In these days of the Culture of Corruption and rampant Republican right-wing religious hypocrisy, my headline looks best suited for
The National Enquirer or
Weekly World News, something along the lines of "Bigfoot found living under suburban couple's back porch," but -- believe it or not -- a Republican Member of Congress has actually done something kind and decent for another human being who is neither family member, big campaign donor, fat-cat lobbyist, oil company executive, nor Evangelical Christian leader, but is
(gasp!) a liberal Democratic Congressman hailing from the most storied and powerful liberal Democratic dynasty in American history! Details below the flip.
This morning's Twin Cities
Star Tribune carried a front page headline:
For Ramstad, colleague was friend in need. If you've got a spare minute or two, the article is worth reading. Reporter Kevin Diaz' story begins:
They're both congressmen, and they're both addicts.
So when Minnesota Republican Jim Ramstad heard that a friend in a drug-induced state had been in a late-night car wreck, he did what he said any friend in recovery would do: He reached out to help.
The friend was Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy, the Kennedy family scion from Rhode Island.
Normally, one would expect a Republican Congressman to "help" a Democratic colleague by (at most) sending him some "Just Say No" pamphlets, telling him to "accept Jesus as his personal savior," or some other symbolic, low-effort technique, but Ramstad apparently is that rare Republican politician who's actually been there and knows that something more is required:
After a high-profile political dust-up in Washington, Kennedy underwent 28 days of treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, where he was released last week.
Ramstad visited him four Saturdays in a row, and agreed to sponsor Kennedy's recovery, accompanying him to recovery meetings and staying in regular contact. ... t's the same way Ramstad recovered from alcohol addiction 25 years ago, after he woke up from an alcoholic blackout in a jail cell in Sioux Falls, S.D.
"He's provided a support to me by his ability to incorporate his own experience in a way that I really couldn't get from anyone else," Kennedy said Thursday in an interview with the Star Tribune, his first since returning to Washington. "He's got the perspective of being both a member of Congress and somebody who's in recovery."
Of course, the politics of Patrick Kennedy's recent early-morning traffic accident resulting from his substance addiction does play a role in Ramstad's actions -- just not the usual Republican "gotcha" politics of personal destruction. During Ramstad's visits with Kennedy at Mayo, they talked about advancing the legislation they -- along with 226 other Members of the House and 68 Senators -- have long sponsored to require "parity" in health insurance deductibles and copayments for mental health and chemical dependency treatment. Rather than using Kennedy's addiction as a weapon against Democrats, Ramstad wants to use Kennedy's highly-publicized decision to seek treatment to advance a good cause: "We're going to redouble our efforts, and Patrick's openness and honesty and experience are going to help us publicize the need for treatment for people who are still struggling."
To be sure, the more-typical Republican, Rush Limbaugh approach to discussing Kennedy's addiction plays a role in this story, too, but with a refreshing twist:
Ramstad has also stuck up for Kennedy politically, warning Rhode Island Republicans and others that calls for Kennedy's resignation would be a "slap in the face" of all recovering addicts like himself.
Kennedy plans to stay in office and face the consequences of the legal case before him. Ramstad has offered to be at his side during the judicial proceedings.
Too bad that so-many self-styled "Christian Conservatives" can't behave in the truly Christian way Ramstad did: care for the sick -- whether or not they accept your brand of religion or politics and without patting yourself on the back over what a "good Christian" you are. See Matthew 25:31-46.
Unfortunately, it seems that Ramstad is truly the "exception that proves the rule" that Republicans tend to be mean-spirited or hypocrites when it comes to caring for people in need. How can Ramstad and Kennedy's mental health and chemical dependency parity legislation that has 228 sponsors in the House and 68 sponsors in the Senate have so far avoided passage? Take a guess: the Republican leadership in the House opposes the bill and has blocked any vote on it. Where's the principle of giving things an "up or down vote" when you need it?
Jim Ramstad is a Republican and I do not agree with many of his positions on issues. An elaboration of that thought would go far beyond the scope of this diary. I will say, however, that if more Republicans in Congress were like Ramstad, I'd have a lot more respect for the honesty, integrity, and sincerity of their caucus.