Patrick Kennedy to go to rehab clinic

May 5, 2006

What a nice, slow Friday afternoon. The director of the CIA resigns under suspicious circumstances, my server goes down for the second Friday in a row, and Rep. [tag]Patrick Kennedy[/tag] (D-R.I.) is checking himself into a [tag]rehab[/tag]ilitation [tag]clinic[/tag] for addiction to prescription pain medication.

[tag]Kennedy[/tag], who has struggled with [tag]addiction[/tag] and depression, said he had checked into the Mayo Clinic over the Christmas holidays and returned to Congress “reinvigorated and healthy.”

“Of course, in every recovery, each day has its ups and downs, but I have been strong, focused and productive since my return,” Kennedy said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press.

Kennedy’s announcement came after he was cited for three traffic violations in an early morning car crash near the Capitol, according to a police report.

Kennedy will go to the [tag]Mayo Clinic[/tag] in Rochester, Minn. this evening. It’s unclear what this means for his House seat or his re-election campaign, should he choose to run.

Is he addicted or not? If he has been “strong, focused and productive since my return” then why the hell is he going back to rehab?

This also puts into question his rationale for not running for Senate.

  • A review of the media and conservative response to this incident offers an excellent chance to test whether everyone with a drug addiction is a criminal or an innocent victim who deserves our prayers (like Limbaugh). I’m paraphrasing, but we’ve all seen that e-mail about things you need to believe to be a Republican. We’ll see.

  • We here in MN will take good care of Rep. Kennedy. I wonder what Limbaugh is saying about it?

    Nice to see that as I went into my 1:30 meeting CNN reported on Goss resigning and now that I am out at 3:00 Kennedy is the headline story again. I think the CIA Director resigning and one of the 535 members of Congress going to rehab are of equal weight in the eyes of the news media.

    I need a margarita.

  • But when it was Rush who was entering rehab, the whole left side of the ‘sphere erupted in self righteous anger.

    Pathetic little hypocrites.

  • Recursive? I don’t think it fits in with what you were writing.

    Anyway, the left acted as if the Rush/prescription drug issue would finally bring the man down. It hasn’t.

    I wonder if we’ll see a doctor shopping indictment in Kennedy’s future. Somehow I doubt it.

  • Kennedy’s experience is entirely consistent with other reports on the effects of Ambien.

    I’m sure that Minnesota will help Partick recover. And if Rush had been charged in Minnesota instead of Florida, he would have been put in jail last year. Instead, Florida let him off the hook.

  • At least this Kennedy didn’t murder anyone. This time.

    Love how he got special treatment from the police though. When will the party look the Kennedys in the face and say get out?

  • I lived on Cape Cod for many years and knew some of the young Kennedys and their friends and I think people should leave them alone. The problems they have with substance abuse is the same as so many other American families-even the Bush family has the same problems. I, for one would not want to live with the spotlight on my every move. Substance abuse and the problems with sleeping meds is a national problem now and there needs to be more rehab centers and programs and financing by the insurance companies to cover this care.

  • At least Rush didn’t run into a concrete barrier and receive “preferred” treatment from the cops.

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