Obama and Romney Can't Ignore Marijuana Anymore
Voters in this presidential battleground state won't just decide whether to go red or blue this fall but also green -- as in marijuana.
Whether to legalize marijuana will be on the Colorado ballot in November. President Barack Obama and presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney have identical stances on pot legalization -- they oppose it. And neither is comfortable talking about it.
Yet Obama and Romney find themselves unwittingly ensnared in the legalization debate -- and both may want to take it more seriously if their race in Colorado is close. [FOXNews]
It's really rather remarkable that one of the hottest debates in American politics right now is something neither major party candidate even dares to discuss. As accustomed as we are to having these issues ignored by people in positions of political power, there really is a point at which you just can't ignore it anymore and I think that might be exactly where we're finding ourselves at this very moment.
After all, if the President himself can't explain our marijuana laws to us in a way that makes sense, what does that say about our marijuana laws? A lot of people are seriously pissed off about this, and the longer Obama fails to defend it, the worse he looks. There is no excuse for a leader's failure to discuss public policy with the public. There just isn't.
And now we have a major swing state in which a legalization measure is polarizing the electorate around this exact issue. Obama and Romney will approach that situation how? By standing there like fools and saying nothing at all? By saying it isn't important, even though the voters think it is? Neither look is particularly flattering.
Saying something even slightly sympathetic about fixing our marijuana laws in some way would probably pick up a not-insignificant number of votes for whoever dared to do it. However loud we must make ourselves to get that point across, it is apparently at least a little louder than this, but that's okay because we're getting steadily better at making noise.
Update: Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is yet another factor here. Unfortunately, Obama and Romney are so similarly disappointing on this issue that we can't even be sure who will be more affected by Johnson's candidacy.
Follow Scott Morgan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/drugblogger
(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.)
Eventually a major national
Eventually a major national candidate will come out for legalization. And win big. Then, suddenly, politicians will be willing to do what their constituents, according to the polls, want to see happen.
How long will that take? Maybe this will be the year. But only if the candidates get hammered every time they (or their surrogates) turn up in Colorado.
"And win big."What makes you
"And win big."
What makes you say that? While views are (thankfully) changing on this issue, I doubt we're anywhere close to anyone, especially someone running for NATIONAL office coming out in favor of it. Remember what happened in California? Where were the younger voters or the supporters? The suburban parents will continue to remain reticent.
Ron Paul, a major party national candidate, DID
"come out for legalization', even promised it would be one of the very first things he would do after the inauguration, if elected. Everyone ignored him from the media to the party bosses to the general voting public. So now it looks (if you believe the MSM) as though we are left only with a choice between two prohibitionists with twin policies in all other areas of governance. Except it IS still possible the delegates to Tampa could nominate Paul over Romney, and let us all fervently hope that does happen, because that would actually give us an actual end to the fed gov's drug war.
Trivializing the Drug War is Not an Option
The two major parties are setting themselves up for the worst PR imaginable on the drug war. If war business as usual is the strategy of the Rep. and Dem. candidates, then they’ve just stepped off the political edge and there’s no turning back.
The thing about the drug war is that it’s linked to just about everything Americans don’t like about America: intrusions on privacy, institutionalized racism, culture wars, corporate greed and fraud, government persecution, incitement to war, authoritarianism, and human corruption on a scale unknown since the dark ages.
It gets worse.
The types of persecution engendered by prohibitions haven’t always resulted in an amendment to repeal an amendment to a constitution. In the distant past, this type of crap has typically not been course-corrected, and it has crushed empires.
What’s happening to the United States today as a result of its drug intolerance has yet to experience the metamorphosis that will strip the country of its proto-fascist ethos.
Stay tuned. Things are about to get more interesting.
Giordano
Romney & Obama - neither would legalize it
It might be better for this cause if the two candidates did ignore marijuana. Mr. Obama is an insincere person and that's putting it mildly. He was and is proud of his recreational use of marijuana, but that doesn't mean he wants any of you or us - the regular commoners - to be able to use it without stigma or without having to hide from the law. As for Mr. Romney his generation and his faith are both against legalizing it he does not have it inside himself to legalize it. Better luck on a state-by-state level. Give up for now on these 2 national candidates.
My Approach as a write-in Candidate
I am an independent write-in candidate for president. Upon election by Executive Order I am going to declare all marijuana use as medicinal and usage does not require a prescription except for reduced prices for special high potency blends to treat MD and chemo therapy side effects, etc.
In my first television political speech, to start airing on one station late night, next week, to be followed by more stations, I point out 50 thousand shops will spring up and hire a half million people. That reverberates.
Here is the you tube of the program in high definition. I also bring to the table a Vehicle for World Peace.
http://youtu.be/KWKMPRFNowM?hd=1.l;
http://levinson4president.com
Berry O
"Saying something even slightly sympathetic about fixing our marijuana laws in some way would probably pick up a not-insignificant number of votes for whoever dared to do it."
He did this last election and totally did a 180 on the promises made about marijuana. And people think he really is in support of gay marriage. LOL Hes a liar and crook plan and simple.
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