Here is an important safety tip, America: do not leave your unlocked car parked in the driveway with the keys in the ignition, because sooner or later a black-out drunk GOP senator will climb into your vehicle and drive it away. Idaho Senate Republican Caucus Chairman John McGee is that senator, currently free on bail after stealing a man’s SUV in Boise and crashing it in the neighbor’s yard while he had a blood alcohol level nearly twice the state limit. McGee’s lawyer is telling everyone that there are good “medical explanations” for McGee’s bizarre behavior, which sounds like someone describing a gambling problem as “a helpful fixation with mathematical odds analysis.”Â
From the AP:
McGee, 38, was arrested early Sunday after police say he took a Ford Excursion and cargo trailer from the southwest Boise home of a “complete stranger” and got it stuck in a yard just down the street. A breath test showed the four-term lawmaker’s blood-alcohol content was nearly twice the legal limit, police said.
McGee made his first court appearance via video from jail. During the brief hearing, his attorney said there are “medical explanations” for McGee’s actions that would negate any criminal liability in the case. He declined to elaborate.
Jesus, at least nobody got hurt. Probably we should encourage lawmakers to stick to tweeting naked pictures of their genitals, so at least they don’t kill anybody in their free time. [AP]
{ 187 comments }
Nice mug shit, Fibber McGee.
Hope his wife isn't named Molly
because sooner or later a black out drunk GOP senator will climb into your vehicle
Point of order! There are no black GOP Senators.
I suggest
Not to mention there are no "out" GOP senators either.
Only in airport mens rooms
Given how tightly the doors are usually closed therein, that doesn't quite qualify as "out," does it? (checks door locks cautiously) DOES IT?
And while there are plenty of gay GOP senators, and probably a lot of drunk gay GOP senators, very few of them are out. A black, out, drunk, GOP senator? That's like antimatter–it would exist for only miliseconds before it destroyed itself.
Destroyed itself? Looks like chief up there's working on that.
I fully sympathize. Anything getting between me and my rye whiskey constitutes a life-threatening condition.
Amen Brutha… amen.
I can appreciate your point, particularly when I think about republican senators anywhere, I need whiskey and lots of it.
His Doctor gave him a prescription for Smirnoff. A favorite of hardcore alcoholics everywhere.
Dammit doc, make it Brandy Stingers or it's Obamacare for me!
Medical explanation: Johnny McGee is a gooper politician.
Your Honor, he had no choice.
~
Plus, completely fucked-up haircut.
What is the matter with people nowadays?
It looked good on his bro-hams back in the fraternity dayz.
Is that a little Irish joke, then? Broughams? No?
Right. I'll be sitting in the dark, sipping me whisky quietly, then.
He looks like a butchier Ellen DeGeneres/Michael Cera.
It's hard not to be more butch than Michael Cera.
He's got hissef a reel purdy mouf.
Squeal like a pig boy.
I thought that was a breathing slash, lined with gills.
God only knows how many medical (and medicinal) reasons I've had cause incredibly stupid behaviors. Most didn't involve stealing cars and crashingthem in the next door neighbors yard, though.
That other idiot = the bug-killing Dick?
And coming from 'Murica's potato(e) Mecca no less.
"McGee’s lawyer is telling everyone that there are good “medical explanations” for McGee’s bizarre behavior . . . ."
Proof once again that being a Republitard is a mental illness.
"Medical reasons" for being a drunk car thief are about as believable as "my account was hacked" when you send out dick pics.
It's kind of a wonder Weiner's dick didn't get hacked.
He was in a hurry to get to the airport to practice his wide stance.
I trade you one Dem Dick tweet for a drunk Gop Asshole.
I upfisted you, but I would rather have Weiner's weiner tweet than any GOP-er, drunk, asshole or regular tard.
Stealing an SUV???????????
Isn't that a hanging offense? Just like horse stealing was.
"I taught I cud handle me liquor…a-tee a-ta toy tee."
NB: Some of my best friends are Irish!
Some of my best friends are drunks. Well, all of my best friends.
Only twice the legal limit? I think his "medical reason" is he used the alcohol to wash down his oxycodone.
The Limbaugh Defense?
Hear! Hear!
Idaho GOPers say the darndest things: Larry Craig had a "wide stance," after all.
So he's from the Sooper-Tuber State. He certainly looks like a white supremist.
I didn't realize being an asshole was considered a disease.
The entire GOP seems to be infected then. That explains everything!
