During an emotional press conference Monday, Rep. Tom Garrett, R-Va., announced his retirement. And rather inexplicably, he also announced his alcoholism.
“The recent attacks on my family are a series of half-truths and whole lies,” he said. “But there’s one area where I haven’t been honest. The tragedy is that any person Republican, Democrat, or independent who’s known me for period of time and has any integrity knows two things: I am a good man and I am an alcoholic.“
The resignation comes after a Politico report detailing how Garrett treated congressional staffers as personal servants. That was a violation of ethics rules and it is good that he resigned. Alcoholism is a serious problem, but why is he using his addiction as an excuse for something that seems so unrelated, ahead of his exit from Congress?
Politicians, whether drunk on booze or power, make bad decisions. Feeling invincible and unaccountable, they do things like crash cars, take bribes, and carry on affairs. That is as unfortunate as it is expected. And only the cold-hearted could sneer at Garrett for pledging to get help.
But who gets plastered, then asks staffers to clean up after an incontinent Jack Russell-Pomeranian?
Who drinks all night, then orders aides to pick up dry cleaning?
Who does shots, then tells interns to help unload groceries?
Alcohol may have made Garrett more insufferable. But the uncomfortable truth is that it didn’t make him a petty taskmaster. He did that by himself.
