Freshman Congressman Trey Radel (R-FL) was just convicted on a misdemeanor charge of cocaine possession and received probation. He admits to suffering from alcoholism, which he blames for his poor choice to purchase cocaine. That may be a bit of a loose excuse since he was only set up for the sting because law enforcement had learned that he had made prior purchases of cocaine. In other words, he may be more than a recreational user of cocaine, and this was not a matter of a single slip-up that happened because he was drunk. Regardless, he says that he will now seek treatment for his alcoholism, and I wish him every success in his battle with addiction.
What concerns me, however, is that he voted to deny nutritional assistance to anyone who fails a drug test. Voting to let drug addicts die of starvation isn’t a very nice thing to do, but it is particularly galling coming from someone who admittedly cannot control his alcohol consumption and who likes to use cocaine. In his mind, perhaps he cannot abide the idea of some crackhead getting some food stamps to help her feed her children, but he has no right to look down on people who are suffering from addiction. He is no better than them. As he winds his way through rehabilitation and the 12 Steps, I hope he pays close attention to how everything is paid for, how much it costs him out-of-pocket, and how adequate he finds his treatment. And, he should ask himself what the process would be like for someone lacking health insurance and the financial resources and free time to pursue treatment.
Sometimes, conservatives lack the empathy to understand how most people live until something happens to them. Well, something just happened to Trey Radel. Let’s hope he learns from it.
Like so many of them, he is nothing but human garbage. I hope he winds up giving head for dope.
That’s harsh.
I hope he gets clean and becomes more empathetic.
I have NO sympathy for hypocrites.
If he were capable of empathy he wouldn’t be a republican.
I hope he has to take drug tests the rest of his life.
that, too.
That is a nasty slur on people who give head for whatever reason.
No slur intended. I assumed he wouldn’t like that, but you are right, I might be wrong about that.
I only brought it up because perhaps hundreds of thousands of poor women are forced to do that to get their fix and that piece of shit doesn’t even want to feed their families.
Sometimes,conservatives lacktheempathyto understand how most people live until something happens to them.FTFY
“He admits to suffering from alcoholism…”
Henceforth to be referred to as the “Drunken Stupor” defense, in honor of Toronto MINO Rob Ford.
I’m guessing addiction, as well as mental illness, explains what happened to Gus Deeds.
Tragic.
yes. could be addiction, but maybe not. I mentioned in previous thread kids that age over-medicated for ADD in grade school. lots of later consequences when they reach college age. I’ve spoken recently with several young people about it (both studying psychology and have read the literature).
serious depression is one side effect
Had he been busted in his home state, his sentence would have been harsher. We’ll see if he gets self interest empathy like Rob Portman did. Not likely.
He may gain some insight in his private life. I think the odds of it being reflected in his public/political life are next to none given the people he has to appeal to to be re-elected.
They will of course forgive his transgressions since he’s one of them.
It’s a kiss up/kick down ideologly. Because Jesus. Somehow.
I don’t get how being drunk makes you buy cocaine. Plenty of people are serious alcoholics and they don’t go off and buy drugs no matter how drunk they get.
They’re the Party Of Personal Responsibility, dontcha know.
Until it happens to them or one of their family members or tribe, Then they’re Good People who Just Made A Mistake and Need Help or, sometimes, Don’t Need Help Because It Was An Isolated Incident. Soon, Radel and those supporting him will play the victim card, saying that any discussion of his case and its relation to his policy positions are The Politics Of Personal Destruction and Politicizing A Tragedy.
In the case of people like Mayor Ford, they don’t wait a good seriocomic beat for the transition and immediately jump into Victim Mode, soon to be followed by Attack Mode.
Cocaine possession is now a misdemeanor? Who knew? Probably a million of so people locked up for the same crime. (Better would be to decriminalize it.)
There’s a big sentencing advantage to being white (ten-fold according to the ACLU), and also to being educated, wealthy, and connected. Shows how much of a farce “mandatory minimums” are – the reality is “prosecutorial whim”. I agree it’s preposterous to send anybody to jail for drug possession but the unfairness of sentencing infuriates me.
Not to mention the disparity between sentencing for the powdered form of cocaine and crack. Privileged whites get the former and poor folks (mostly non-white) get the latter and multiple longer, mandatory sentences by law. Sort of like differentiating public intoxication by brand of alcohol consumed.
The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 significantly reduced, but did not eliminate, the differences in punishment between crack and powder cocaine.
Reduced it from 10x to something like 6x. Yeah, that’s really “fair.”
And to being a Congressman regardless of color. Look at Jesse Jackson Jr. He got to pick his prison and had a month to party before he went in. His wife, convicted at the same time, gets to wait until he is released before she has to go in, because of the children. Poor people convicted of felonies go to the slammer. Their kids go to DCFS. Relatives can petition for custody. What’s the matter with Jesse Jackson Sr. ? No time for his grandchildren? Politicians make me puke.
