Montana GOP Congressman hospitalized after "serious" boating accident

[Enrique]

It appears everyone is ok, so can I laugh at this picture? I mean, come on, how drunk do you have to be to end up here?



Montana GOP Congressman Hospitalized After "Serious" Boating Accident

So this bears watching...

Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) is in stable condition in hospital, after a motor boat in which he and four other people were riding crashed into rocks on a Montana lake.

Details of the incident remain sketchy, but a spokesman for the state parks department called the accident "serious" and said it occurred between 10pm and midnight.

All five of the people in the boat have been hospitalized. One was Montana GOP state senator Greg Barkus. The names of the other three people, intriguingly, haven't been released.

(...)

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/montana_gop_congressman_hospitalized_after_serious.php

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

1. They wanted to experience Americas Healthcare firsthand. n/t

[MichiganVote]

2. Jeebus! That's no boat accident, that's just stupid.

[lapfog_1]

3. Going too fast, at night, and probably after attending some sort of party

yeah, it happens.

My "bet" right now is that the four other people in the boat were

1 Lobbyist or corporate contributor of some sort

and

3 college cuties (or other form of paid entertainment)

hence the silence on the other people involved.

Just a hunch.

[Drunken Irishman]

4. And they're probably all drunk.

[Wilms]

8. I'm betting one of the unnamed four is Cheney...and that he was driving. n/t

[zbdent]

24. would explain the GSWs to the faces ...

[county worker]

5. Good thing he doesn't have Obamacare. They'd make him wait for treatment,

then they'd ration what he could get, then because he is a repub they would put him on the death list and hope he dies of his wounds!

[zbdent]

25. dang ... looks like he'll make it ...

I had dibs on his kidneys ... I have cousins with diabetes ...

[Bucky]

6. I think decorum requires we only laugh after he's out of the hospital

Or at least issues an "I'm okay" statement.

[NYC_SKP]

7. In California there is absolutely no "Boater's Ed" course or proficiency test requirement.

Almost anyone could just hop into practically any boat, it could be a 75 MPH 21' Eliminator Daytona, and it would be perfectly legal.

It's fucking crazy and dangerous.

[Enrique]

12. I would imagine Montana would be even more lax than CA

maybe recklessness is mandatory there. Live up to the cowboy on the license plate.

[Thothmes]

17. Isnt that Wyoming that has the cowboy on the license plate

[havocmom]

22. Probably. MT has LOTS of special interest plates

I do not recall ever seeing one with a cowboy.

Bears, elk, fish, team mascots, 4H, various high schools, museums, various wildlife supporting organizations, various professions, but have yet to see a cowboy.

Yippee!

Re the boat accident, my first thought was: Wonder if former GOP Gov Martz took it upon herself to grab everybody's clothes and take them home to wash, like she did her chief of staff's bloody duds when he was involved in a DUI accident that resulted in a fatality. How the hell R govs get away with destruction of evidence is beyond me.

[d_b]

9. dammmmnnnnn

:wtf:

[SalmonChantedEvening]

10. Valet parking would've been a better idea. n/t

[Union Yes]

11. "Usable only in water." comes to mind.

[SoCalDem]

13. Um.. I think there just might have been some beer involved, don;t you?

:rofl:

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. Howver this happened, I am sorry for them and I hope they will all be ok.

[anigbrowl]

15. Obviously a conspiracy...message for the GOP is don't ride in small boats

Seriously though, I don't see anything intriguing about the 3 other people not being named yet. Press rules for private citizens are different from those of public figure and require consent of the party in many states if it's not already a matter of public record.

[TheCowsCameHome]

16. Looks like the tide went out and left 'er stranded.

That's what the Montana GOP will want us to believe.

[kenny blankenship]

18. Hospitalized eh? Is he expected to sober up?

I mean is he expected to recover from his injuries?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

19. Oh, exploitable!

Epic fail.

[Barack_America]

20. Rehberg, House Majority Whip Barkus, Barkus's wife and two Rehberg staffers...

That's who was on the boat.

Three people were airlifted to the hospital, not including Rehberg, who was transported by ambulance. All apparently are in stable condition, fortunately.

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090828/NEWS01/90828007

[charlie]

21. "The names of the other three people, intriguingly, haven't been released."

Who wants to bet they're all female?

[malaise]

23. Hope they have health care n/t

[jodiecoston]

26. Probably not the whole story

After a boat runs aground, it's pretty normal to drag it up onto the rocks, either before getting everyone out or afterwards to keep it from being taken back out into the water. I don't think this was where the boat wound up as a result of the accident, just where it was placed ashore afterwards.