Rush Limbaugh made a big mistake when he decided to move to South Florida to enjoy the sun and the beach. The police down here are tough. If he'd had the same problem with addiction to pain killers in our nation's capitol, he might have gotten the velvet glove treatment Representative Patrick Kennedy got when he almost killed a D.C. cop while stoned.
Rush Limbaugh made a big mistake when he decided to move to South Florida to enjoy the sun and the beach. The police down here are tough. If he'd had the same problem with addiction to pain killers in our nation's capitol, he might have gotten the velvet glove treatment Representative Patrick Kennedy got when he almost killed a D.C. cop while stoned. Or the cops might have even looked the other way as they did when black Representative played the "race card" after attacking a D.C. police officer.
Here are the facts, as heard over and over on the news. Rush Limbaugh is a conservative talk show host (his first mistake). He moved to Democrat-controlled, extremely liberal Palm Beach County (his second mistake). He became addicted to pain killing drugs, prescribed by his physician for a medical condition (his third mistake).
The third mistake wouldn't have meant much in this society if he had been an average citizen, or even a Democrat. He would have been ordered into a counseling program, and that would have been that. It happens thousands of times every day all across the country. Good people get hooked on drugs that their doctors give them. Sometimes the doctors fail to warn them of the dangers. Sometimes they over-prescribe. Sometimes the patient fails to exercise self-discipline. Whatever the cause, most such situations receive little attention unless someone gets hurt.
In Rush's case, an over-zealous District Attorney persecuted him (that's not a misspelling - he didn't prosecute in a fair manner, so it was persecution). He didn't treat Rush as he would any other citizen, simply because Rush is Rush. I don't know whether the D.A. is a dyed-in-the-wool liberal who hates Rush because he speaks truth. Perhaps his persecution was simply a desire to get into the spotlight for political gain. Whatever the reason, what he did to Rush is unforgivable.
Now let's look at how things are done in our nation's Capitol. Apparently the rules are also different there for "special people," except that the treatment is just the opposite of that which Rush received. If you are a liberal Democrat in the District of Columbia, you can get away with anything short of murder.
Take Patrick Kennedy, son of the loud and obnoxious Teddy Kennedy. Just like the friendly Mafia folks that Teddy is so cozy with, his son followed him into the "family business." This is not his first brush with the law, not by a long shot, but most of his other legal problems have been covered up. This one came to light because the cops who responded to the incident complained to their union, whose president blew the whistle on the whole tawdry episode.
A stoned Kennedy almost smashed his Mustang into a D.C. cop. Although it was the middle of the night, his car had no lights on. The police pursued Kennedy's weaving car until he wrecked it. When he got out of the car, according to expert police witnesses, he was "staggering," his speech was "slurred" and he appeared drunk. He claimed he was going to the House for a vote (at 2:45AM!). We'll never know whether he was stoned on alcohol or drugs (or both) because the cops followed the procedure for "untouchables" and notified their superiors.
The Watch Commander (who has since been reassigned - I wonder why?) ordered the cops to give the "untouchable" Congressman a ride home. No field sobriety test, as D.C. law requires in such cases. No blood test. Just "take this important man home" where he can sleep it off. The next day, when the whistle was blown by the police union, it was too late for drug tests.
Kennedy's mealy-mouthed press conference the next day was so self-serving it made me nauseous. It sounded far more like a public service announcement than an apology. He admitted to an addiction to pain-killers, and advised everyone watching that if they had a similar problem, they should seek help. Hey, Patty, we're not talking about the problems of the people out in TV land; we're supposed to be talking about your problem! At any rate, he had already used this excuse in a previous incident just a few months ago (he finished a drug rehab program in December), but none of the liberal reporters called him on it.
At least when Rush's problem was exposed, he took it like a man. He admitted that he had a problem, and he said what he was going to do about it. He took several months off from his radio program (at great cost) to undergo a residential drug treatment program. Kennedy's attempt to deflect attention from his wrong-doing onto the viewing audience was a pathetic demonstration of his family's pattern. Whenever a Kennedy is caught drinking, drugging, raping, or engaging in adultery, their modus operandi is to try to turn the attention elsewhere and portray themselves as victims. Daddy Teddy did the same thing after he killed Mary Jo Kopeckni. The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree.
And what about the Congresswoman from Georgia who thinks she is so important that everyone should recognize her, and anyone who doesn't deserves to be beaten? On March 29 Representative Cynthia McKinney assaulted a US Capitol Police officer after he asked for identification prior to allowing her into a House office building. At first the Chief of Police indicated that he was going to pursue the matter (as well he should, and as he would have done with any ordinary citizen). But McKinney played the race card.
She claimed that she was being persecuted because she was black. Now, how being asked for identification (when every other person of every color in the same line was also asked for identification) constitutes persecution mystifies me. But his is not the first time McKinney has been involved in controversies of this type. And every time she claims racial motivation. And every time the police and the D.A. turn tail and run.
The woman is obviously not mentally stable, and is an embarrassment to the Congress and to the nation. After the tragedies of September 11, 2001, with the nation reeling in shock, McKinney spoke these words during a radio interview: "A complete investigation might reveal that President Bush or members of his administration have personally profited from the attacks of 9-11."
So why do people like Kennedy and McKinney receive special treatment, while people like Rush Limbaugh are persecuted? In part, it is geography. Both Palm Beach county and the District of Columbia are Democrat strongholds, so one would expect liberals to be coddled and conservatives to be treated unfairly.
But I think it goes beyond that. The media play a large part in what happens in our police departments, District Attorney's offices, and even in our courts. And the media are overwhelmingly liberal. They can (and do) focus intense attention on the mistakes of their foes. And they are very quick to forgive (and keep from public attention) similar mistakes of their cronies.
So Patrick Kennedy can continue to drive stoned, and Cynthia McKinney can continue to assault cops. And neither has much to fear. But if you have the guts to speak out about how the liberals are ruining our nation, as Rush Limbaugh does, you'd better be very careful. Make sure you put your quarter in that parking meter, Rush. They might send the SWAT Team after you if you don't.
Dr. Tom Barrett has been an ordained minister for 30 years. He has written for local and national publications for most of his life, and has authored several non-fiction books. He has been interviewed on many TV and radio programs, and speaks at seminars nationwide. Tom is the editor and publisher of Conservative Truth, an email newsletter read by over fifty thousand weekly which focuses on moral and political issues from a Biblical viewpoint.
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