IOKIYAR
There’s no photos of him using to run repetitively on the news media. No photos. No story. Just another indiscretion of a Congressional club member. At least he didn’t take a cane to a member of the other House.
From TPM looks like a party boy to me not an alcoholic
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/trey-radel-international-man-of-mystery
I’d say that his preoccupation with alcohol argues in favor of his alcoholism.
Amsterdam and Columbia on his world tour, not known as places to visit for their alcohol.
but the fact that he invited a friend and a stranger to his house [a stranger] to do the coke suggests it isn’t alcoholism
sorry, here’s the link
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/rep-radel-invited-an-undercover-cop-to-his-house-to-do-coke
To be fair, he’s better than some Democrats on drug policy:
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/11/19/2971381/trey-radel-cocaine/
I wish him well. I don’t understand the incessant vindictiveness of some on the left lately, between this and Zimmerman. Can’t we criticize his bullshit and still wish him well for recovery?
Speaking of recovery and prisons and such, another racket that has gotten out of hand alongside private prisons is the “rehab” money stream. What I worry about simple decriminalization is pushing people into these “recovery wards” which are nothing more than the same people who profit off of drug testing people.
He won his seat in Congress as a clean cut, let’s gut the social safety net and not an alcoholic cokehead head. So, yes, he needs to be stomped on. (“I’m an alcoholic” has become the get out of jail free card for the privileged.)
Agree about Zimmerman and the drug treatment industry.
Sure stomp on him; in same way I think Zimmerman should be stomped on.
But wishing Zimmerman “get what he deserves” in prison (implying he should be raped or killed) is bullshit. In the same way, I don’t wish this guy gets what he deserves in some sort of collective form of punishment (which quite clearly isn’t happening due to his light sentence) but recognizing that drug testing SNAP recipients is not cool and for a policy reversal. I doubt he will seein as he probably hates SNAP altogether. Iunno, maybe I’m too much if a naive bleeding heart.
Trey Radel seems to be another instance of my theory that tea party financiers recruited mostly? only? candidates with “issues” who were therefore easy to control (often clueless in fact as far as governance goes).
Meant stomp on him as in expose him as in not qualified to hold public office. That’s independent of his cruel public policy positions. Punishing hungry children because they were born to screwed up parents is cruel. Doubt Mr. Radel would approve of forcing his children to go hungry because he’s a cokehead.
I get very uncomfortable with emotionally driven mob rule. That says more about the individuals than the target of their fury. We don’t and can never know exactly what transpired between Z and Trayvon — and when in doubt, must acquit. Whether it’s guilt or the constant pressure of being public enemy number one for many, Z is cracking up. If the latter, a shame if it was really self-defense. Those calling for his destruction aren’t liberals.
If this guy is stupid enough to think inviting some stranger to his house to do coke with is a good idea when he’s supposed to be representing us, what do you think he is doing on the job? How good do you think his decisions are? That isn’t bullshit, that is poor judgment.
What these kind of guys don’t get that elected office means you are on the job 24/7. People are talking about Rob Ford like “oh what he does on his own time is his own business.” THAT is bullshit. When you are elected by the people to do the people’s business, you don’t figure on doing some Woody Allen life plan and “show up” when Congress is in session and that’s all that matters.
If you don’t know, Woody Allen is known to say something to the effect of 95% of life is just showing up.
And Zimmerman? He belongs behind bars, private or otherwize. He deserves no sympathy, no matter what disservice the Justice System gave him.
I’m guessing that Trey will never accept the consequences of breaking the law. He’ll go through the motions, but he won’t acknowlege deep inside that he’s an addict. And forget him ever equating himself with the “drug addicts” on the street. He’ll never believe he’s the same as they are. To him, they’re trash. He’s just a guy who got caught having some fun.
If he doesn’t get clean, chances are he’ll eventually find himself out there as one of those street people.
Most of the time, those people who comment against someone is actually someone who do the same thing. What they want to tell to themselves is what they tell to others because they cannot admit it directly. — physical therapy marketing
Every single House member who voted to take food money away from poor people and children should be made to “eat” that vote.
“How do you defend taking away government benefits from people and their families who test positive ONCE on a drug screening when you support Congressmen Radel keeping his $175,000 a year job with benefits and travel after he has actually been committed of a drug crime?”
I think it would onlybe fair if Congressmen were required to pee into a cup and pass a drug test before they’re allowed to vote on a bill.
Well I am surprised I am the first to state what I think will be the personal and Party reaction to the man’s hypocrisy: IOKIYAR.
Not mentioned: The congressman is married. If he’s running around D.C. drinking and snorting coke, I’ll wager he has other hobbies that don’t exactly nourish trust in a marriage.
seems so – implied with inviting stranger to his house to do coke