Monday, April 10, 2006

As Long As It Wasn't On Purpose

The things that show up in my inbox.....

Here is an excerpt on Raj Bhakta from an article, "Bhakta addresses DUI incidents," by Margaret Gibbons, from the Glenside News, April 5, 2006, p. 8.:

According to the Boston police report, an officer pulled Bhakta over because his car was missing a licesne plate. At that time, the officer noticed that Bhakta appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.

Bhakta, who told the officer he had had just two beers, failed field sobriety tests, according to the police report. Taken to the police station and tested, it was determined that Bhakta had a blood-alcohol reading of 0.19 and 0.18. The legal limit for safe driving in Massachusetts at that time of 0.08.

Quizzed about lying to police that he had just two beers, Bhakta responded, "I was an exceptionally nervous 21-year-old guy who had been out partying and I spoke stupidly. I have never, never lied in a planned manner to any law enforcement officer."


In addition to the DUI nine years ago in Massachusetts, Bhakta was arrested on DUI in Colorado three years ago. It's not that unusual for people running for office to have baggage but it seems like the campaign team should brainstorm in advance for ways of dealing with it, and saying you didn't lie to the police on purpose may not be the best tact to take.

Bhakta is the GOP candidate running against freshman Democratic Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz in the 13th congressional district.

4 comments:

LVDem said...

oh man, didn't the Montco GOP do some research on this guy or are they in such sad condition as to put him out anyway. Stupidity and desperation are bad traits in a party.

AboveAvgJane said...

I think they had a hard time finding someone to run. Schwartz is known for her fundraising abilities. Plus, the GOP botched things so badly last time that I doubt anyone wanted to trust them this time around. It does look bad, though, doesn't it?

Gort said...

Allyson for Senate!

Anonymous said...

Looks like the GOP is just hooked on celebrities. I guess when your party's ideas aren't very popular with the public, running celebrities sort of diverts attention from that.