Feature:
Foes
Fume
and
Flee
as
Drug
Reform
Reaches
Out
to
Conservatives
2/16/06
Last weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference drew about 5,000 activists and numerous elected officials and movement luminaries to the Omni Shoreham hotel in Washington, DC, for three days of fire-breathing rhetoric on topics dear to conservatives: illegal immigration, the war on terror, fiscal responsibility, gay rights, how liberals are destroying America -- and, surprisingly, reforming the nation's drug laws. For the second year in a row, the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) cosponsored the event in a bid to reach out to what many drug reformers would consider "the other side." This year, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) came along for the ride. While a conservative political conference may not, on first glance, appear to be fruitful ground for "legalizers," as some conservative activists call them, drug reformers who attended said that would be a mistaken impression. With the American conservative movement running the gamut from small-L libertarians, free marketeers, and small government conservatives to militaristic neoconservatives and fundamentalists worried about gay rights, rampant sexuality, and "traditional family values," DPA and MPP see an opening. DPA executive director Ethan Nadelmann showed up to debate the failures of the drug war, while MPP executive director Rob Kampia moderated that debate and joined Nadelmann in a smaller panel discussion that same day. Both groups had tables and they jointly sponsored a reception one evening where conservatives could meet and greet, discuss and argue with drug reformers. "The drug policy reform movement is composed of people coming from many different political directions, and most people realize we need to reach out to everyone. That's a sign of political maturity and sophistication," said DPA director for national affairs Bill Piper. "We think most people understand that ending the drug war will take a big tent coalition. While some Democrats are good on many drug policy issues, they can be a big obstacle when it comes to cutting some of the waste," he told DRCNet. "It was a great opportunity," said Piper. "We were pretty well received last year, and we definitely got a lot of support this year. That is especially true among young people. While people who don't like us probably didn't stop by to say hello, we did get an enormous amount of sympathy. Some issues generally get strong support, like treatment versus incarceration or treating drugs as a public health issue versus a criminal justice issue, but this is the first conservative conference I've been to where support for marijuana legalization is strong. There were quite a few people who thought drugs should just be legalized, those Milton Friedman or William F. Buckley kind of conservatives. What this suggests to me is that influential conservative leaders and the Republican Party leadership are out of touch with a good part of their base." "We've already won on the liberal side," said MPP director of government relations Aaron Houston. "We've got 72% of House Democrats voting with us on key bills, but until the leadership of the House changes, we need Republicans to be able to pass legislation. Going to CPAC and reminding conservatives of the support for people like Buckley and Friedman for ending marijuana prohibition can, we hope, help us pick up some votes," he told DRCNet. "For the most part, even people who disagreed with us welcomed the debate on the issue," Piper said. "The Partnership for a Drug-Free America people, who also had a booth there, were hostile, but they were in a minority." As Piper indicated, not everyone was happy with the presence of "legalizers" at CPAC. While the demagogic author and columnist Ann Coulter garnered the most press attention for remarks calling Moslems "ragheads" -- much to the embarrassment and dismay of many conservative and other bloggers -- some conservatives managed to create a minor flap by attacking the drug reform presence even before the conference started. The preemptive strike against drug reform was lead by ultra-conservative "press critic" Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy In Media. Last week, Kincaid took time off from his other crusades to launch a jeremiad against foolish conservatives who would allow "two advocates of drug legalization, both of them funded by leftist billionaire and anti-Bush activist George Soros" to use CPAC as a forum for debate. Attempting to cover all the conservative bases, Kincaid's attack dog column warned that, in addition to supporting drug reform, the evil Soros supports "open borders, gay rights, abortion rights, opposition to the death penalty, lighter sentences for criminals, and assisted suicide." The crafty financier is also "a big backer of the UN and opposes the Bush administration's war in Iraq," Kincaid fulminated. But Soros wasn't Kincaid's only target. He also attacked MPP for plans to hold a fundraiser at -- gasp! -- the Playboy Mansion and tried to