Drug testing is a great idea.
Thanks, Rep. Radel.
By Petula Dvorak,
Rep. Trey Radel voted in favor of drug-testing the folks who get food stamps. In that case, why don’t we drug-test all people who get federal money? Let’s start with members of Congress!
Radel,
the Florida Republican whose campaign was heavy on balancing the
budget, would be the first to save the government some money on that
plan.
The 37-year-old congressman who
describes himself on Twitter as a “Hip Hop Conservative” — whatever
that is — lasted just 10 months in the nation’s capital before his Nose
Snow Rewards Card balance tripped the radar of law enforcement.
He was busted
last month after buying $250 worth of cocaine from a federal agent. And
it apparently wasn’t his first time on this particular sleigh ride. Radel
was described in charging documents as a routine buyer in Dupont
Circle, purchasing for himself and for his pals. He pleaded guilty in
D.C. Superior Court this week, was sentenced to a year of probation and
announced a leave of absence.
Ho-hum. Nothing new, politics and drugs. Thanks to former D.C. mayor Marion Barry and Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, we can mention more than just weed in this list. And the roll call of politicians who’ve admitted to smoking pot — whether they inhaled or not — is too huge to tackle in this space.
Radel,
a former TV reporter and conservative radio gabber, isn’t an aberration
when it comes to using coke. About 1.6 million Americans admitted to
being regular cocaine users in a survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration last year.
The
same survey said that about 1,800 try cocaine for their first time
every day. It’s not just boxy boyfriend blazers that are coming back
from the ’80s. Plus, Radel was described as an energetic new
lawmaker who was quickly making a name for himself on Capitol Hill. And
he’s got a 2-year-old at home. Who couldn’t use a little coke to stay
wired?
Radel’s drug use isn’t even his worst transgression. It’s
attaining a level of hypocrisy that usually takes politicians years —
decades — to achieve. This is a guy whose campaign ads lambasted “typical politicians.” “Washington’s full of them,” he lamented.
He
said he’d bring American values to Washington, “Values that come with
integrity, especially when we talk about cuts.” Like, the kind you make
with a razor blade, Hip Hop Man? Seriously — this is a guy who preaches about the dysfunction in Washington, and then look at what he does once he gets to Our Town.
The
tea party darling is one of the Republicans who voted in favor of a
devastating $39 billion cut to the nation’s food stamp program and later
voted for another bill requiring mandatory drug testing for food stamp
recipients.
Yup, in Radel’s version of Absurdistan, it’s totally
okay for a guy in a suit to use coke and collect a government paycheck,
but a single mom who needs help buying milk for her kids has to be
drug-tested before she gets one government dime.
Drug-testing food
stamp and welfare recipients is a mean-spirited, political potshot at
our nation’s most vulnerable families. And it doesn’t work. In
Utah, from August 2012 to July, the state spent more than $30,000
testing nearly 5,000 welfare applicants for drug use. The haul? Twelve people.
The
same thing was tried in Florida, where drug tests cost the state more
money than was saved. Those tests turned up more positives than in Utah.
(Come on, it’s Florida!) There, about 100 of 4,000 recipients tested
dirty. Maybe Radel was a ringer, taking that test to increase the
numbers and bolster his spending cuts.
Why, exactly, don’t we require a drug test for our lawmakers?
They
get paid by the taxpayers. They make important decisions. I’m sure the
electronic voting machines they use to cast their yeas and nays count as
heavy machinery. Or the members-only elevator does. In America,
if you stack apples, cut meat, pitch a baseball, carry a weapon, drive a
forklift, answer phones, sweep streets or do any number of other jobs,
you’ve got to pee in a cup to assure your employer that you are
drug-free and worthy of the job.
The Partnership at Drugfree.org estimated
that 84 percent of employers in America drug-test their employees. Why
don’t we hold our members of Congress to the same standards?
I’m not alone in thinking this. Go to petitiononline.com,
find the petition to drug-test members of Congress and read the
comments of people angry about the consistent double standard that
politicians live by.
If we tested everyone in Congress at an
average cost of $40 a test, the bill would be about $21,400. And even if
Radel was the only one (ha!) who tested positive for drugs, the
taxpayers would come out ahead by withholding his $174,000 salary.
You were right, congressman Radel. Drug testing is an excellent idea. Just make sure you target the right people.
