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Third-Party Candidacies vs. Voting for the Lesser Evil
Last week's < a href="" target=_blank_>feature article on the Zeese and Thornton campaigns (Zeese is running for US Senate in a tight race in Maryland and Thornton is running for governor of Connecticutâlinks in the article) included a discussion between Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance and Eric Sterling of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation on the possible benefits and liabilities of third-party campaigns. That discussion provoked a lengthier (and continuing) exchange on a nomination-only list for leading drug policy reformers, and I think it should be a topic of serious discussion here among the unwashed masses as well.
Both Thornton, running as a Green, and Zeese, running a "unity" campaign as the Green-Libertarian-Populist nominee, have clearly rejected the clarion call of the two-party system. From a pragmatic perspective, the fundamental question is whether working outside the two major parties will bring success on drug policy reform faster than attempting to bring either of the two major parties (most likely the Democrats, given the Republicans' social conservative base and penchant for the "war on" metaphor) around to a palatable position on the issue.
For some reformers, defeating the Republicans is everything. What if Zeese pulls enough votes from the Democrat to throw the Maryland senate race to the Republicans andânightmare scenarioâthe Republicans keep the Senate by one seat? There will be much howling and gnashing of teeth among Democratic loyalists, just as there was after the 2000 presidential elections, when much of the party faithful blamed Ralph Nader for costing Al Gore the White House.
Zeese and Thornton and their supporters will undoubtedlyâand fairlyârespond that they are not beholden to the Democratic Party and are as entitled to seek peoples' votes as either the donkeys or the elephants. Besides, again echoing the post-2000 discussion, they will say, there's not that much difference between the two major parties.
I guess that's a matter of perspective. If you look at the broad contours of drug policy, there is a broad, bipartisan consensus on the status quo. From that viewpoint, Democrats are no better than Republicans on drug policy. A particularly progressive congressional Democrat might work toward a kinder, gentler drug war, perhaps sponsoring a bill that reduces the crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity, for instance, but none are saying we need to do away with the peculiar institution of drug prohibition in its entirety.
But coming in for a closer look, there are significant differences between the two parties when it comes to nibbling away at the edges of the drug war. The congressional votes on the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment, which would bar the use of federal funds to raid medical marijuana patients and providers in states where it is legal, and the Higher Education Act's anti-drug provision both show Democrats much more likely to favor such reform at the margins.
Is that difference enough to make independent or third-party campaigns that may weaken the Democrats a mistake? I'm not going to try to answer that question right now. Instead, I invite our readers to weigh in, and I hope that will include some of the people who have been discussing this already. Is Zeese a menace or a messiah? Is Thornton dashing after windmills or leading the way to a new politics? You tell us.
(This blog post 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.)
In The Trenches
Drug Truth Network Update: Cultural Baggage + Century of Lies + 4:20 Drug War NEWS (10-23-06)
Drug Truth Network Update 10/23/06
Drug Truth Network Update: Cultural Baggage + Century of Lies + 4:20 Drug War NEWS
Half Hour Programs, Live Fridays... at 90.1 FM in Houston & on the web at www.kpft.org.
In The Trenches
Ineffective Drug Czar Endorses Failing Prevention Program
DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE
www.drugpolicy.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Contact: Tony Newman 646-335-5384, Bill Piper 202-669-6430
Ineffective Drug Czar Endorses Failing Prevention Program
Event
One-day Conference: Beyond Zero Tolerance -- New Directions in Drug Education and School Discipline
Beyond Zero Tolerance Conference Offers Fresh Approach to Teens and Drugs
One Day Conference in San Francisco on October 25 Aimed at Teachers, Administrators
With alcohol, drug and tobacco use among teenagers still pervasive, a one-day conference for educators in San Francisco on October 25 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., offers a new, reality-based approach to drug education and school discipline in secondary schools.
Event
Ed Forchion (a.k.a. the New Jersey Weedman) appearing on CNN's Glenn Beck Show
On Thursday, October 26, CNN will air an interview featuring Ed Forchion on the Glenn Beck Show on Headline News. The interviews airs at 7:00 p.m. ET and replays at 9:00 p.m. and midnight.
In The Trenches
WOLA/USOC Press Release: Planning Murders While Negotiating Peace: Colombian Attorney Generalâs Office Releases Report on Evidence Found In Paramilitary Leader Rodrigo âJorge 40â Tovarâs Laptop
From the Washington Office on Latin America and US Office on Colombia:
Planning Murders While Negotiating Peace:
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Canada Grows Medical Marijuana for Its Citizens
In case anyone forgot. CBC News now reports that demand for government marijuana is increasing. Since this particular marijuana isnât supposed to be very good, my guess is that Canadian patients simply prefer the convenience of not having to buy their medicine from criminals on the street.
So Canada spends tax dollars to provide medical marijuana to sick people, while here in America, we spend tax dollars trying to prevent sick people from getting medical marijuana.
So Canada spends tax dollars to provide medical marijuana to sick people, while here in America, we spend tax dollars trying to prevent sick people from getting medical marijuana.
Blog
Is Willie Nelson mature enough to smoke marijuana?
(Eric Sterling, president of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, joins us as a regular blogger in the Speakeasy.)
âIt's a good thing I had a bag of marijuana instead of a bag of spinach or I'd be dead by now,â Willie Nelson said recently.
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