tarnish Kampia by writing that he had been convicted of a marijuana charge in 1989. Worse yet, in Kincaid's view, Tommy Chong is a member of the fundraiser host committee. But wait, there's more. "DPA and MPP are part of a major deception campaign to convince people that marijuana is harmless or even has medical benefits," Kincaid wrote, citing as evidence a few seconds worth of decade-old clips featuring activists joking about the issue. After a few more paragraphs of spleen, Kincaid finally got down to his censorious bottom line: "So why is CPAC giving Nadelmann, Kampia and their ilk a platform? Kincaid's jeremiad provided fuel for arch-drug warrior and self-avowed Christian conservative Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), who used the ammo to attack drug reformers in the Congressional Record. Comparing the "radical liberal financier George Soros" to disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Souder expressed shock "that a representative of the Marijuana Policy Project is slated to moderate -- yes, moderate -- a panel Friday discussing drug policy. For those who are unacquainted with it, the pro-marijuana MPP has been funded by Soros in the past. Also represented on the panel is the Drug Policy Alliance, which is Soros' principal pro-drug arm. Incidentally, the moderator himself is a convicted drug dealer," Souder added in an ad hominem attack -- and an inaccurate one, Kampia pointed out in an e-mail to supporters yesterday, his conviction was not for dealing but for growing marijuana in his college dorm room for personal use. "What on earth were the CPAC organizers thinking?" Souder asked. "Why would the American Conservative Union allow extremist liberals like George Soros and Peter Lewis (who is responsible for most of MPP's funding) to access a meeting of conservatives?" DRCNet was curious about that, too. Unfortunately, none of the conservative groups associated with the conference contacted by DRCNet responded to our queries. The Young America's Foundation, the American Conservative Union, and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America did not bother to return calls for comment. It would have been particularly interesting to have heard from Calvina Fay of the Partnership, who was slated to debate Nadelmann, but cancelled at the last minute, complaining the debate was stacked against her because MPP's Kampia was to be the moderator. Drug reformers didn't just roll over and play dead when attacked. "It is one thing for Souder to support the war on drugs and to ignore all its costs, including wasting taxpayer money, destroying families, and undermining the rule of law. What is really tragic is when an elected official seeks to censor open discussion and debate," said DPA's Nadelmann. "There is a long and distinguished tradition within the conservative movement in America of opposing the war on drugs and its violation of fundamental principles. Perhaps, it is Souder who is outside the mainstream among his conservative colleagues." "Calvina was afraid to debate," said MPP's Houston. "She didn't back out for any reason other than that she was going to lose. In fact, we offered both her and Cliff Kincaid slots on a panel discussion, but they refused. Calvina didn't want to be embarrassed because she knows she couldn't win." Despite efforts by people like Faye, Kincaid, and Souder to sabotage open debate on drug policy at CPAC, the debate went forward. Philadelphia sports writer Gary Cobb stood up for drug prohibition, but his best applause line came when he turned to stereotypes about marijuana users. "Marijuana makes people lazy, and we have enough lazy Americans already," he said to loud applause. "I'm not sure exactly what people were applauding," said DPA's Piper. "Was it the notion that marijuana makes people lazy? Was it the idea that Americans are lazy? I'm not sure what excited them." Cobb was little match for an experienced debater like DPA's Nadelmann, who aimed at jugular by asking conservatives to consider the positions of some of their heroes. "Milton Friedman and William F. Buckley are probably the two most distinguished conservative thinkers of the second half of the 20th Century," he said. "Both of them made clear that they considered the drug laws absurd and antithetical to conservative values." "What do conservatives stand for?" Nadelmann asked, citing a litany of conservative values like individual freedom, personal responsibility, small government, and fiscal restraint. "Isn't that what conservatism is all about?" "Yes, there were some crazy drug war extremists around, but I don't think most people there were driven by this issue," said DPA's Piper. "I would bet most of them are closer to Friedman and Buckley than Calvina Faye and Mark Souder." For Piper and DPA, it's all part of building a winning movement. "We're going to follow up with the people we met there and we're going to try to work with conservative organizations to push a common agenda for drug reform. We will build alliances where we can."
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