A Kennedy Wrecks Speeding to Congressional Vote--at 2:45 in the morning? [UPDATED]

Have you heard this one? A member of the Kennedy family and a member of Congress was involved in an early morning car wreck while under the influence, and the wreck was covered up. déjà vu!

From Drudge Report:

ROLL CALL reports: ...the wreck took place at approximately 2:45 a.m. Thursday when Kennedy's car, operating with its running lights turned off, narrowly missed colliding with a Capitol Police cruiser and smashed into a security barricade at First and C streets Southeast.

“The driver exited the vehicle and he was observed to be staggering,� Baird’s letter states. Officers approached the driver, who “declared to them he was a Congressman and was late to a vote. The House had adjourned nearly three hours before this incident. It was Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy from Rhode Island.�

Baird wrote that Capitol Police Patrol Division units, who are trained in driving under the influence cases, were not allowed to perform basic field sobriety tests on the Congressman.

...This morning's incident comes just over two weeks after Kennedy was involved in a car accident in Rhode Island.

Talk about bad luck. At least, when he made his explanation and then released a revised explanation, Congressman Kennedy was not having to wear a neck brace like his poor dad did when explaining his famous wreck. Regarding the attempted cover-up, the Kennedy's are like Castro in thinking that a separate system exists for them.

[UPDATE]:

WHO ARE YOU GOING TO BELIEVE?

Kennedy Blames Accident on Sleep Medicine

Rep. Patrick Kennedy crashed his car near the Capitol early Thursday, and a police official said he appeared intoxicated. Kennedy said he had taken sleep medication and a prescription anti-nausea drug that can cause drowsiness.

Kennedy, D-R.I., addressed the issue after a spate of news reports. His initial statement said, "I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident."

Later, however, he issued a longer statement saying the attending physician for Congress had prescribed Phenergan on Tuesday to treat Kennedy's gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach and intestines.

Kennedy said he returned to his Capitol Hill home on Wednesday evening after a final series of votes in Congress and took "prescribed" amounts of Phenergan and Ambien, another prescribed drug that he occasionally takes to fall asleep.

"Some time 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."

Now, for another viewpoint....

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.

...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. (Providing cover will get you a big tip and repeat business!)

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.� (Well, that would be a switch from his earlier actions with them.)

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. (Of course he was unshaken after a drunken wreck. He learned from the best--his Dad.)

“He has looked terrible lately,� the source said. “He’s been acting goofy, kind of zany.� (Would you want this guy voting on how to spend billions of tax dollars and representing you?)

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. (Where's a father when his son needs him? Oh, maybe they need to check the Hawk & Dove for him, too. He could be passed out on the floor from his pills.)

Do you think that if this had been a Republican that there would be outcries from the left and from the media for him to immediately resign? You betcha.