Update: Group critiizes MADD’s silence
Earlier today I wrote about Caroline Cash, executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving Maryland, and the organization’s explanation on why the group has remained silent on the arrest of Councilman Sam Moxley on charges of Driving under the influence. (You can read the full previous post here.)
Well, the Internet is a marvelous thing. That post generated sharp criticism from Jeanne Pruett, president of Responsibility in DUI Laws, a Canton, Mich.-based organization.
“If you believe that cock-n-bull excuse that you got from Caroline Cash you are extremely naive,” Pruett wrote in an e-mail to me today after seeing the blog post.
Pruett expanded on her comments in a subsequent phone interview.
“They do all sorts of things in the political arena to get their laws passed,” Pruett said of MADD. She noted the group is supporting a federal law requiring ignition interlocks on the vehicles of people convicted of DUI-related offenses, and she also pointed out the group’s public criticism of President Barack Obama’s so-called beer summit earlier this week.
RIDL was formed by Pruett in 2002 after she was arrested on a DUI offense. Pruett said she was forced to accept a plea, and she contends that the officer in her case “lied under oath.” She was ordered to pay a fine, attend a class sponsored by MADD in Michigan and complete an alcohol training program. Pruett says her organization boasts a nationwide membership of 5,000 people.
She said Cash’s claim of non-involvement in politics is convenient.
“They shouldn’t be involved in politics,” Pruett said. “I’d love it if they weren’t, but (Cash) is just being disingenuous.”