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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Babar the Elephant?

posted by on June 11 at 13:39 PM

bob_barr_elephant.jpg

Make that Bob Barr, the GOP elephant. Over at the Huffington Post, the former Republican congressman has announced he’s had a change of heart.

I’ll admit it, just five years ago I was “Public Enemy Number 1” in the eyes of the Libertarian Party. In my 2002 congressional race for Georgia’s Seventh District, the Libertarian Party ran scathing attack ads against my stand on Medical Marijuana.

Today, I can reflect on my efforts and see no progress in stopping the widespread use of drugs. I’ll even argue that America’s drug problem is larger today than it was when Richard Nixon first coined the phrase, “War on Drugs,” in 1972.

America’s drug problem is only compounded by the vast amounts of money directed at this ongoing battle. In 2005, more than $12 billion was spent on federal drug enforcement efforts while another $30 billion was spent to incarcerate non-violent drug offenders.

Well, isn’t that nice of Barr? Now that he can’t do shit, he’s denounced the lock-‘em-up prescript for dealing with drug problems. But in his tenure, Barr backed the most offensive piece of drug legislation in this country’s history: The Barr Amendment. That prevented Washington, D.C. from counting votes for a measure, supported by a majority of voters, that would have allowed access to medical marijuana for the sick and dying. Barr, in essence, was willing to suspend democracy to make sure sick people could be arrested.

His about-face is nothing more than a Naderesque attempt to wedge back into political relevance under the cloak of a third party. And his opposition to the drug war seems a lot like the strategy from Ron Paul, who conveniently co-opted the progressive drug-policy reform platform to earn liberal supporters, knowing full well that a) he’ll never be elected, and b) if he were, he’d never really try to decriminalize pot from the Oval Office.

Americans don’t need political pandering on this issue. We need effective alternatives and leaders who can actually implement them—needle exchanges, medical marijuana distribution programs run by the state, accurate drug information for kids, free on-demand walk-in meth treatment—not hackneyed condemnations of the drug war’s bloated budget.

The tight-pocketed conservatives Barr is attempting to pander to may not want to pay for prisons, but they don’t want to pay for treatment, either. While reforming drug policy would save the country money, so would adopting policies based on racial justice, better health care, and compassion. Barr’s record shows that on social issues, he has been an elephant at heart, even if he is running as a Libertarian. But, as the joke goes: What do you call the Libertarian health care plan? Don’t get sick.

But I am sick. Sick of White House press secretaries who foisted lies on the country and then tried to exonerate themselves by writing a tell-all book. Sick of generals who capitulated until they retired—then signed a deal with HarperCollins. Sick of Barr and his politics of convenience. Scott McClellan, Ricardo Sanchez, and Barr should have changed their positions when it actually mattered, not when it was politically convenient—and irrelevant.

RSS icon Comments

1

Lock him up and try him for treason anyway.

A few years of 21/7 waterboarding will clear his mind.

Posted by Will in Seattle | June 11, 2008 1:44 PM
2

This all sounds fine, but I stopped nodding my head when I got to the phrase "racial justice." What's that supposed to mean?

Posted by mattymatt | June 11, 2008 1:53 PM
3

Babar the Elephant was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid. This guy is a douche bag.

Posted by Lobot | June 11, 2008 1:59 PM
4
Posted by skye | June 11, 2008 2:16 PM
5

This is what happens when people elect rats to office because they've been dazzled with gay and abortion rights. Today Bush(turd in the punch bowl) said he regrets saying things that made the world hate us. But he likes having spent a trillion dollars and extinguished the lives of thousands of young Americans to get rid of Saddam. Stupid leaders are stupid leaders, no matter how you change the wrapping.

Posted by Vince | June 11, 2008 2:18 PM
6

Mustache rides: $1.

Posted by keshmeshi | June 11, 2008 2:21 PM
7

J'aime bien a Babar. Defense d'ecrire de Babar dans la meme histoire avec ce diable-la qu'a des cervelles d'hotdog!! !!!

Posted by PC | June 11, 2008 2:23 PM
8

Dominic...I'm there with you in emotion. I totally get and share your frustration.

Still...we can make use of this switch, utilizing his past and current positions to further our cause. In our anger (totally justified) let's not forget that there's advantage to be had here.

Posted by Timothy | June 11, 2008 2:25 PM
9

I asked my doctor yesterday for a prescription for marijuana and he told me only an oncologist can prescribe it. So I have to pray I get cancer so I can finally deal with the pane I suffer do to calciphylaxis (a build up of calcium in the arteries due to too much dialysis).

Weed is the only thing that has ever helped the pain but I can't get any. All my connections got married, moved to the suburbs, and quit weed.

Thank you Federal Government. Thank You very fucking much.

Posted by elswinger | June 11, 2008 2:26 PM
10

"I very much like has Babar. Defense of ecrire of Babar in the meme history with this devil it that has brains of hotdog"

That's when I get when I put PC's comment in at Freetranslation.com. Awesome.

Posted by Lobot | June 11, 2008 2:29 PM
11

Pretty close @10. You didn't notice the lack of accents.

J'aime bien a Babar. Defense d'ecrire de Babar dans la meme histoire avec ce diable-la qu'a des cervelles d'hotdog!! !!!

really means

I really like Babar. Let's defend the writing of Babar in the same story with that devil that has the brains of a hotdog!

Nothing that a five year stay without charges of an American citizen like Bob Barr with continual waterboarding won't cure ...

Posted by Will in Seattle | June 11, 2008 2:36 PM
12

You know why he's doing this, right? Uber-conservatives were so pissed about McCain that they nominated Barr for the Libertarian party candidate, and you can't be a Libertarian and support the war on drugs.

Posted by F | June 11, 2008 2:37 PM
13

I guess I should have read the end of the post. I'm a dumbass.

Posted by F | June 11, 2008 2:38 PM
14

Thanks Will, I just copy/pasted it in to Freetranslation.com as it was and that's what I got back. I thought it was funny. I was wondering what it did actually mean though, so thanks again. :-)

Posted by Lobot | June 11, 2008 2:41 PM
15

Yeah, he sucks, but we need him to do well and be successful in November. He has the potential to be the Nader, or even the Perot of 2008 & siphon off votes from McCain. Democrats should send $ to Obama AND Barr.

Posted by Andrew | June 11, 2008 4:00 PM
16

@15 YES! Bob Barr for president.

Posted by Andrew II | June 11, 2008 4:03 PM
17

Let him speak at hempfest!!!!!!

Posted by Dale | June 11, 2008 4:27 PM
18

But you don't have anything to say about Norm Stamper?

Posted by NaFun | June 11, 2008 4:58 PM
19

@ 18) That's an apples-to-oranges comparison. Norm Stamper's job as chief was different from an elected official's. Cops have to enforce the law, albeit within their own interpretation of priorities. Stamper didn't make a priority of busting folks for drugs--though he could have done better. Instead, he pushed for some great community-policing models.

Lawmakers, on the other hand, set policy. Barr had full discretion to change the law. Which he did, for the worse.

Posted by Dominic Holden | June 11, 2008 5:17 PM
20

One can only hope he'll can still do something while it actually matters by siphoning votes away from McCain.

Posted by Mr Me | June 11, 2008 5:45 PM

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