The Democratic candidates met last night in what was supposed to be a debate aimed at the younger generation. According to Fox News, the debate "generally veered away from campaign issues such as Iraq and the economy, and into areas of interest to younger voters."
Also from the article:
Asked whether they had ever used marijuana, [Sen. John] Edwards, [Gov. Howard] Dean and Sen. John Kerry said they have. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, [Wesley] Clark and Al Sharpton said they had not. Sen. Joe Lieberman answered the same, although he apologized as he did so. Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun declined to answer.
So we have three democratic presidential hopefuls admitting to committing a crime, and one apologizing for not committing one. That's super. And who does Mosley-Braun think she's fooling? I'm all for being honest about past transgressions and not condeming people for their pasts sins, but these guys almost sound like they're endorsing it. I don't care how socially acceptable it is, until the laws are changed smoking pot is still a crime.
This relevation comes after our current President was given so much grief for rumors about possible cocaine use when he was younger. Yet here we have three confessions of illicit drug use and we're supposed to shrug our shoulders and act like its no big deal.
The whole debate was a production. The candidates were falling all over themselves trying to look "hip." They all wore casual attire (read no ties, top button undone), even the moderator. The admissions of drug use were just another ploy meant to ingratiate the candidates with the younger crowd. Its just another example of how Democratic candidates will do or say almost anything for a few more votes.
If you think that all these candidates bickering amongst themselves might not be good for the Democrats hopes for the White House, you'd be right. The Bush Blog has some pretty interesting numbers from the Washington Post.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Steve Rhodes
Yawn.
Millions of Americans have smoked pot.
They aren't felons. They never were busted (and in some places it is a misdemeaner or even what is basically a ticket).
And Bush was given so much grief because he wouldn't answer the simple question the Dems answered last night.
He just repeated his mantra that he hadn't done anything since 1972.
2 - Jim Carruthers
All I know is a reporter in Canada asked our Prime Minister if he'd ever toked, he replied "do you 'ave any"?
As for Iraq and the depression, isn't that the realm of the Republicans and their Evil Overlords? They broke it, they bought it.
3 - Rob
I don't care how many people do it, its still a crime. If its so "ok" to do, why hasn't it been legalized? Because the majority of people still don't think that smoking pot shouldbe legal.
4 - JR
"I don't care how many people do it, its still a crime. If its so "ok" to do, why hasn't it been legalized? Because the majority of people still don't think that smoking pot shouldbe legal."
Apparently you haven't been paying attention to some of the state intiatives that have passed lately.
Oh well, I guess if you want to take the hard line, you don't have anybody to vote for next year. Your problem.
5 - Jim Carruthers
Rex Banner will not let the Beer Baron go unpunished.
Prohibition doesn't work, it hasn't worked, and it will continue to be a massive failure, except to provide bodies for the privatized US prison industry.
That Tommy Chong spends more jail time than Ken Laye points to how screwed up the law is.
Secondly I can't vote in your country, but your thugs threaten us because we look at making it not a crime to have some weed. But at the same time you get all panty-twisted over our sensible gun laws and public health-care.
And outsourcing our citizens to be tortured in what you identify as "rogue states", that is so not cool, dude.
6 - Mac Diva
JR, Robbie is what we will politely refer to as slow. He isn't aware there is a difference between infractions, misdemeanors and felonies and that the latter are what are really significant. He also hasn't heard that most states have made marijuana possession infractions and misdemeanors. If he is looking for felons he needs to looks elsewhere. Not that I believe this entry really came from Robbie. The poor thing is a parrot, i.e., someone who repeats material from well-known Right Wingers, such as Limbaugh and Savage, pretty much verbatim. This misleading material came from one of those sources and is being regurgitated here.
There is a fracas emanating from the debate, but it is not about felonious Dems. You can read about it here.
7 - Jim Carruthers
Uhm, "Limbaugh", now I know that isn't some type of stinky cheese, wait, I know, he's the Republican thug who is all hopped on goofballs, right?
He's doing hard time getting his salad tossed, right? Because he's a hardcore junkie and friend of degenerate gamblers, doing synthetic heroin, right?
What? you didn't even give him a perp walk?
What's the matter with you people? Don't you realize that you have to do what you say?
8 - Mark Saleski
dang, this is pretty funny...considering as how i just happend to watch Reefer Madness last night.
gees, maybe if some of you cranked up conservatives would spark up once in a while you could relax a little.
probably not.
9 - Taloran
Ddin't the Prime Minister of Canada recently say that he'd probably smoke some dope when he retires next year? If the hawks would try it, they might feel less like sending people off to die in the far-flung reaches of the planet. Might unpucker their backsides for a few hours, as well.
10 - BJ
Taloran, LOL. Our man Robbie could probably use a good smoke too.
Or maybe he could have some of what Rush is having.
11 - Taloran
Sorry, Jim answered my question in 9 in his comment 2.
12 - Michael Croft
As long as it doesn't get blown in my face in restaurants, I don't care if people light up at home. However, it's not necessarily a crime at all. Any of them could have been visiting Bill Clinton at Oxford and taken a trip to Amsterdam.
