Still Looking For An Exit Strategy In The War On Drugs
Attorney General Eric Holder put his vast personal credibility on the line in opposition to California's Prop 19 which would legalize marijuana:
LOS ANGELES ? The Department of Justice says it intends to prosecute marijuana laws in California aggressively even if state voters approve an initiative on the Nov. 2 ballot to legalize the drug.
The announcement by Eric H. Holder Jr., the attorney general, was the latest reminder of how much of the establishment has lined up against the popular initiative: dozens of editorial boards, candidates for office, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other public officials.
Still, despite this opposition ? or perhaps, to some extent, because of it ? the measure, Proposition 19, appears to have at least a decent chance of winning, so far drawing considerable support in polls from a coalition of Democrats, independents, younger voters and men as Election Day nears. Should that happen, it could cement a cultural shift in California, where medical marijuana has been legal since 1996 and where the drug has been celebrated in popular culture at least since the 1960s.
But it could also plunge the nation?s most populous state into a murky and unsettling conflict with the federal government that opponents of the proposition said should make California voters wary of supporting it.
I din't realize Californians had grown so timid and deferential. In fact, I would have thought that ignoring Washington and the East Cost was a feature rather than a bug.
We do find the ligher side in this metaphor gone awry:
But Roger Salazar, a political consultant who has been directing the effort to defeat the proposal, said that Mr. Holder?s statement should reinforce deep concerns about the initiative, including the way it was drafted and what he called inflated claims by its backers of what legalization might do.
?This is sort of a shot across the bow from the federal government: They?re saying that, ?If this thing moves the way we think it is, we?re going to come after you guys,? ? he said. ?That gives California voters one more reason to take a deep breath.?
Take a deep breath and hold it. Oh, boy.
State Republicans are having fun too:
The presence of the initiative on the ballot has encouraged Democrats, who argue it will lead to increased turnout among younger voters.
Notably, none of the major statewide candidates have endorsed the measure. But perhaps just as notably, none have made the proposition a campaign issue.
The state Republican Party has officially come out against Proposition 19 and plans to urge people to vote no, said Ron Nehring, the party chairman. He called repeal a ?big mistake? and mocked the notion that placing the proposition on the ballot would help Democrats.
?We call that their Hail Mary Jane strategy,? he said.
Oh, I think you would have to be stoked up to vote for Pelosi, Boxer or Brown.
http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2010/10/still-looking-for-an-exit-strategy-in-the-war-on-drugs.html
