Nov 20, 2013 1 min read

Let us introduce you to freshman Republican Congressman Trey Radel of Florida, the latest inductee into the pantheon of congressional hypocrites.

Radel was among lawmakers who voted a couple of months back for a food stamps bill that included a provision allowing states to require drug tests of people who receive government food assistance. Now comes the news that Radel bought cocaine from a drug dealer in Washington, D.C. He was charged Tuesday and pleaded guilty Wednesday.

Radel, like a certain mayor in Canada who has been in the news a lot lately, blamed his “irresponsible choice” on his struggles with the “disease of alcoholism.”

We’re certainly not the first to suggest this, but before we go after poor people with a demand that they undergo testing in order to receive food, perhaps we should require each and every member of Congress to be subject to random drug screenings. It might go a long way toward explaining some of their behavior.