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[Rentahamster]

https://gabbard.house.gov/news/pres...ard-calls-federal-decriminalization-marijuana

Full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX8Ddu7T4bA&feature=youtu.be

“Our outdated policies on marijuana are having devastating ripple effects on individuals and communities across the country. They have turned everyday Americans into criminals, torn apart families, and wasted huge amounts of taxpayer dollars to arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate people for non-violent marijuana charges,” said Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. “Differences in state and federal law have also created confusion and uncertainty for our local businesses, who face contradictory regulations that affect their bottom line and ability to operate. I urge our colleagues to support our bipartisan legislation which would decriminalize marijuana, bringing about long overdue and common sense reform."

The bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1227

Background behind the bill: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ces-bill-to-end-the-federal-war-on-marijuana/

The bill seeks to remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act and resolve the existing conflict between federal and state laws over medical or recreational use of the drug. It would not legalize the sale and use of marijuana in all 50 states — it would simply allow states to make their own decisions on marijuana policy without the threat of federal interference.

“Virginia is more than capable of handling its own marijuana policy, as are states such as Colorado or California,” Rep. Thomas Garrett (R) said in a statement. Currently neither the recreational or medical uses of marijuana are allowed in Virginia.

Analysis of the legislation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyelZ97vBVU

Kyle makes a good point in that the Democrats need to focus more on issues if they want to make a compelling case to the American people about their vision for the future.

More analysis vlogging: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjudg31kOJ0

What do you all think? I'm pretty sure most of GAF would agree with this. Actually most of GAF would think this doesn't go far enough, and would rather go for full on legalization.

 

[The Salt Life]

I don't understand why Democrata don't make marijuana one of the major issues? You would certainly bring over your green party and Republicans that know marijuana should be legal. You would get the youth vote as well.


But hey whatever, let's just keep locking people up with rapists, murderers and gang members.

 

[sphagnum]

Good luck with this administration.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Liberal Icon.

 

[Aaronrules380]

I think a big problem is that I feel like a lot of republicans don't want it because turning people into criminals, most of whom are likely to be liberal leaning, isn't necessarily a bad thing for republicans. Especially when you consider the prison lobby

 

[Piecake]

Good luck with this administration.

You mean Jeff, heroin is only slightly worse than Marijuana, Sessions and Donald Teetotaler Trump won't be on board?

 

[Fat4all]

but where else are we gonna find an easy excuse to keep young black men locked up?

 

[pigeon]

I support this bill but I still don't think she's a very good representative.

 

[Goodstyle]

Good bill, awful woman.

 

[RustyNails]

Oh you mean "I secretly met the warcriminal Bashar Al Assad when I visited Syria" Tulsi Gabbard?

 

[To Far Away Times]

The DEA has a lot to lose if marijuana is decriminalized, I think it represents around half of their funding.

The reasons for criminalizing marijuana are budgetary, they aren't rooted in public safety.

 

[Rentahamster]

I don't understand why Democrata don't make marijuana one of the major issues? You would certainly bring over your green party and Republicans that know marijuana should be legal. You would get the youth vote as well.


But hey whatever, let's just keep locking people up with rapists, murderers and gang members.

They have enough public support and data to back them up by now, but they're not pushing it as much as they should be, IMO. Could be a lot of reasons, and most aren't good.

 

[jack_package_200]

Good bill, awful woman.

I support this bill but I still don't think she's a very good representative.

This

Oh you mean "I secretly met the warcriminal Bashar Al Assad when I visited Syria" Tulsi Gabbard?

So progressive.

I really hope she does not have any presidential ambitions.

 

[Ri'Orius]

You mean Jeff, heroin is only slightly worse than Marijuana, Sessions and Donald Teetotaler Trump won't be on board?

Which is why it's a great time to push the issue. Force Trump to come out against it and alienate moderates or support it and alienate his base.

 

[madstarr12]

The bill is okay, but she needs to go away.