If lawmakers thought it was okay to tweet their junk, they would just start doing it while driving and the problem of dangerous lawmakers would continue. Still less dangerous than the laws they make, though.
"Occiferrr, my *hic* good man *hic* didchew know is peak salmon fishing in Bristol's bay now *hic* must be off *hic* now. Long drive to Alaska or Arizona or is she in LA now? Do you know, my good man *hic*…"
"Joe Carleton, owner of the home in whose yard McGee got the SUV stuck, told KIVI-TV, “He was in the back seat and I asked him what he was doing. He said, ‘I’m looking for the Promised Land.’ I said ‘You’re in the wrong land – this is not the Promised Land.’ Then he saw my wife in the window with a robe on and he says, ‘There’s an angel.’ I called 911 right away.”"
It's not like he folded the American Flag wrong or anything. Jeeze, take it easy..
Or took a deepsea-dive with it, jeez.
No, this is a serious problem.
His Canyon County constituents are going to be very disappointed to learn that he lacks fundamental life skills, like the ability to back up an SUV-trailer combo while smashed out of his gourd. Real American™ men can do this blindfolded, in Idaho.
Being such a wimp is going to cost him dearly in the next election.
Certainly, the conservatives are going to demand a resignation here since they are so big on personal responsibility and such. I can hardly wait to see the impotent rage from the teabagger crowd.
Well it's impossible to have shame when one thinks everything they did
a) was brilliant
b) was the fault of someone else usually tinted
and
c) was never wrong because they've never ever ever ever made a bad decision
They would have to wake up from their corn syrup coma first.
I have a similar medical condition. Every time a politician starts speaking I have to take a drink to keep my sanity. Fact.
Yes, but did it ever lead you to stealing SUVs and calling other men's wives angels?
Worst Tom DeLay mugshot ever.
"Medical explanations that negate criminal liability" = he's white.
Yes, he simply self-prescribed a free car ride after 'scavenging' one up.
And Republican, and from Idaho. Hell, the Governor there, also fitting into those three categories, was elected Gov. after earning his own DUI.
Is it still Butch Otter, or is there a new Gov.?
Still Butchy.
Idaho Senate Republican Caucus Chairman John McGee was poopy faced drunk.
SHARIA LAWYER?
His medical explanation? He's a fuckin' lightweight. That, and he probably can't drive sober, either.
Ha! I must admit to thinking the same thing. "Twice the legal limit and he's smashed? Pussy"
No doubt… and why the fuck would you take a trailered rig? Dumb-Ass.
None of the other vehicles had the keys in the ignition. Dood.
Of course he has a medical problem! If he stop drinking for even a few hours he starts hallucinating
Those hallucinations probably include almost religious thoughts, such as health care for all. Then he had more whiskey and he was mean as a snake again.
Brief stint in rehab, jump on the Jesus train, and run for U.S. Senate.
He can stay at this great house on C street……
Good thing, too. Those boys have been missing Helen Chenoweth something fierce. Mc Gee will do in a pinch, though.
I’m sure he has made it right with God let’s all move along and let this dedicated legislator get back to work.
Medical explanation?
Yep, them DTs are pretty nasty… from what I hear. I don't plan on trying them any time soon…
Well, you see, he couldn't stop there, as he was in bat country.
Good call. I don't recommend them.
How can he get the DTs if he won't stop drinking?
When you are a member of the party in power you only need a note from your Mommy or your doctor and you can be excused. Those damn Democrats, on the other hand, are the ones in need of discipline 'cuz they're from the wrong side of the political tracks.
I'll bet that Mr Potato Head beats the rap and keeps his job. Kochsucker!
Need bookie odds for prognostication of various degrees of severity in his inevitable slap on the wrist.
I say minor petty fine, gets to keep his job and driver license, 50/50 wash on brief driving suspension. National outrage and media coverage infinitesimal compared to Weiner's weiner despite infraction being exponentially worse.
Ugh, need to drink some anti-cynic potion stat.
While I've heard of medicinal marijuana, and sometimes wish it was legal in my state, I have never heard of medicinal alcohol.
Also too, why the fuck would anyone leave the keys in their car's ignition? That's just asking for it to be stolen and totaled by a drunken idiot legislator; it's hard to have much sympathy for the dumbass victim here.
Especially with so many Republicans around.
The victims here are going to be rational argument and intelligent comment. The guy who owned the SUV should just smile and enjoy his minute on the teevee.
I have never heard of medicinal alcohol.
You never been snakebit? Where was James Carville when all this was going on, I wanna know.
