On Tue, 28 Nov 2000, Nancy Bauer/Dennis Perrin wrote:
> As for the Dems, I remember a time when Jimmy Carter spoke about
> decriminalizing weed, as did a number of Dems in Congress. Then came
> Reagan and "Just Say No," and the Dems soon followed suit. Don't know
> of any Dems now who would make such a statement.
Wasn't Kurt Schmoke, democratic mayor of Baltimore, the most prominent politician in the decriminalization movement of the 90s? Joycelyn Elders also spoke out so forcefully on the subject she lost her job. Outliers among their party, surely. But the same is true of their Republican counterparts. And I can't think of any Republican politicians who came out as forcefully qua politicians. Can you? When Soros collected a bunch of luminaries to sign statements, there were as many from the Democratic ranks as the Republican. But all of them were speaking as private citizens, and none of it had any effect.
The drug war is a thoroughly bipartisan madness. Impotent people of sense can be found on both sidelines. Na, und?
As for the idea that Republicans are better on search and seizure, even if we grant that, it doesn't make them the party that is more against the drug war. It's one point in a larger whole. Republicans are generally considered, and generally consider themselves, to be the party that is tougher on crime, and that includes drug crimes. You think the opposite is true? The Republicans are not only not tougher, they are actually weaker, the party of mollycoddlers? Who knew. You should tell them.
Michael
__________________________________________________________________________ Michael Pollak................New York City..............mpollak at panix.com