MikeCann's Open Salon Blog

Penn Jillette's Obama Rant

Thu, 31 May 2012 16:05:00 -0400

Penn Jillette's Obama Rant

Penn Jillette and Michael Goudeau talk about President Barack Obama's appearance on Jimmy Fallon and his previous drug use.

"This is Obama chortling with Jimmy Fallon about lower class people."

Why do Democrats defend the Drug War?

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:05:00 -0400

by Scott Morgan, StoptheDrugWar.org

The rank hypocrisy of Obama's position on pot has been amplified rather dramatically by last week's revelation that he literally smoked more than his share of it back in high school. It's an important conversation to have, but I think this analysis by Paul Waldman in The American Prospect lands a little off the mark.

At the moment, there remains a strong incentive to support the status quo, lest you be targeted in your next race as some kind of hippie-lover. The incentives on the other side, on the other hand, are almost nil. When was the last time somebody lost a race for being too tough on drugs? The half of Americans who favor marijuana legalization are not an organized voting bloc that gets together to punish its opponents at the polls.

This is almost the opposite of what I've been saying lately, given that in just the past month, two different well-connected democratic candidates have collapsed under the weight of their unpopular drug war posturing. First, Oregon voters roundly rejected Dwight Holton in an attorney general race that focused heavily on his opposition to medical marijuana. Then, just yesterday in Texas, U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes lost the congressional seat he's held since 1996 in a primary challenge from outspoken drug policy reformer Beto O'Rourke.

Really, the whole notion that candidates who support reform will be labeled as "hippie-lovers," is nothing more than a fictitious cliché without a single good example to justify its utterance. Instead, we're witnessing the emergence of the exact opposite, a new dynamic in democratic races wherein a history of defending the drug war is a political liability that can be exploited to powerful effect by candidates who side with the majority of voters in favoring reform.

That's why it's so frustrating to see observers like Waldman, who supports reforming drug policy, nevertheless endeavor to uphold the notion that political realities require our leaders to do the wrong thing. If Obama were to read that analysis and find it convincing, Waldman would have succeeded in helping the President rationalize his refusal to support reform. We're hurting our cause when we say stuff like this, and worse yet, the idea itself isn't even true.

The truth is that a majority of voters actually do want the President to stop waging war on marijuana. It isn't in any politician's political interest to ignore public opinion while defending bad public policy. The smart play is to steer into the changing political current, just as Obama did with gay marriage, and the result is that public opinion itself begins to change that much faster. This is what's known as leadership, and when it comes to reforming our horrible drug laws, our politicians have everything to gain by speaking up and speaking out.

Marijuana legalization advocate wins Texas Congressional Primary

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:05:37 -0400

Beto O'Rourke (betoforcongress.com)

by Phillip Smith, StoptheDrugWar.org

Former El Paso city councilman Beto O'Rourke has defeated US Rep. Silvestre Reyes in the battle for the Democratic Party nomination for the seat Reyes has held since 1996. According to election results from the Texas Secretary of State's office early Wednesday morning, O'Rourke had picked up 51.3% of the vote to Reyes' 41.3%, meaning O'Rourke also avoids the need for a run-off election.

O'Rourke is a vocal drug policy reformer who has specifically called for marijuana legalization, while Reyes, a former Border Patrol official, has built a career on tough on the border and tough on drugs politics.

O'Rourke garnered national attention in 2009, when he championed a council resolution calling for a national conversation on legalizing and regulating drugs as a possible solution to the drug cartel violence just over El Paso's border in Mexico. The mayor vetoed the unanimously-passed resolution and the council was set to override the veto until Congressman Reyes threatened that the city would lose federal funding if it insisted on pushing the legalization conversation. The override vote failed, but O'Rourke has managed to use the issue as a launching pad for his campaign against what had been a heavily-favored incumbent.

O'Rourke has spoken eloquently of the violence in Mexico and its roots in drug prohibition, including at Drug Policy Alliance conferences, and is the coauthor, along with fellow El Paso city council member Susie Byrd, of Dealing Death and Drugs: The Big Business of Dope in the US and Mexico, which calls explicitly for marijuana legalization.

