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KamaAina

(78,249 posts)
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 05:22 PM Dec 2014

Americans Want Congress Members To Pee In Cups To Prove They're Not On Drugs

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/02/drug-testing-congress_n_4373472.html

While most Americans like the idea of drug testing for welfare recipients, they LOVE the idea of drug testing for members of Congress.

According to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll, 64 percent of Americans favor requiring welfare recipients to submit to random drug testing -- a measure pushed by Republican lawmakers in recent years -- while 18 percent oppose it. But an even stronger majority said they're in favor of random drug testing for members of Congress, by a 78 percent to 7 percent margin. Sixty-two percent said they "strongly" favor drug testing for congressional lawmakers, compared to only 51 percent who said the same of welfare recipients.

The House of Representatives passed legislation this year that would allow states to require food stamp recipients to pee in cups to prove they're not on drugs. In 2012, Republicans pushed for drug testing of people seeking unemployment insurance benefits when they lose their jobs. At the state level, GOP lawmakers across the country have sought drug testing for an array of safety net programs. (Politicians sometimes refer to means-tested government benefits in general as "welfare," although the term is more commonly a nickname for the relatively small Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.)...

If a member of Congress is caught using illegal drugs, as Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.) was in late October, Americans expressed little inclination to show mercy. Sixty-six percent said that a member of Congress convicted of possessing a small amount of cocaine should be forced to resign, while only 14 percent favored allowing the convicted member to serve out the remainder of his or her term.
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Americans Want Congress Members To Pee In Cups To Prove They're Not On Drugs (Original Post) KamaAina Dec 2014 OP
I just want ignition interlocks sharp_stick Dec 2014 #1
Not Boner, that's for sure KamaAina Dec 2014 #2
Very true sharp_stick Dec 2014 #4
Johnny Walker Orange. nt msanthrope Dec 2014 #5
:D C Moon Dec 2014 #19
A whole new brand sharp_stick Dec 2014 #31
there would be a designated blow flunky on the payroll. Voice for Peace Dec 2014 #14
I'm telling you sharp_stick Dec 2014 #32
no convincing needed here. Voice for Peace Dec 2014 #34
It's sad isn't it? n/t sharp_stick Dec 2014 #37
Complete psych workup would ork for me. Skidmore Dec 2014 #3
I think this should be a requirement for anyone to run for public office Triana Dec 2014 #42
Here's a pledge... TreasonousBastard Dec 2014 #6
I love you. JaneyVee Dec 2014 #13
it's poetry. Voice for Peace Dec 2014 #15
I want them to prove they *are* on drugs. At least that would help explain recent events . . . Journeyman Dec 2014 #7
I pretty much don't want ANYBODY drug tested. Liberal Veteran Dec 2014 #8
+1 nt NutmegYankee Dec 2014 #22
Ditto. I work a lowly job in a hospital and am subject to random drug testing. In japple Dec 2014 #23
I agree. Pacifist Patriot Dec 2014 #43
Don't look at me. I'm not going to hold the freaking cup. n/t nichomachus Dec 2014 #9
awesome idea! n/t wildbilln864 Dec 2014 #10
Well if the majority of people want it, it will never happen with this Congress. Rex Dec 2014 #11
and if tested positive does it disqualify the member from serving ? JI7 Dec 2014 #12
Also they loose any federal pension that they might have earned while in cstanleytech Dec 2014 #17
Don't waste the money. How could they not be on drugs? mahannah Dec 2014 #16
Pre-voting breathalyzer checks. Half-Century Man Dec 2014 #18
yep azureblue Dec 2014 #25
I don't know if I'd restrict their access. Half-Century Man Dec 2014 #30
They'd just pay someone TBF Dec 2014 #20
Not if it can detect DNA.. Biometric scanner... Lugano Dec 2014 #33
... TBF Dec 2014 #35
That's assuming they can pee straight! MrMickeysMom Dec 2014 #21
Ha!!! Initech Dec 2014 #24
Of course they can. They were briefed by the Committee on Small Business. pinboy3niner Dec 2014 #28
good one, pin boy! MrMickeysMom Dec 2014 #39
Cops need to be tested for trugs too notadmblnd Dec 2014 #26
Indeed. KamaAina Dec 2014 #29
fuck that. hair tests. no compromises. elehhhhna Dec 2014 #27
Ah c'mon, you know better than that jmowreader Dec 2014 #38
Could have done without the visual. Liberal Veteran Dec 2014 #40
LOL! I thought this was a Borowitz or Onion thingy... LOL! 2banon Dec 2014 #36
Pre-employment drug testing hasn't saved a dime. nilesobek Dec 2014 #41
Money doesn't show up in urine. n/t Orsino Dec 2014 #44

sharp_stick

(14,400 posts)
1. I just want ignition interlocks
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 05:25 PM
Dec 2014

installed on the doors to Congressional offices. You want in, you need to blow and prove you haven't been drinking. Results emailed to constituents weekly.

I wonder how many of those drunken douchebags could pull it off?

sharp_stick

(14,400 posts)
4. Very true
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 05:29 PM
Dec 2014

maybe I should qualify that with "I wonder how many of those drunken douchebags could pull it off before noon?"

