Rukavina charged with DUI

[Krupskaya]

DULUTH -- Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, has been arrested on a charge of drunken driving.
http://startribune.com/stories/587/4907835.html

Rukavina, 54, was arrested on Hwy.169 in Mountain Iron about 1:30 a.m. Saturday after deputies saw him driving erratically, the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
He was cited for fourth-degree drunken driving after being given field sobriety tests. He took a blood-alcohol test at the county jail and registered 0.15 percent. He was cooperative, Sheriff Ross Litman said. He was released to a "responsible party."
Rukavina's home phone rang unanswered Monday afternoon, but his office released a statement in which Rukavina apologized.
"I screwed up and am very sorry," he said. "I am ashamed of myself. I apologize to the people of my district and to the people of Minnesota for my mistake."
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Damnit, Tommy!

[trotsky]

1. What a jerk.

Republican or Democrat, driving under the influence should be punished HARSHLY. He should also resign to show some sincerity and remorse.

This is no different than Janklow, except that in this case (thank Koresh) no one died from Rukavina's stupidity and recklessness.

[GRocky]

2. I bet Limbaugh reported on this today.

But not a word about his buddy Janklow. Janklow is a patriot.

[Shananigans]

3. Even elected officials are human.

I would guess that at least 50% of Americans have driven over the limit at some point in their life. In all reality that statistic is probably much higher. Although I don't agree with what Ruk did, I do think that I would much rather have someone like him...someone HUMAN enough to make an error and admit it, than someone like Pawlenty or Coleman in office.

People make mistakes. It's a matter of life. Look at the U.S. Senate. I've read somewhere that there are 49 DUI's in Congress alone. Although I don't condone this behavior, I say let the man deal with the legal consequences and leave him alone. Don't call for his resignation or ridiculous stuff like that.

Although I don't agree with what happened, I wish him the best of luck in dealing with the consequences. I have had the honor of working a bit with Representative Rukavina in the past and I have to say that he is one of the most upstanding members of the DFL.

[trotsky]

4. Ridiculous, huh?

I don't care how many members of Congress or how many people in the general population have driven under the influence. Just because a whole bunch of people do it doesn't mean we can trivialize it and call it a "mistake."

Drunk driving, IMO, is no different than taking a gun with one bullet into a public place, spinning the barrel, and pulling the trigger at a random person.

It's unacceptable no matter WHO does it, and even though Rukavina has most certainly done a lot of good work in the House, we need to hold our public figures to a higher standard.

Hell, if I had my way, you'd be locked up for a year after your first DUI/DWI and locked up for life after your second - NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE.

I lost a good friend in college to a drunk driver, so pardon me if I get a tad emotional.