>>“I asked for no special treatment."
DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?
Posted on 05/05/2006 12:17:31 AM PDT by raccoonradio
WASHINGTON -U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy insisted yesterday that he had consumed “no alcohol” before he slammed his Mustang convertible into a concrete barrier near his office, but a hostess at a popular Capitol Hill watering hole told the Herald she saw him drinking in the hours before the crash.
“He was drinking a little bit,” said the woman, who works at the Hawk & Dove and would not give her name.
Leaving his office late last night, Kennedy refused to say whether he’d been to the Hawk & Dove the night before.
Earlier in the evening, Kennedy issued a statement through his office blaming the accident and strange behavior surrounding it on prescription drugs.
He said he returned to his Capitol Hill home on Wednesday evening after House votes and took “prescribed” amounts of Phenergan and Ambien.
Phenergan is for gastroenteritis, he said. Ambien is a popular sleep medication.
“Sometime around 2:45 a.m., I drove the few blocks to the Capitol Complex believing I needed to vote,” his second statement said. “Apparently, I was disoriented from the medication.”
Questions arose surrounding the wreck amid police reports that Kennedy was “staggering” and appeared intoxicated after nearly hitting a Capitol Police cruiser and then striking the barrier.
The incident became public when the union representing Capitol Police alleged in a publicly released letter that superior officers prevented rank-and-file cops from properly investigating the crash.
The letter from the cops union said police spotted Kennedy’s Mustang swerving with its lights off. The car narrowly missed a cruiser before slamming into a security barricade, according to the letter written by officer Chris Baird, chairman of the department’s union.
The driver exited the vehicle and he was observed to be staggering, Baird’s letter states. The letter also said that Kennedy claimed he was “late to a vote.” The last House vote was taken nearly six hours earlier.
Patrolmen’s union president Lou Cannon told the Associated Press that officers were fuming that police brass intervened and blocked attempts to give Kennedy sobriety tests. “The officers just want to be able to do their jobs,” Cannon said.
Leaving his Capitol Hill office last night, Kennedy told reporters: “I asked for no special treatment.”
After Kennedy responded to the swelling scandal with his first letter, a Herald reporter visisted bars where Kennedy is known to socialize.
A bartender at the Tune Inn, which is next to the Hawk & Dove, also said Kennedy was spotted in the Hawk & Dove Wednesday.
Hawk & Dove manager Edgar Gutierrez said Kennedy is a regular in the bar. Gutierrez said he was working Wednesday night but did not see the congressman.
Kennedy, who has battled booze and drug problems in the past, said in his first statement: “I will fully cooperate with the Capitol Police in whatever investigation they choose to undertake.”
Despite the wreck, Kennedy took part in normal business at the Capitol yesterday and appeared unshaken by the incident as he chatted with other members. But one Rhode Island political insider said there has been talk of Kennedy’s bizarre behavior of late.
“He has looked terrible lately,” the source said. “He’s been acting goofy, kind of zany.”
In addition to seeking substance abuse treatment as a teen, Kennedy has acknowledged being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
A spokeswoman for Kennedy’s father, U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, said the senior Massachusetts senator would have no comment on the matter.
DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?
Next stop - The Betty Ford Clinic.
Like father, like son, both Democrat Party scum!!! At least the son has not murdered anyone yet, like his father Ted Kennedy.
>>strange behavior surrounding it on prescription drugs.
Ah, just like Limbaugh (Talent On Loan From Oxy Contin!)
I heard a report on CBS Radio News (WBZ Boston) that he was said to be "sleep driving". You know, just like sleep walking, only you go out to your green Mustang, start it up, and
head to the House chamber for that important 2:45 am vote.
Continuing adventures of Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy
By Herald staff
March 26, 2000:
A videotape captures Kennedy pushing a 58-year-old airport security guard backward and bumping the metal detector archway at Los Angeles International Airport. The catalyst apparently was that his luggage was too big for carry-on and he was disturbed the guard did not recognize him.
Summer 2000:
The Coast Guard removes a former Hub woman from a yacht for her safety after she and Kennedy had some drinks and a tiff. Kennedy had rented the yacht and trashed it, causing $28,000 in damage.
July 2001:
Kennedy makes remarks to the Pawtucket Times about U.S. Rep. Gary Condit of California. Kennedy says he is guilty of cheating on his wife and in the mysterious disappearance of the Washington intern he was having an affair with.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006:
While watching a demonstration of Impact Gel, a shock-absorbing material, Kennedy takes one to the face when a hammer head flies off the handle and hits him in the mouth. He gets six stitches to his bottom lip at Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket and cancels several public appearances.
Saturday, April 15, 2006:
Kennedy tries to turn into a CVS parking lot in Portsmouth, R.I.,, but turns into the vehicle in front of him instead.
Thursday, May 4, 2006:
Kennedy crashes in D.C.
Who ARE the simple assclowns who elect and re-elect this guy???
Police Clear Patrick Kennedy in Minor Fender Bender
"There was nothing to it," said Police Chief Wiggum. "Congressman Kennedy escaped the misshap unscathed, thank God."
Florida voters vacationing in RI?
Apparently, he was "sleep drinking" too. And "sleep voting".
Thank God he wasn't near a canal....
D.C.: Rep. Kennedy, of R.I., crashes car
That's it. That's what the Boston Globe thinks about this story. Almost nothing.
ping
He was actually "sleep drinking". I am awaiting the story line from the Kennedy Clan's useful idiots of the press this morning: Tom Oliphant, Katie Couric, the whole gang. It will go something like "the awful curse that stalks the Kennedy family has struck yet again . . .".
Ding ding ding! Winner! LOL!
Indeed. Here in Texas it's called "driving while impaired" and the punishment is just as serious as DUI.
My guess is that Cynthia McKinney could not be happier.
That's right, Patrick. Read the label on the product. I bet it says, "Don't drive while taking this medication." What, you were too loaded to read it?
Come on, it's NOTHING like Rush's problem. That's a cheap shot on a good man that admitted he had a problem and has taken steps to correct it. OxyContin...I've had em and been there too. Back pain is a misery.
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