 

Voice for Peace

(13,141 posts)
14. there would be a designated blow flunky on the payroll.
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 06:05 PM
Dec 2014

Otherwise it's a great idea.

They should be required to demonstrate sobriety at work.

DU Justice League, where are ye?

sharp_stick

(14,400 posts)
32. I'm telling you
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 09:29 PM
Dec 2014

if you insisted that these assholes be sober to to do the fucking job stuff would get done.

They are wined and dined from 10:00 AM.

 

Triana

(22,666 posts)
42. I think this should be a requirement for anyone to run for public office
Tue Dec 9, 2014, 10:40 AM
Dec 2014

Complete psych exam and fully publicized report by an unbiased, non-voting psychiatrist (3 of them, actually, who do not know each other).

Public has a right to know if the person on the ballot is a psychopath, has anger management issues, is bipolar, or an addict.

TreasonousBastard

(43,049 posts)
6. Here's a pledge...
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 05:39 PM
Dec 2014

"I promise I will not propose a bill, nor vote for one, that requires a citizen to do something I would not voluntarily do.

Moreover, I will not accept any benefits of being in Congress that are not readily available to the citizens I represent."

 

Voice for Peace

(13,141 posts)
15. it's poetry.
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 06:12 PM
Dec 2014

I'm imagining some kind of petition for all Congress members
to re commit to serving the American people, and to make a
public pledge.

Shared via FB and Twitter it would ultimately get some
attention, how could it not? Especially if worded in such a way
that it's hard to identify left or right. These are good examples.


a. I promise I will not propose a bill, nor vote for one, that requires a citizen to do something I would not voluntarily do.

b. I will not accept any benefits of being in Congress that are not readily available to the citizens I represent.

c.
d.
etc.

Liberal Veteran

(22,239 posts)
8. I pretty much don't want ANYBODY drug tested.
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 05:43 PM
Dec 2014

The ritualistic humiliation of peeing in a cup for anybody and everybody just bugs the hell out of me.

I can understand it for accidents or as a condition for parole/probation, but all the other nonsense just makes me uncomfortable.

japple

(9,828 posts)
23. Ditto. I work a lowly job in a hospital and am subject to random drug testing. In
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 07:50 PM
Dec 2014

the 10 years that I have worked there, I have "gotten the letter" two times, telling me to report for drug testing. The test is conducted in a lab where the toilet is private, but flushing is controlled. Everyone takes it in stride, but it's a bit disconcerting to have to report to a central area where you have to pee in a cup and take it out to the HRS personnel for labeling/testing.

Pacifist Patriot

(24,653 posts)
43. I agree.
Tue Dec 9, 2014, 11:55 AM
Dec 2014

Unnecessary invasion of privacy and a HUGE waste of money, time, and resources. Just ask the State of Florida how the program has worked for us. It's cost the state how much more than it has saved...by an outrageous order of magnitude? The only success the program has had is in lining the governor's and his cronies' pockets.

To me its another example of corporatism. The only beneficiaries are the companies administering the tests.

 

Rex

(65,616 posts)
11. Well if the majority of people want it, it will never happen with this Congress.
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 05:58 PM
Dec 2014

They seem to realize that people don't provide the money Big Biz does.

JI7

(89,251 posts)
12. and if tested positive does it disqualify the member from serving ?
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 05:58 PM
Dec 2014

because there are people like Vitter who buy woman for sex and still gets re-elected.

i bet most people would re-elect their members .

azureblue

(2,146 posts)
25. yep
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 08:14 PM
Dec 2014

A breathalyzer test before they enter the building, and one before they enter the Senate / House. They are not permitted to be in federal buildings while drunk.

Half-Century Man

(5,279 posts)
30. I don't know if I'd restrict their access.
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 09:15 PM
Dec 2014

But I would make them wear an "I'm drunk" tee shirt and post their BAC online each day.

TBF

(32,062 posts)
20. They'd just pay someone
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 07:33 PM
Dec 2014

to do it for them. That's how rich folks deal with things they don't like ...

 

Lugano

(52 posts)
33. Not if it can detect DNA.. Biometric scanner...
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 09:32 PM
Dec 2014

and knowing which flunky has the same DNA as the drunk.. (hint: none)

 

KamaAina

(78,249 posts)
29. Indeed.
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 08:27 PM
Dec 2014

Darren Wilson said that Michael Brown "looked like a demon". Could he possibly have been high on something?

jmowreader

(50,559 posts)
38. Ah c'mon, you know better than that
Mon Dec 8, 2014, 10:57 PM
Dec 2014

"Shaved and waxed from head to toe" would become the new standard GOP haircut.

nilesobek

(1,423 posts)
41. Pre-employment drug testing hasn't saved a dime.
Tue Dec 9, 2014, 03:53 AM
Dec 2014

Its a "quality of life," issue for the 1%. My being high on honey oil while I clean their toilets wrecks their sensibilities. I bought the synthetic urine, I've used it 3 times to keep the job I have. I'm getting it ready with the hand warmers right now to take to work with me tomorrow.

So I'm against drug testing in general, but it would be nice to see the guys with important jobs tested for a change.

Maybe there should be pre-employment psychological tests to weed out the sadists and psychopaths.

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