 

[shawnbuddy]

Tulsi has figured out how to work the faux Libertarian mindset. You can say whatever authoritarian shit you want, as long as you don't gaybash too hard and are for legal pot. Hey, I'm "socially liberal" man.

 

[The Salt Life]

I don't know, I don't think I can trust any liberal politician that's not for full legalization of marijuana. The joke has gone on long enough.

If you're still saying "it's tricky" "I don't know"
Bullshit, as you toss back your Ambien and chase it with a shot of whatever your drink of choice is, thinking up new excuses like "it makes people lazy"


Shit makes no sense to me.

 

[Juice]

Good bill, awful woman.

Why

 

[Rentahamster]

Good bill, awful woman.

Awful, huh? You don't seem to like her very much.

 

[Tranqueris]

I don't understand why Democrata don't make marijuana one of the major issues? You would certainly bring over your green party and Republicans that know marijuana should be legal. You would get the youth vote as well.

I think this was an argument that was mentioned when legalization went up for a vote in Arizona last November, that it would help turn the state blue but that didn't really happen. The legalization proposition didn't even pass either.

 

[Piecake]

Which is why it's a great time to push the issue. Force Trump to come out against it and alienate moderates or support it and alienate his base.

The democrats have no power to force Trump to do anything on this.

It will die in committee and that will be the last we hear of it.

If democrats make a big stink about it and argue that this should be passed, it is unlikely that the media is going to give it any attention because huge news happens all the time thanks to Trump. As a result, the news will die and they will never ask Trump his opinion on it. And even if they do, there is no guaranty that Trump will even answer.

Democrats putting all of their energy into this is just silly.

 

[Piecake]

Awful, huh? You don't seem to like her very much.

racist islamaphobes are awful people who I hope most people don't like.

 

[Prodigal Son]

racist islamaphobes are awful people who I hope most people don't like.

She's racist?

Also I know she thinks combating terrorism is an ideological battle or whatever. But is she on the 'its all muslims' train? I'll admit I haven't been keeping up too much with her as of late.

 

[The Salt Life]

I think this was an argument that was mentioned when legalization went up for a vote in Arizona last November, that it would help turn the state blue but that didn't really happen. The legalization proposition didn't even pass either.

Yeah but I'm talking about on a national level. Idk, I've been arrested multiple times for possession so it strikes a nerve I guess.

 

[Rentahamster]

Which is why it's a great time to push the issue. Force Trump to come out against it and alienate moderates or support it and alienate his base.

Trump has said on the campaign trail that weed is an issue that is best left to the states, a phrase that he uses often to provide cover for himself. Leaving it up to the states is what this bill does for the most part. The Democrats need to hold him to that. The "He's the only guy who actually fulfills his campaign promises" narrative slices both ways.

 

[Piecake]

She's racist?

Also I know she thinks combating terrorism is an ideological battle or whatever. But is she on the 'its all muslims' train? I'll admit I haven't been keeping up too much with her as of late.

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liber...bic-politics-dem-congressmember-tulsi-gabbard

https://www.theatlantic.com/news/ar...tion-that-sent-tulsi-gabbard-to-syria/514763/

I'd say the stuff in there qualifies, but terms can have different meanings to different people.

 

[Piecake]

Trump has said on the campaign trail that weed is an issue that is best left to the states, a phrase that he uses often to provide cover for himself. Leaving it up to the states is what this bill does for the most part. The Democrats need to hold him to that. The "He's the only guy who actually fulfills his campaign promises" narrative slices both ways.

Why bother with that when we already have an example of Trump breaking his promise on health care in a much more visible fashion and on an issue that far more people deeply care about?

 

[Rentahamster]

Why bother with that when we already have an example of Trump breaking his promise on health care in a much more visible fashion and on an issue that far more people deeply care about?

Why bother with advocating for decriminalizing marijuana? Err, the answer is obvious, I would hope.

