Drunks In The Senate

There was an article in the Sunday South Carolina newspaper, The State this morning about Senator Foghorn Leghorn Hollings.

In his farewell speech last month, U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings recalled his early days in Washington, when a good slice of the Senate was alcoholic.

Today, the retiring South Carolina Democrat said, “there is nobody drunk in the United States Senate.”

I guess he hasn't observed Ted "the swimmer" Kennedy, (D as in drunk), from the Peoples' Republic of Taxachusetts.

Known perhaps as much for his irreverent jibes and impenetrable Lowcountry drawl as for his crusades against budget deficits, Hollings is among the last of a dying breed in Washington — the funny, quirky senator.

But were we laughing with him or at him?

“They’re all so serious now,” agreed Warren Tompkins, a Columbia-based Republican political consultant. “With all the political correctness that exists today, you really can’t afford to be a little flippant and take yourself less than seriously.”

Speaking of political correctness, if you were a former member of the KKK, but were a Dimocrat, you could say "nigger" on national TV and get away with it. Ol' Foghorn got away with a few politically incorrect words also. But then, he is a Dimocrat.

After reading this article it seems The State prefers characters to senators who will actually take their jobs seriously. Oh wait! The article was written by someone in their Washington bureau. Now I understand.

Posted by denny at December 26, 2004 07:56 PM