"Medicinal alcohol" went out of style when they repealed Prohibition. Unless this is a dry county in Idaho, that's one excuse that's not going to fly.
I'm betting on the excuse being that he accidentally mixed his booze with pills (something like Ambien or Valium). Some of those combos can make you very stupid (a.k.a. "temporarily insane", see?), and the fact that he was seeing angels can only help pull off this defense. His laywer is busy researching the facts (on Wikipedia), and as soon as they have a little chat with a helpful Republican pharmacist, we'll know exactly how it was that he thought a black Excursion was his red Camaro.
There are also cases in hospitals where they will give drinks to patients because "We don't need to deal with that issue at this time…" due to something else being more pressing. Usually wine or beer but it depends… on the dependency.
I am pretty sure this wasn't the case here though.
Putting GOP State Senators in jail for being drunk and stealing cars is just like HITLER!
(That was going to be my first comment, but I forgot.)
~
The medical reason is that
he got really drunkhis GABAa receptor complexes were occupied by ethanol molecules in such a way as to facilitate Cl- influx to a pronounced degree, thus causing hyperpolarization and thus neuronal inhibition. As was his intent from the beginning.See, doesn't that sound convincing?
GABAa GABAa Hey?
Oh PsycWench, you are such a show-off!
you say 'po-tay-to,' I say 'douchebag.'
And, possibly, the occupying ethanol molecules were alien to his normal brain structure. Perhaps illegal aliens????!!!
Also known as Spudsylvania.
Good “medical explanations”?
Damn, I should have tried that one when I was a teenager sneaking home after drinking wine coolers.
his church-appointed doctor recommends that he stay hammered 24/7 to keep his mind off how deeply he desires to know the touch of another man.
Medically necessary drunkenness, eh? If it works, Newt will be kicking himself for using the "Because I loved America so much" excuse.
Hemingway made him do it.
Larry Craig must be rolling in his grave…too soon?
Unfortunately, yes.
Considering he looks like the Crypt Keeper, probably not.
More likely trying to tap his foot against the coffin in the grave next to his.
Maybe the medical reason is that McGee heard about the discovery that two or three glasses of red wine a day reduce the risk of heart attacks, but he misheard it as two or three bottles a day.
The medical necessity for stealing the SUV was that when he gets drunk he falls down.
Two possible excuses: he took an Ambien OR a Democrat roofied his beer. A gay Democrat.
C'mon man…there are no Democrats in Idaho….I think they chased out the last six in 2010.
I knew I was back in the West when I was driving through Nampa, Idaho and saw a guy loading his normally gun-racked rifle with his freshly bought bullets in the parking lot at a Bi-Mart.
I tried to picture what would happen if someone did that in DC.
The bisexuals have their own stores in Idaho?
The House Republithugs in OK are debating a spraying program for Democrats, so maybe the spud-heads got to it first.
A gay, black, female, atheist Democrat. Got to cover all of your bases.
Leave Alan Keyes's daughter out of this!
Or black guy.
"Blackout Drunk GOP Senator"
The GOP: Driving While Blackout…
To quote the great Emo Phillips:
"There was a blackout last night. But then the police came and made him get back in his car."
A good "medical" explanation is that it is better to wreck a car that you don't own.
Were a wet suit and dildo involved?
Dood, you got to get your facts, um, straight. It was TWO wetsuits. And a dildo with a condom on it. Which kind of raises the question, if you're only sharing sex toys with *yourself,* why on earth would you need protection?
He drank 1 gallon of Nyquil because he had a cold.
And it took SIXTEEN shots of bourbon to get the taste out of his mouth.
Stereotypes come about for a reason… pass the whiskey!
That's "whisky" to you, lad. The other being a bourbon, to be drunk with branch water and that sort of t'ing. Or is that brackish water?
I prefer Jamison or Bushmills Whiskey… being Irish and all… but I won't kick a good Scotch Whisky out of bed.
Just don't give me any of that JD crap… I get enough charcoal from my weekly stomach pumping.
You have a good point there. And, we have only seen the mugshot. He might be quite pearshaped as many Republicans are.
LOL.
Please forward your pic. Wonkette post only has head shot.
Winner! Lacks only a reference to Texas gov and TSA employees!
The medical explanation is that he didn't drink enough to be incapable of operating a vehicle. In Idaho, that is a proper defense.
"I'm pretty much a pantywaist. I don't say this to be self-deprecating, I just, you know, don't have much of an opinion of myself. I'd much rather be like you guys, you know, bar fighters and big, swinging dicks, takin' care of shit. You know, sadly this is it, you know, it's disgusting – "Thanks, God! Dog-pile of piss-poor physique on top of a small cock and hereditary alcoholism, 'preciate it!" I'm babbling, I do that drunk, please forgive."
