Bizarre, Politics, Society

Was Baucus Drunk on Senate Floor or Are Conservatives Seeing This Video Through Beer Goggles?

Conservative bloggers are running this video and accusing Senator Max Baucus, Finance Chairman, of being drunk on the Senate floor during the health care debate (and accusing the media of ignoring the story, here). This has triggered a hilarious debate over whether Baucus was drunk. What do you think?


I honestly do not know. The beginning of the speech seems to suggest that Baucus is not drunk on power but actually drunk. He seems more focused as he goes along. I also do not see him “shouting down” Sen. Wicker as suggested.

Baucus is slurring his words and repeating the same points over and over. However, these members have also been putting in long hours. However, given his recent personal scandal a few drinks might be medicinal.

Others have come forward to insist that it was long hours and not long necks that slurred his speech.

Politico is reporting former congressman Mark Foley stated on Facebook that “This is the senator that hired his staffer and then took her on trips…and divorced his wife….and they had me run out of town.”

18 thoughts on “Was Baucus Drunk on Senate Floor or Are Conservatives Seeing This Video Through Beer Goggles?”

  2. Baccus is no spring chicken; stress and long hours could have done it. These folks aren’t used to working more than about 32 hours a week after all.

  4. anan nurse,

    Day six the light flashes and audio hallucinations set in.

    I never once slurred my speech and I would have been told as I was preparing for moot court at the time (which naturally requires quite a bit of talking).

    I still vote drunk. And fascist as well since the topic has been bought, er, brought up.

  5. I couldn’t tell if he was drunk, but I agree with Takoma that what the Senator said needed to be said. SOME few Democrats, Baucus among them, did not stand up for the American people strongly enough. That said, the entire cabal of Republican thugs in both houses have shown themselves to be even more shallow, even more callous, even more in focussed on doing the bidding of their corporate masters than my own cynical view of them had previously imagined.

  6. With a name like Baucus (the modern version of the God of Wine and Frivolity) what else would you expect?

    ‘Tis human to err.’ Now pass me another wine!

  7. Jill

    Don’t know, Don’t care. He’s a corporate shill, selling the very lives our our people in exchange for his campaign chest. The right wing media should have no complaints about his performance in gutting the right to health care for all people in our nation. He’s come through 100% for both of their corporate masters.

    ==============================================================
    Amen … right on … you rock so hard core and are a truth speaker!

  9. I am unsure and rather than libel the man or perpetrate the greatest act of slander. I will wait for him to state for himself. Exhaustion takes many forms.

  10. Though laced with rationality, it’s drunken rambling alright… So what? The man made his point! The only drawback for me: it could’ve been merrier had he smoked some reefer… BTW, where did I read this? I think it was Gore Vidal’s Burr… Senators used to get drunk out of their mind during filibusters. And the barrels of whisky were on the senate floor! Those were the days!

  11. I am not defending Baucus but he was at least 4 votes short of a good healthcare bill. No republicans would even support this bill as they viewed it as too progressive. When I worked in a legislature eons ago, we learned to count votes rather than spin in lala land.

  12. To Jill: All good points. The proposed health care bill is shameful. Many seem to be disproportionately concerned about security issues, while not seeming to care one whit about the lives lost for a lack of health care. (These are lives which are relatively unimportant to some, it would appear. Some of these people have been refered to as “the chronically uninsured”, which translates into “those who are non-contributors and therefore undeserving”?) I contend that productivity would increase (and stress-related illness/diseases would decrease), if Americans had the kind of health care that should be available in this country.

    The “drunk or not drunk” debate/question reflects a societal propensity to generally discredit and defame, while ignoring the truth. The truth is that corportations are calling the shots and our elected representatives are making decisions based on the money received from (and relative power of) these corporations. We’re in a world of trouble.

  13. Don’t know, Don’t care. He’s a corporate shill, selling the very lives our our people in exchange for his campaign chest. The right wing media should have no complaints about his performance in gutting the right to health care for all people in our nation. He’s come through 100% for both of their corporate masters.

  14. I know that “exhaustion” manifests itself in this fashion, at times. (I think I’ve gone without sleep for 48-72 hours, but 7 days, BIL? I can only imagine it…) No one should jump to conclusions. Also, do we know the time of this portion of the debate? Let’s say that he had one drink. Coupled with exhaustion, the impact of any alcohol would be greater than if he were well-rested.

  15. Dredd–

    90% of those serving in Congress are “dazed and confused.”

    ************

    I don’t know if Baucus was inebriated–but NewsBusters and the Media Research Center and Brent Bozell are on the forefront of organizations trying to save America from “liberal media bias.”

    http://www.mrc.org/about/about.aspx

    About their Culture and Media Institute:

    “The mission of the Culture and Media Institute is to preserve and help restore America’s culture, character, traditional values, and morals against the assault of the liberal media elite, and to promote fair portrayal of social conservatives and religious believers in the media. CMI, the cultural division of the Media Research Center, is dedicated to correcting misconceptions in the media about social conservatism and religious faith.”

    ************
    Just one of the folks in the media who thinks the MRC is doing a fabulous job as a media watchdog:

    RUSH LIMBAUGH
    “I don’t think there’s anybody, other than Brent Bozell, who spends more time giving examples of press bias than I do…”

    “Brent Bozell and the MRC provide a most precious commodity – a quest for the truth. I can’t possibly expose every example of bias and error that emanates from the national mainstream media, but Bozell and his group come as close as anyone can. MRC is a vital national interest.”

  17. That’s nothing. I’m old enough to remember the “good old days” of Senators like Wilbur Mills (D-Ark.)

  18. As a former bouncer, ex-husband of an alcoholic and a person who has seen exhaustion set in from 18 hour days up close and personal – including once going seven days without sleep (unassisted) . . .

    I’m going to go with “What is drunk?”, Alex.

    I’ll take “Senate Shenanigans” for $500.

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