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Skriven 2006-05-06 12:47:56 av BOB SAKOWSKI (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av STAN HARDEGREE
Ärende: Young Kennedy
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Doug Thompson, unlike some journalists in America, is neither a democrat
toady or a Bush republican bootlicker.

The Rant
Kennedy hit the bars before his run-in with Capitol Hill cops
By DOUG THOMPSON
May 6, 2006, 06:06

When the U.S. House of Representatives adjourned its session late Wednesday
night, U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy did what he usually does on a Washington
evening - he headed for the string of bars that line Pennsylvania Avenue
west of the Capitol.

A hostess at the Hawk 'n Dove, a popular hangout for elected officials and
staff, especially young women who wouldn't mind doing a little mattress
dancing with a willing member of Congress, reports Kennedy popped in for a
few pops late in the evening.

Capitol Hill Police, embarrassed by reports they gave Kennedy preferential
treatment, spent Friday interviewing bartenders, waitresses and hostesses
at several of the Pennsylvania Avenue bars that he frequents.  More than
one told the cops Kennedy stopped by their bar and had a few before heading
home.

Kennedy, however, claims he wasn't drinking but had mixed prescription
medication, including the sleeping pill Ambien, a powerful drug that is
known to induce sleepwalking.

On Thursday, Kennedy claimed he got up at 2:45 a.m. and drove to Capitol
Hill under the impression he needed to vote. Instead, he narrowly missed
crashing into a police car, then tried to outrun the cops before slamming
into a security barrier near the Capitol.

"Obviously, I was disoriented," Kennedy said Thursday.

Obviously. On Friday, he changed his story, saying he couldn't remember a
damn thing: Didn't remember getting up, didn't remember driving, didn't
remember wrecking his car, didn't remember encountering the cops who cited
him for minor traffic infractions but failed to give him a sobriety test.

But those who frequent the bars remember Kennedy as partying hard Wednesday
night, drowning multiple drinks and then stumbling out of the Hawk 'n Dove
well after midnight.

"He's a partier and a real good-time guy," says one Capitol Hill aide who
asked not to be identified. "He likes to drink and he usually gets
blasted."

Other aides on Capitol Hill report Kennedy shows up at his House office
hung over and complaining that he "can't remember" what happened the night
before. His heavy drinking is hardly a secret on the Hill. Three weeks ago,
he wrecked another car in Rhode Island and appeared drunk but, because he's
a Congressman and a Kennedy, escaped a sobriety test and walked.

All this leads me to believe young Kennedy didn't head for the Mayo Clinic
Friday for treatment for any addiction to prescription drugs. He went there
to dry out, just as he did five months ago when he claimed going into rehab
for an addiction to painkillers.

As a recovering alcoholic (sober 11 years, 11 months and one day), I run
into a lot of serial liars like young Patrick Kennedy. They blame their
drinking on prescription drugs, bad interactions with medications, fatigue
and just about everything but what they really are - drunks who have yet to
face up to their problem.

Kennedy may well be adding prescription drugs to his regular diet of booze
but the core of his problem is alcoholism - a deadly, insidious disease
that has haunted his family for generations.

An inability to face the Beast called alcoholism destroyed his father's
attempt to run for President.

It destroyed his mother.

And, if young Kennedy doesn't face up to his real problem with the bottle,
it will destroy him.

© Copyright 2005 Capitol Hill Blu
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