CNN is reporting under the headline of Oklahoma congressman checks into Betty Ford Center that an Oklahoma Representative, John A. Sullivan, has checked into the Betty Ford Clinic for treatment for alcoholism. While alcoholism is a disease, and one might want to wish the Congressman well in his attempt at recovery, I can't help but wonder, a bit, about the psychic strains of being a right winger, i.e., beloved by both the Christian Coalition and the NRA, awkwardly both voting for TARP and then appearing at Teabag rallies to decry his own vote, and being a marginal member of a marginalized party which is lead by a man, John Boehner, who appears to be as dumb as a box of rocks and quite possibly, a fellow alcoholic, and how such strains might have contributed to Sullivan's turning to the bottle for escape. Of course, I am not an addiction treatment professional, so I am, admittedly, just speculating.
Anyway, Mr. Sullivan will be taking a "leave of absence" from Congress, leaving his constituents unrepresented. Perhaps they'll be better off, as surely the country will be.
CNN) -- U.S. Rep. John Sullivan, of Oklahoma, checked himself into the Betty Ford Center in California on Thursday night for treatment for alcohol addiction, according to a written statement from his office.
Sullivan, a Republican from Tulsa, said in the statement that he will be taking a leave of absence from Congress while he seeks treatment.
Interestingly, this is not the first time that boozing got this Congressman into some difficulty.
A point of contention during Sullivan's re-election campaign in 2004 was his police record. According to opponent Doug Dodd, Sullivan had been arrested four times in the Tulsa area. Sullivan claimed to have only been arrested once. A review by local media concluded he had at least three arrests: for assault and battery of an off-duty police officer in 1982 and for public intoxication and disturbing the peace in 1985, while still under-age. His last arrest, at age 27, was due to an outstanding bench warrant issued after he failed to appear in court for a traffic violation.
In July 2004, Dave Pearson, a former GOP communications consultant, claimed he was owed $20,000 for work he did on Sullivan's 2002 special election. Pearson put out a press release attacking his former candidate, and sent a letter to all of Sullivan's campaign contributors: "Sullivan is the most dishonest, disingenuous and crooked politician I have ever known. He is a liar because he repeatedly lied to me and others about his business background, his arrest records and many other things." Sullivan responded by saying that Pearson was fired for "not doing his job" and "owes me money probably."
You know, if you ask a rightwinger to play ba word association game, and you mention the name Ted Kennedy, the odds are that the first word they will respond with is "Chappaquiddick". I'm guessing, though, that they'd respond with "John Who" if you mentioned this guy. They should know him, though, as he is clearly one of their own.
According to the American Conservative Union, Sullivan is among the most conservative members of Congress, expressing views on most issues that place him on the right wing of the Republican Party. He is opposed to all legalized abortion, believes that life begins at conception, and opposes stem cell research on embryonic cells. He has been rated 100% by the Christian Coalition for his views. He is opposed to gun control and has been commended by the National Rifle Association for his position.
Regarding immigration, he is on record as supporting a fence or other permanent barrier along the U.S.-Mexican border. Prior to the 2006 Congressional election his campaign staff distributed small placards that explicitly linked immigration from Mexico with threats to U.S. national security. The same campaign literature featured the figure of "20 million illegal aliens in America" and warned that "thousands more [are] coming everyday". During that same campaign Sullivan repeatedly characterized the issue of (illegal) immigration from Mexico as one relating to "national security" and the "war on terror", stating, "Border security is national security...Our way of life in America is precious and must always be protected."
Sullivan voted to make the PATRIOT Act permanent, without any future option for Congressional review or revocation. He supports a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning and wishes to strip the independent judiciary of the ability to decide any question pertaining to the interpretation of the Pledge of Allegiance. He has been rated as 0% by the ACLU on civil rights issues. He also supports continued U.S. military involvement in Iraq and opposed any "rapid troop pullout".
During his first term in Congress, Sullivan voted for President George W. Bush's proposals 100% of the time. Subsequently, he has voted independently of the president only 5% of the time, primarily on immigration issues, where Sullivan is considerably more conservative than the president.
Then, of course, there is his -20 rating by NORML which indicates that he wants to maintain the war on marijuana. One might hope than being treated as a substance abuser at Betty Ford might cause him to rethink his stance on this, and a whole host of other issues.