Rip Reed-McGee to copsBut what was in the cargo trailer? What info is being suppressed here?
Hopefully, McGee's libido. Idaho housewives in robes just don't look like angels unless you're REALLY drunk.
I get it now. He was Sarah's bus driver. Mystery solved.
(Unless, of course, she hightailed it back to AK because of a "Willow" scare?)
I have a medical condition too. It's called being allergic to bullshit.
Technically, there are medical conditions that can lead to an excess of alcohol in the mouth or throat and thus a falsely exaggerated alcohol level on a breathalyzer. UNfortunately, most of these conditions (acid reflux, for example) still require the individual to have consumed a quantity of alcohol, all the same, to get a positive result.
not to mention the fact that a "false positive" on the brethalyzer makes the grand theft auto look even worse.
Friends don't let Complete Assholes drink and steal cars.
Although, lots of Complete Assholes don't have friends, so there's that.
Downfisty apparently loves to defend drunk drivers and car theives, because of his abiding respect for Life and Personal Property, naturally.
Or else it's because spanky2 (aka spanky2b) is an authoritarian-worshiping asshole who sits around the old-age home with nothing else to do but curse those damned kids who never write or call, listen to Rush Limbaugh on the radio, and downfist people on Wonkette all day (for Ronald Reagan and Freedom™!).
~
Yeah, but if we decry something they can't abide it. Like when he/she/it downfisted the death of a pet. Purely human scum….Ms. Downfisty.
Just for that, I might upfist EVERYBODY. Hopefully, I don't upfist Downfisty by mistake.
Amurka's next Darrell Issa, people!
~
wow. i didn't know that. i thought he was just a run of the mill right wing asshole.
Gawd! We need two of those like we need another Tom DeLay.
He didn't even set the car on fire afterward?
Amateur *glug glug*
Couldn't – he was sleeping in it until the cops came.
But that's what Fare *meant,* hagajim. At least I hope that's what Fare meant.
I always wondered what happened to Craig Kilborn.
He shouldn't try to beat it… how will he get healthcare if he ain't in jail?
Oh yeah… he's a Repugnant politician.
If it was Texas, he could have used the "It needed swillin' " defense.
why do so many drunk people want to drive? as an often drunk person myself there are many things i want to do in that condition, including have orgiastic sex, eat doritos, take stupid pictures of my cats and post nasty comments on fb.
i do not ever want to drive.
All I ever want to do drunk is lie down somewhere comfortable. Mind you, that's most of what I do sober as well.
His attorney will use the "Posse Comatose" defense.
OT, but apparently the libtardverse is inflammed over the fact that Jane Hamsher's consultant company apparently has the uncommon and also duplicitous bullshit practice of playing for both teams, calling itself progressive and taking on Democratic clients, while also consulting Republicans to defeat Dems.
Firebaggers (oh god how I love that term) are predictably outraged, OUTRAGED. Because, I mean, it's not as though Hamsher and her internet concern have any sort of reputation for spreading FUD and cynicism amongst progressives, trying to align with far-right groups for "common causes," or championing purity-test-esque "progressive" campaigns that would shoot lefties in the feet politically while also advantaging the right wing in more tangible ways, or any other thing of that sort, no sir.
Perhaps she just enjoys righteous indignation so much she doesn't really care on whose behalf it is expended.
Were his last words before getting stuck in the lawn "Here, hold my drink….."
Point taken…have you seen how this chemical corrodes metal?
Indeed. The fool's errand of controlling corrosion covers most of my paycheck.
I've given this some thought and, finally, the medical explanation just slammed me in the face, like my neighbor's fence when I drive though it.
This guy (didn't bother with the name) was out drinking with his White Supremest/Mormon polygamous buddies. They were giving him a hard time about what a cheap drunk he is when his wife called and chewed his ass for being late for dinner. That's when the friends began taunting him with shit like, "You're not man enough for more than one wife."
His masculine pride having been deeply wounded (here comes the medical part) he started pounding Buds, no Coors, these are conservatards, to get his manly self-esteem back and to prove them wrong.
Then he left the bar and proved them right.
I believe the correct term is "redacted."
