What does a Kennedy have to do to not get re-elected by starry-eyed New England Catholics? Ted Kennedy left Mary Jo Kopechne to die. Joe Kennedy rolled his jeep and left a girl paralyzed. Patrick “Patches” Kennedy was pulled over y the Capitol Police, obviously under the influence, enters rehab for a drug problem, and is coasting to easy re-election as Rhode Island’s US Representative. Keep in mind that this isn’t Patches’ first run in with being under the influence in public.
In fact, he acknowledges that his repeated scandals have helped him. I guess when you’re a pathetic adult male, you get the sympathy vote from Irish and Italian mothers who just want to take care of you.
Kennedy himself says the fallout from the crash has worked to his benefit, at least on this issue.
“The additional press I have gotten from this has obviously given me a bigger platform,” he said. “Clearly, people identify me as someone who knows what they are talking about when it comes to alcohol and addiction.” ... After speaking to a group of seniors recently, Kennedy was surrounded by several women cooing, “Patrick, our Patrick.” The only contrary note was struck by one man in an armchair, who snapped his newspaper in annoyance.
Of course what it boils down to is politics as usual, especially pork barrel politics.
“It’s been a real non-issue in this campaign,” said Darrell M. West, a professor of political science at Brown University and author of a biography of Kennedy. “People no longer see substance abuse as an unusual problem. If you’re in recovery, well, you’re helping yourself, so good for you. And if you’re in recovery and you’re on the Appropriations Committee, then it doesn’t matter at all.”
And that may be why the Kennedys have survived so long: They know how to bring home the bacon.
Technorati Tags:drug abuse, Kennedy, Patrick, politics, Rhode Island
Dom, this has to be one of your greatest blogging days ever!
I think in these parts, it all comes down to one thing: they’re Democrats, the Kennedys. And if you’re a Democrat, you can do no wrong.
You can invite a gay prostitute to run an escort service out of your Capitol Hill apartment (Barney Frank).
You can seduce and sodomize 17-year old pages under your tutelage and be censured by the House (Gerry Studds).
You can be convicted of fraud (Buddy Cianci).
You can be complicit in the death of a single woman while you’re a married man (Ted Kennedy).
You can be a serial adulterer (Jack Kennedy).
You can chase your nephew’s girlfriend around the house while not wearing any pants on Holy Saturday (Ted again).
You can be a staunch supporter of infanticide as practiced in partial-birth abortion (the whole damn lot of them).
But if you’re a Democrat, you’re “for the working man,” and everything’s forgiven.
Conversely, if you’re a member of the other party, it’s obvious that you’re a stuffed shirt, a hypocrite and “for the rich,” so nothing you do is of any value and one can never validly vote for you.
That and the letter beside their names.
My one great regret of having moved out of MA in 2005 is that I never got the chance to vote against Ted “Chappaquidick” Kennedy.
A very convenient excuse for voting for someone you ought not.
Sin is subjective, depending on your relationship with God and your own culpability.
But there are things called character flaws which ought to disqualify someone from public service. If Patches was some lawyer somewhere, I wouldn’t care. Joe pumps oil for charity now so his past behavior is generally irrelevant now. But Patches and Ted are still doing great damage in Congress.
Bam – I know enough not to vote for someone who defends their public sins, like Gerry Studds did, and like Ted Kennedy does. One needn’t be free from sin to recognize that somebody who pledges to continue to kill babies isn’t fit to receive my vote.
Because he is a secular materialist who doesn’t believe in a Personal God. And he can’t resist telling us at every turn.
Really, Louis, we get it. You are in favor of abortion. You don’t have to keep telling us.