 

[Piecake]

Why bother with advocating for decriminalizing marijuana? Err, the answer is obvious, I would hope.

But it is not going to get out of committee, and no matter how hard the democrats push it, it is not going to grab any sort of media attention because the media is focused on the craziness of Trump.

The democrats would just be wasting their time because it will accomplish nothing. Nothing legislatively or politically.

 

[Heshinsi]

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liber...bic-politics-dem-congressmember-tulsi-gabbard

https://www.theatlantic.com/news/ar...tion-that-sent-tulsi-gabbard-to-syria/514763/

I'd say the stuff in there qualifies, but terms can have different meanings to different people.

Oh god, she's a Modi fan girl. Dammit, I read her wiki page and was liking her positions (except for the visit to Damascus).

 

[And_Gignac]

Liberal Icon.

Progressive Icon*

 

[Rentahamster]

But it is not going to get out of committee

The possibility is higher the most support it has.

it is not going to grab any sort of media attention because the media is focused on the craziness of Trump.

The Democrats have something to do with that too. They could focus their energy more on actual issues.

The democrats would just be wasting their time because it will accomplish nothing. Nothing legislatively or politically.

I disagree. The Democrats are on a losing path, strategically. They are doing more of the same that has left them wiped out. They need to pull their heads out of their asses and start making issues their focus. Bernie Sanders is showing them how, and they still ignore it.

 

[B-Dubs]

Oh god, she's a Modi fan girl. Dammit, I read her wiki page and was liking her positions (except for the visit to Damascus).

She's pretty much the definitive craven politician. She's was one of the most conservative Dem house members, then she jumped on with Bernie when she saw an opportunity to gain popularity. Couple that with the Islamophobia and no one should really like her at all, but they do because no one pays too much attention to the minor details.

 

[Piecake]

The possibility is higher the most support it has.


The Democrats have something to do with that too. They could focus their energy more on actual issues.


I disagree. The Democrats are on a losing path, strategically. They are doing more of the same that has left them wiped out. They need to pull their heads out of their asses and start making issues their focus. Bernie Sanders is showing them how, and they still ignore it.

Yea, they should take the focus off of health care and focus more on actual issues like decriminalizing marijuana *rolls eyes*

 

[RustyNails]

Awful, huh? You don't seem to like her very much.

You seem to like her very much? Why? Does her meeting a bloodthirsty warcriminal and becoming his mouthpiece does not bother you?

I disagree. The Democrats are on a losing path, strategically. They are doing more of the same that has left them wiped out. They need to pull their heads out of their asses and start making issues their focus. Bernie Sanders is showing them how, and they still ignore it.

Hilarious. Democrats are on a losing path. Lets make them take up losing fights some more. Politics is hard.

 

[JustenP88]

HillGAF again shows that patented hypocrisy with their purity test deflections. Always good for an eye roll.

Good on her for doing something to try and move the ball while everyone else is kicking and screaming.

 

[excelsiorlef]

She's pretty much the definitive craven politician. She's was one of the most conservative Dem house members, then she jumped on with Bernie when she saw an opportunity to gain popularity. Couple that with the Islamophobia and no one should really like her at all, but they do because no one pays too much attention to the minor details.

She also has all the issues people hate Clinton for but stronger... there's much stronger evidence of corruption and she's got an actually abhorrent history on gay rights and not just Clinton's same sex marriage accusation.

 

[Aaronrules380]

HillGAF again shows that patented hypocrisy with their purity test deflections. Always good for an eye roll.

Good on her for doing something to try and move the ball while everyone else is kicking and screaming.

All I see are people saying it's a decent bill coming from an awful person. And that regardless nothing will come of it in the current political environment

 

[Rentahamster]

Yea, they should take the focus off of health care and focus more on actual issues like decriminalizing marijuana *rolls eyes*

Did I say they should take the focus off of health care? If anything, they should be holding Trump's words to the fire by quoting his "everyone's going to be insured, we're going to take care of them" lines as much as they can.