"O'Rourke's victory demonstrates that support for drug policy reform, and even for legalizing marijuana, is no detriment to electoral success - in fact it was a key asset in his triumph," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of Drug Policy Action, the Alliance's campaign and lobbying arm.. "Reyes' surprising defeat, meanwhile, shows that kneejerk support for persisting with failed drug war tactics can hurt politicians at the ballot box."

Earlier this month, the Democratic primary for Attorney General in Oregon featured a similar dynamic. Ellen Rosenblum won a surprising victory over favorite Dwight Holton, in a race in which medical marijuana became a major issue. Rosenblum is supportive of patients' right to safe and legal access to medical marijuana, while her opponent, former Interim U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton, is sharply critical of the program. Although Holton was heavily favored early in the race, he was targeted for defeat by supporters of medical marijuana after actively trying to undermine responsible state regulation. With no Republican filing for the office, Rosenblum is all but certain to be the state's next attorney general.

"Beto O'Rourke's congressional victory in Texas, coming on the heels of Ellen Roseblum's victory in Oregon's attorney general race, shows that drug policy reform is no longer a third rail in American politics," said Jill Harris, managing director of strategic initiatives for Drug Policy Action. "In both of those races, the candidates' views on marijuana reform were used against them in attacks by their opponents - and in both cases, the voters supported the pro-reform candidate. A majority of Americans now favor treating marijuana like alcohol, and strong majorities of both Democrats and Republicans say the federal government should not interfere with state medical marijuana laws. From blue states like Oregon to red states like Texas, it's a new day for the politics of drug policy reform."Having won the Democratic primary, O'Rourke is well placed for a victory in November in this solidly Democratic district that has sent Reyes to Washington eight times. But now, it's a drug reformer El Paso is likely to send to Congress, not a drug warrior.

(This article was published by StoptheDrugWar.org's lobbying arm, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also shares the cost of maintaining this web site. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)

Occupy 96.9 FM Boston Talks, Candidate for US Congress Sean Bielat on Michael Graham Show

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:05:29 -0400

Two Hotheads on Cannabis Facebook Event: Occupy 96.9 FM Boston Talks, Candidate for US Congress Sean Bielat on Michael Graham Show

Sean Bielat to guest on 96.9FM this Friday, June 1st, 2012 at 6pm ET.

Sean Bielet running for US Congress in MA came out in support of marijuana legalization in his last run but said it wasn't going to be much of an issue because his opponent, Barney Frank also supported it.

This time around? Bielet is running against Joe Kennedy who has not taken a stance on the issue.

Call into 96.9FM Boston Talks on Friday at 6pm and ask Candidate Bielet to make marijuana legalization an issue with Joe Kennedy.

Call in at 617-822-1969
Verizon Wireless: #969

Tell the candidate on the radio, "I'll vote/support Sean Bielet if you make marijuana legalization an issue in this campaign."

Listen live at 969bostontalks.com

Huffington Post: Sean Bielet supports legalization

There is at least one area where Bielat and Frank will have little disagreement. "I'm a conservative, but I would say on drug issues I tend toward libertarian," he says, arguing that the war on drugs has been a total failure and that policy should focus on reducing the harm associated with drugs.

It makes no sense, he says, that coffee and alcohol are legal when other drugs aren't. Frank backs the legalization of marijuana and generally supports allowing individuals the freedom to do whatever they want, as long as it doesn't hurt others. "Barney's not bad on those issues," offers Bielat, saying he won't make it part of his campaign. "I don't need to beat my head against that particular wall."

MA Legalization Campaign PPQ Signature Gathering, Two Hotheads on Cannabis

Tue, 29 May 2012 13:05:05 -0400

MA Legalization Campaign PPQ Signature Gathering, Two Hotheads on Cannabis

Help collect signatures for the campaign to legalize marijuana in Massachusetts.

Email at alex@taxcannabis.org for more info.

Collecting Signatures for MA Marijuana Legalization Public Policy Question this Sat. 11:00am at footbridge to Cambridge Riverfest.

Volunteer training and distribution of materials will be happening from 11AM at Charles River Footbridge, not far from the intersection of JFK St. and Memorial Drive.