Saw this on another story on this and it made my head spin. This is regarding the charge of Felony Grand Theft Auto (not a sequel in the franchise), made by McGee's lawyer:
"For instance grand theft, the felony requires the intent to permanently deprive somebody of their property. Clearly, driving and jack-knifing a two vehicle rig, two doors down, isn't the kind of thing that one would normally associate with intending to steal a car," he said.
This is the defense? Holy crap, dude. Just because you suck at a crime, doesn't mean you're not guilty of it. I can't peer into McGee's head, but I'm sure his intent was to permanently deprive the owner's of their car, but he was just too drunk to do so.
If I come home and a dude is in my house taking my TV, he runs, trips two blocks later, and is caught by the police, they don't just say "Well, he didn't get away, so we can't charge him with anything."
It's the "intent" element of the crime that he's going to try to beat. No intent = no GTA. That won't be a hard sell in this case, even without an Ambien defense.
There are plenty of other charges that don't have the same intent element, like larceny and "unlawful taking," so he's not out of the woods by any means. His lawyer will make a deal for a non-felony conviction, and he'll plead to a misdemeanor.
Are we sure he's not a Kennedy? Did they test for Ambien in his system?
cf. "As your attorney, I advise you to take a hit out of the little brown bottle in my shaving kit. You won't need much, just a tiny taste."
– Dr. Gonzo, R.I.P
If the "medical reasons" include rabid fandom for Jackass Ryan Dunn, I'll accept it.
According to police report BAC over twice the legal limit. Drives the car 130-142 mph. Kills self. Kills passenger.
But Roger Ebert's the asshole?
Well, when you're the Jackass, anybody calling you on it has to be the asshole, no?
I find it very sad that a productive citizen trying so bravely to hang on to life, as Mr. Ebert is, should be slammed when he criticizes someone who treated his gifts of good health, strength, and financial success so carelessly.
I honestly was floored by how the media covered this. Ebert literally doesn't have a jaw left, makes a very on-point and not terribly offensive observation, and he's the villain.
I agree. And when you add that Ebert is himself a recovered alcoholic, it seems particularly twisted that the outrage was so directed at him.
I'm also baffled that people who made money encouraging this guy to do completely reckless things that endangered his life and health all for the sake of making a dumb fucking movie are now acting as if they gave a fuck about his wellbeing. I'm sure they're grieving, but they don't really have much moral authority on this whole giving a shit about your friend thing. Ebert's point was less about Ryan Dunn and more about his asshole friends who let him get into the car.
Evidently, it wasn't an act.
So much upfist for you.
His wife is rich, he is not and he is done for, without the perks of fucking a congress critter she is going to find some new boy meat to slap against her face. At least that is what I would do.
So how *do* you get a script for getting pissed up and wrecking some other idiots SUV? I'm trying to imagine the conversation between the aging, but good all around guy (Marcus Welby M.D. clone): Son, you could take Prozac and mellow out for several months, but I think the wiser choice is to get fucked out of your skull on Jack, steal a car and raise some serious hell. Catharsis can help a great deal with depression. You'll have one hell of a hangover, but that is carthartic as well. Lying in a puddle of your own sick in a wrecked sport utility vehicle as the cop shines a light in your face will really make you put things in perspective.
Stolen cars driven by stone drunk legislators don't kill people. Genitals kill people.
With Republican politicians, "blow" isn't usually followed by "up."
"This isn't what it looks like"
Twelve what, stone?
Probably he's use the ambien defense, 20mg chased down with a $5 fifth of Taaka.
Sweet feckin' Christ. Are you trying to tell me, Sir, that he's the feckin' BEST they've got? Holy quacking duckshit.
WTF, the (thankfully now former) DA in my county couldn't be gotten rid of until his
3rd2nd DUI conviction and stalking of a famous hooker.Good thing he's not black, oh wait, this was in Idaho….never mind.
Okay, pressing question. Where is this man's eyebrows?
Lunesta is a helluva drug.
It's a point of pride among rural-tards inplaces like Montana that you can leave your keys in the car, and no one but a black-out-drunk Republican state senator will steal it.
I sent away for my own private Idaho; kind of like that old sea monkey ad, but full of drunks.
how different our world would be if our more recent ancestors were sea monkeys and not chimps! because according to that ad, we would know how to keep our water clean.
nothing actually. i'll believe it when i see it. as far as i know it's all taking place on the set of a very boring movie.
I guess class and sensitivity aren't major components of the Jackass subculture.
"medical reason" – he's gone insane (don't worry, still at least as competent as most lawmakers)
its personal when its somebody else. When it is Personal, it was somebody/something else. Little known fine print.
Ooooh.
Sadly, yes.
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