic that equates to 15.7% of the sitting Congress being flagged for a DUI in one calendar year.
In addition, rumors of widespread drinking by Congressional Republicans and Democrats grow on a daily basis. In July, The New York Times reported that Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and John McCain (R-AZ) engaged in a “vodka drinking contest” while on a 2004 Congressional trip to Estonia. A spokesman for Sen. Clinton simply replied, “What happens in Estonia, stays in Estonia.” Meanwhile, this past week, Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez spoke before the United Nations, branding President Bush “an alcoholic.” The charge prompted one of Bush’s most staunch political opponents, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), to circle the wagons and announce his unwavering support for Bush. Rangel, whose party accused Bush of covering up a thirty-year-old DUI charge during the 2000 presidential campaign, referred to Bush as “my president,” yet further evidence of alcohol’s ability to unite Republicans and Democrats.
Article comments
1 - ray
pure garbage -- bush is murdering people nd all u think about is vodka u sick bitch
2 - Britt
Yep, murdering terrorists... Drink up!
3 - Maurice
Great article. Reminds me of Animal Farm
4 - Mistress La Spliffe
Politicians have been drunks since drinking was invented. It's what a really high proportion of people with extremely stressful, extremely social jobs do. You don't like that? Maybe you can try out Prohibition again. It didn't work last time, but today's another day.
The real story, if your figures are right, is that there's a class of people who think it's okay to drink and drive. THAT'S something to get knickers in a twist about.
5 - Nancy
IMO it has to do with the entitlement & 'above the law' attitude of most members of congress and the administration more than anything else. Remember most of these people come from very wealthy families, and have behaved like this all their lives: if having a socially prominent & politically powerful name didn't get them off, Mummy & Daddy could well afford to pay for a good lawyer, bail, the fine, and a spinmeister to cover it all up. The Kennedys are prime examples of this trait of arrogance & overprivilege, as is Dubya.
6 - JustOneMan
Hey Left WIngers your Boy Al "Big Cry Baby" Gore needs a grouo intervention..his drinking is obviously out of control....
GORE: CIGARETTE SMOKING 'SIGNIFICANT' CONTRIBUTOR TO GLOBAL WARMING
Fri Sep 29 2006 09:04:05 ET
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore warned hundreds of U.N. diplomats and staff on Thursday evening about the perils of climate change, claiming: Cigarette smoking is a "significant contributor to global warming!"
Gore, who was introduced by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said the world faces a "full-scale climate emergency that threatens the future of civilization on earth."
Gore showed computer-generated projections of ocean water rushing in to submerge the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, parts of China, India and other nations, should ice shelves in Antarctica or Greenland melt and slip into the sea.
"The planet itself will do nicely, thank you very much what is at risk is human civilization," Gore said. After a series of Q& A with the audience, which had little to do with global warming and more about his political future, Annan bid "adios" to Gore.
Then, Gore had his staff opened a stack of cardboard boxes to begin selling his new book, "An Inconvenient Truth, The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It," $19.95, to the U.N. diplomats.
Developing...
7 - Baronius
Nancy, I think you're on to something. It's hard to take the law seriously when you write it. In English, we don't say that we follow the law, but that we obey it. There's a sense of respect, of fealty, in that word. But how do you take a drunk driving law seriously when you were drunk while you voted for it? Why follow a campaign finance law that a donor paid you to support?
I know this was quite a digression from the topic. Sorry.