Poor Bill'd be sitting there trying not to inhale and all, while Dean and Edwards were looking over the menu and trying to figure if they could stick Kerry with the tab...
13 - Taloran
They do a great job with public consumption of the demon weed in Amsterdam. You can buy it over the counter in what they call coffee shops, and smoke it pretty much anywhere. However, the entire social structure of weed smoking is based around people speaking up if and when it offends them, and the smoker politely putting it out when asked, with no arguments, no hurt feelings, no whining or pouting. They're very realistic and cultured about the whole thing.
I can't smoke it any more, as it makes me extremely paranoid for a few hours and thickheaded for three days, but I have no moral compunction against it. If it works for you, go for it. And that includes politicians.
They should just legalize it and get boatloads of tax money for it, while lowering the price to consumers and putting the smugglers out of business.
14 - Chris Arabia
i was unaware that pot smoking is a felony. nice to know that if any of those guys become president, they will preside over a gocvernment that jails people for what they admit to having done (which rankles though in a different way from some of the dynamic up to this point).
considering that both parties are responsible for the disastrous war on drugs and considering that many non-leftists oppose the war on drugs, some of you might want to reconsider your shrill and pointless attacks on your dreaded "conservatives" in this thread.
if your goal is to alienate and demonize people even when they agree with you, and make yourself feel better, decriminalization be damned, you are making a good effort.
15 - Chris Arabia
along that same line, launching into hysterical anti-american attacks in this thread is supposed to accomplish what?
and mac, who until yesterday was calling a "bake sale" a "bake sell," is again not content to disagree with the poster--she has to call him "slow" and impugn his integrity. perhaps she will someday conquer her insecurity and be content to disagree with someone without launching into vicious attacks.
16 - Eric Olsen
I believe the point about smoking pot not being a felony anywhere in the U.S. that I am aware of has been made. I believe it is a misdemeanor at worst, and isn't even enforced at that in NYC unless you blow it in a cop's face, which would be foolish under any circumstances I can think of.
The law in this case is seriously out of touch with reality and that is a problem, and Tommy Chong being sentenced to 6 months in federal prison forselling bongs over the Internet is an outrageous affront to proportionality, which is supposed to be at the core of our law in the first place.
Smoking marijuana may turn some people into unmotivated, paranoid lunkheads, but it doesn't turn them into felons.
17 - Taloran
Thought it was nine months...
18 - Eric Olsen
sorry, you're right, ANY form of imprisonment for this "crime" is insane
19 - Rob
I made a mistake. Possession of marijuana is not a felony, at least in my state and from looking at the comments apparently in a lot of states. So I've changed the post to read "criminal" instead of felony. That should be more accurate.
The angle I was taking on this issue is that the candidates all admitted to a crime. I think marijuana should be legalized. Just think of the tax dollars that would free up. My problem was that it is not yet legal and here we have three men running for President admitting to a crime. That was my point, for what its worth.
Sorry about the mess up on the felony thing, mea culpa. I'm not perfect.
20 - Taloran
I think one would be hard pressed to find any politician in any country and any era who wasn't guilty of one crime or another. At least the current crop of Dem losers admit it.
And no, I'm not a Democrat.
21 - Rob
I guess I'm not prepared to just shrug my shoulders and let it go when a candidate for our nation's most important political office admits to any sort of a crime.
But that's just me.
22 - Mac Diva
The current Supreme Court annointed president has broken the law (DWI) as has the VP. The first lady killed her former boyfriend with her car during her youth. Her family had a lot of clout in the town and, if I remember correctly, she wasn't even charged. Suffice it to say looking for unlawful behavior among pols can produce some interesting, non-partisan results.
Come to think of it, a Congressman and former governor is now under indictment for running down a motorcycle rider while speeding in Robbie Port's neck of the woods. The rider's remains were apparently spread all over the highway. Has Robbie mentioned the case on his blog? Of course not. The fellow is a conservative.
23 - Rob
Yeah, George W. Bush committed a crime. He was convicted of it and served his punishment. Your story about the first lady is fascinating, but she was never convicted of anything. I'm not familiar with it, but you intimated at a crime with no proof. As for that recent case involving the motorcycle, he has also been apprehended and charged.
You know, I read these comments too. Its funny how you talk to everybody else as if I don't read these.
The three democratic candidates through out a flippant remark to a question and admitted to committing crimes. The tone in wich they admitted them showed that they have no respect for the law they broke. That is not what I want to see in a candidate, even if the law is silly.
24 - Rob
Also, you talk about how I only tell one side of the story because I'm conservative. If you think that's disturbing then your one-sidedness against republicans and conservatives should be equally so.
25 - Mac Diva
Lord! Robbie, the candidates were trying to appear hip because the debate was targeted to a young audience. You have heard of hipness, right? It is a synonym of savvy, def and cool. Part of being hip is not getting a bug up one's arse over every little not exactly legal thing people do. Since young people are usually more relaxed in regard to drug laws, the candidates wanted to be appear relaxed about them, too. Within reason that is. I doubt any candidate for any party will admit to shooting up H.