Special drivers for special senators

Senators must feel entitled

Re “Special drivers for senators who drink” (Page 1A, May 30): With all sarcasm reserved, our culture has finally embraced personal responsibility. Our elected representatives are showing us the way. Now those who have drinking problems are taken care of so they won’t receive a DUI or, worse yet, cause others harm by their bad choices. Better yet, someone else bears the financial responsibility for their behavior. Wait, those they represent bear that burden.

There’s a reason Sen. Kevin de León declined to discuss the details of the program. He has no rationale other than our representatives considered themselves the entitled elite.

Lacking judgment on the job and off

Looks like taxpayers are footing the bill to enable bad behavior. It appears that some of our senators lack responsibility and are unable to exercise good judgment. That said, I have little to no confidence that they will perform their duties as legislators any better.

Oh, those shallow thinkers

No doubt the simple-minded have already wrongly concluded that state-paid chauffeurs for drunken senators are a waste of taxpayer money. How typically shallow. The moronic masses do not understand modern senatorial life and the obligation it carries to conduct certain highly sensitive public policy discussions only under the protective cover of a three-martini haze.

Discussions so conducted foster candor that is absent from the guarded utterings of daytime senatorial speak. Next-day deniability is convenient for a conversant who has emitted too much truth, and next-day confirmability of breakthroughs on issues is as easy as a quick phone call, leaving no trace of its content in the event that next-day recollections do not match.

Responsible for governing?

If our state senators can’t control themselves, how well do you think they can show responsibly for governing 40 million people? At a minimum, they should reimburse the Senate for the cost of their custom taxi ride.

Enabling or recovery?

Instead of spending $30,000 enabling our lawmakers to drink in excess, maybe Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León could better allocate funds by providing recovery programs for our senators. Since they spend money educating our children about the hazards of drinking soda pop, maybe they could spend money on educating our adult lawmakers about the hazards of drinking to intoxication.

De León above an explanation?

When will it end? According to the article, our elected officials need on-call drivers, when they are too drunk to drive. It appears Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León feels he is above explaining the rationale for this new policy.

A ‘security issue’? It is for lawmakers

Now we learn the state has hired two part-time employees to drive drunken senators home. And a spokesman for Sen. Kevin de León refuses to comment, saying it is a “security issue.” It definitely should be a security issue. The more we learn about how government operates, the less job security elected officials should have.

Let lobbyists drive the drunks

Politicians drinking too much? I am shocked!

Lobbyists throw lots of parties for senators. If the senators are too tipsy to drive, it’s likely they tipped their wrists at lobbyists’ receptions too many times. So let the lobbyists provide drivers for the senators. But I wonder why Sen. Kevin de León’s office did not care to comment. Was he en route to a reception?

Transportation for tipsy senators

Such arrogance and audacity.

This story was originally published June 1, 2015 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Special drivers for special senators."