What to do in the Primaries…

Posted on February 7, 2004 by Pete

A lot of states with primaries fast approaching. Tough decisions to make. All sorts of reasons to look at different candidates on different issues.
Well, I’m here to make it easy for you.

  1. If you’re voting in a Democratic Primary, vote for Dennis Kucinich
  2. If you’re voting in a Republican Primary, write in Blake Ashby

Simple. Of the candidates in the two main parties, these have the absolute best positions on drug policy. No contest.
Now perhaps you think that Dennis Kucinich or Blake Ashby are unelectable, or there’s some other area that you disagree with their policies, or just that they don’t have a chance of getting the nomination. My response: well of course they don’t have a chance of getting the nomination! At this point, the odds are pretty extreme. But, every vote they get means another chance of their views on the drug war being heard or considered. Then once the nominations sort themselves out, you can take a look at your final choice then (without worrying about “throwing your vote away” in the final election).
I’m serious. What will it hurt?
If, on the other hand, you’re a Democrat who is convinced that the primaries are over and John Kerry is going to be the nominee, BigLeftOutside has started to give detailed analysis on Kerry’s positions on the drug war, including:
The good:

  • Kerry and Medical Marijuana
  • Kerry and Marijuana
  • Kerry, Mandatory Minimum Sentences, and “Crime Bills”
  • Kerry and What He Already Knows About the Drug Economy

The bad:

  • Kerry as Overzealous Prosecutor in anything defined as “War”
  • Kerry as Social Moralist
  • Kerry and the Drug Plane Shoot-downs
  • Kerry and his Rand Beers Problem
  • Kerry and Plan Colombia: The Bad

And the uncertain:

  • Kerry and Plan Colombia: The Potential for Good
  • Kerry’s Environmental Passions and Drug Policy Dilemmas
  • Kerry’s Budget-Balancing Priorities and Drug Policy Dilemmas

It’s a wonderful start to a Kerry analysis, and it’s clear that Al Giordano has great knowledge and useful advice. It’s also clear that he’s got an ego the size of Texas — something he’ll need to learn to temper if he really wishes to be effective in his self-appointed role as “referee” for upcoming strategy debates within the drug reform community.

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