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Politics : I Will Continue to Continue, to Pretend.... -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (19796)	5/5/2006 5:24:53 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

Just Wondering Power Line I'm not clever enough to add to the hilarity already surrounding Rep. Patrick Kennedy's traffic mishap last night. ("I'm a Congressman! I'm late to a vote!" Yeah, like 14 hours.) Perversely, perhaps, I want to make a serious comment. Which begins with a quote from a dentist who lived in my home town in South Dakota: "Voting for Democrats is like picking your nose. You like to do it, but you're not proud of it." Crude, but apt. Why on earth is a lost, pathetic nonentity like Patrick Kennedy a member of Congress? What possesses people in his Rhode Island district--does he have some connection with Rhode Island?--to vote for him? Can the people of Rhode Island possibly be proud of being represented by a slow-witted, uninformed young man with admitted psychiatric and drug problems? I assume not. So why is Patrick Kennedy a Congressman? And why on earth can't the presumably-sane people who live in his district vote him out? Obviously, Kennedy is a Congressman because of his last name. But the question is not an idle one. We live in an era in which most people are puzzled by the actions of Congress: Why are there earmarks? Why can't the majority rule on issues like immigration? Why is it impossible to talk rationally about issues like Social Security and energy costs? Why can't spending be cut? Ever, for anything? I wouldn't push this theory too far, since, obviously, the Kennedys are close to unique in American politics. But still: maybe the dysfunction that is so obvious in Patrick Kennedy's case is a window onto a more pervasive problem. Maybe the same weird, but real, forces that result in a nonentity like Kennedy being an entrenched member of Congress help to explain why the institution as a whole is so unresponsive to Americans' needs and preferences. powerlineblog.com

To: Sully- who wrote (19796)	5/6/2006 12:22:02 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

You will hear people say that he is addicted, he has a serious health problem, he deserves to be praised for his forthrightness today, and we should leave him alone. And many of these commentators will be the same people who were giddy in their ceaseless attacks on Rush. Patrick Kennedy & Double Standards Mark Levin And Another Thing . . . I don't wish anyone ill, except our nation's enemies. It's a good thing that Patrick Kennedy is going back into rehab. But I am very angry. For nearly three years we witnessed the persecution of Rush Limbaugh, who became addicted to painkillers resulting from back and neck problems. We witnessed leaks by prosecutors who spread lies about him being involved in money laundering, drug rings, and doctor shopping. But the media happily repeated them. Some mocked him. Rush got help. He has been clean for years. And in most cases, when someone becomes addicted to prescription drugs for the first time, the matter is eventually dropped. Most jurisdictions have set up drug courts for this very purpose. But that didn't stop the state prosecutor in Palm Beach County from spending hundreds of thousands of tax dollars pursuing Rush. Early on, prosecutors claimed they had evidence of over ten felonies. They demanded that Rush plead guilty to some felony—any felony. He refused, always insisting on his innocence. So, they leaked more lies to the media, hoping to intimidate him. They seized his medical records. They gave his medical records to the media. The media took those records and turned them into graphics for television. Reporters and commentators were studying his prescriptions, discussing both the kinds and amount of medicine he had taken. They were beside themselves with glee. Newsweek, AP and the Palm Beach Post, Rush's local paper, were especially vicious, serving as lap-dogs for the prosecutors. In court, Rush fought these people every step of the way—all the way to the Florida Supreme Court. He spent millions of dollars defending himself—despite the fact that he had been a first-time abuser, went to rehab, and was clean. And then last October, the lead prosecutor sauntered into court and in response to questioning told the judge—we have no evidence that Rush Limbaugh has committed any crime! None. So, I am very angry. You will hear commentator after commentator speaking sympathetically about Patrick Kennedy and his addiction to painkillers. You will hear people say that he is addicted, he has a serious health problem, he deserves to be praised for his forthrightness today, and we should leave him alone. And many of these commentators will be the same people who were giddy in their ceaseless attacks on Rush. I am angry at the double standard, where liberals are regularly treated one way and conservatives another. I am also glad Patrick Kennedy won't be abused as Rush was. But you can be sure that the next conservative with a problem won't be treated like Kennedy. But there are some aspects to the Kennedy matter that require answers. If Patrick Kennedy, who is not a first offender, is addicted to painkillers, from where did he get them? And there are news reports that he had been drinking earlier at a Capitol Hill bar and alcohol was later smelled on his breath. So, why was the officer on the scene prevented by more senior police officers from performing a routine sobriety test? I truly wish Patrick Kennedy well. But you bet I'm angry. levin.nationalreview.com

To: Sully- who wrote (19796)	6/7/2006 6:41:00 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

What a Hero Jonah Goldberg The Corner Pat Kennedy bravely declares he wants to be treated like a black man. I'm in awe of this effort to turn lemons into political lemonade. Update: I just saw that a reader has some relevant questions: <<< Hi Jonah – I’m sure you saw this article (link below), or one like it, regarding Patrick Kennedy’s mea culpa. His comical request to be treated like any “African-American in Anacostia” brings to mind several questions: 1. Has there ever been a case before where a white Democrat played the race card in a completely non-racial incident, and in a self-referential context? This is truly exceptional work – his dad was appointed to his seat for life for much less ingenious dissembling. 2. Has anyone in the Kennedy family ever sought out medical help for the family’s primary genetic flaw – the immediate and irretrievable loss of memory in response to any trauma involving alcohol, drugs, automobiles, and bad driving? Has any of them ever considered not combining all four? 3. Or was his quote simply a fun attempt at alliteration, like any “Intoxicated Irishman in Ithaca”, or any “Bloviating Buffoon in Brooklyn”? I turn to you, a dedicated newsman, for answers. >>> corner.nationalreview.com nydailynews.com

To: Sully- who wrote (19796)	6/8/2006 11:05:07 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

Black like me Power Line Cary Clack is a metro columnist for the San Antonio Express-News. He seems to have discerned the significance of the recent declaration by Rep. Patrick Kennedy as he emerged from rehab in "Kennedy takes leap, becomes black.". Kennedy said: <<< "I expect at the end of the day to have made sure that I will have done the same thing, in terms of charges, in terms of bookings, in terms of mug shots, fingerprints whatever they might have me do, if I were an African American in Anacostia and were picked up" >>> Among other developments, Clack reports: Kennedy has written a rap song for himself, "Treat Me Like a Black Man, Dammit!" that he hopes either Kanye West or Jay-Z will produce. He explained that while it will take time for people to get used to him as a black man and that James Brown will always hold the title of Soul Brother No. 1, he hopes to improve on his current ranking as Soul Brother No. 2,317,729. Courtesy of Lucianne. lucianne.com powerlineblog.com mysanantonio.com