You seem to like her very much? Why? Does her meeting a bloodthirsty warcriminal and becoming his mouthpiece does not bother you?

Hilarious. Democrats are on a losing path. Lets make them take up losing fights some more. Politics is hard.

I like most Democratic congresspersons in general.

I don't see her trip there as being much different than this: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/30/w...s-congressman-says-bush-would-mislead-us.html

Democrats lost the presidency, house, senate, and are on track to get stuck with a conservative supreme court. I'd say that's a losing data trend, considering where Democrats were in 2008.

 

[Ekdrm2d1]

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[RustyNails]

HillGAF again shows that patented hypocrisy with their purity test deflections. Always good for an eye roll.

Good on her for doing something to try and move the ball while everyone else is kicking and screaming.

Not wanting an islamophobic nutjob that goes and visits tyrants is part of purity tests?

 

[JustenP88]

All I see are people saying it's a decent bill coming from an awful person. And that regardless nothing will come of it in the current political environment

It's a decent bill from a middle-of-the-road politician that defied her highness. But that's all over, so now I feel the discussion should just be around the bill... but nahhhhh.

Not wanting an islamophobic nutjob that goes and visits tyrants is part of purity tests?

Not wanting? What does that mean? Y'all go on and on and on and on and on about pragmatism but you catch a Democrat with their toe not quite on the line and now you gotta spray that diarrhea all over bills that you'd think Democrats would support. What's the point?

 

[excelsiorlef]

HillGAF again shows that patented hypocrisy with their purity test deflections. Always good for an eye roll.

Good on her for doing something to try and move the ball while everyone else is kicking and screaming.

She's one of the most conservative Reps in the House but comes from one of the most Liberal states... Literally she's the perfect example of what those Justice Democrats should go after.

 

[Aaronrules380]

It's a decent bill from a middle-of-the-road politician that defied her highness. But that's all over, so now I feel the discussion should just be around the bill... but nahhhhh.

Literally nobody here cares about her siding with Bernie over Hilary. Except you apparently

 

[jack_package_200]

I guess not liking a racist is a purity test?

 

[B-Dubs]

It's a decent bill from a middle-of-the-road politician that defied her highness. But that's all over, so now I feel the discussion should just be around the bill... but nahhhhh.

Middle-of-the-road my ass. She's one of the most conservative Democrats from one of the most liberal states. She's helped prop-up a tyrant in Assad and is more than a little Islamophobic. She's the definitive craven politician who changes her stances on issues wildly when she thinks it will benefit her. No one cares that she backed Bernie over Clinton but you.

 

[Piecake]

Did I say they should take the focus off of health care? If anything, they should be holding Trump's words to the fire by quoting his "everyone's going to be insured, we're going to take care of them" lines as much as they can.

But that is the result if you want democrats to start making a big deal about decriminalizing marijuana. It takes a lot of work to create a media narrative and sustain it. Frankly, I doubt it is even possible because it requires the media to go along with you. The result of that is democrats focusing a lot less on health care. That is just simple reality.

You say the democrats learned nothing from the campaign, but it is pretty clear that you didn't learn one of the most important lessons as well.

That is to keep the message simple and keep it only focused on a few topics. Nothing stuck with Trump because it was just way too much while Hilary had emails and Benghazi that the media constantly focused on.

Right now the democrats and the media are focused on Russian ties and health care. We are getting a lot of stories on that to help drive a consistent narrative.

It makes no sense to bring up marijuana because it is an issue that most people care about far less than health care, health care is already an issue, Trump's health care plan takes away people's health care, and the political consequences of health care are the 'same' as the marijuana thing. The difference is that health care is far more effective at delivering what democrats want politically.

Bringing up a new topic will simply confuse the media narrative and take focus away from health care, russia, and what is likely soon to be tax-reform. All those are far more important issues than marijuana that a whole hell of a lot more people care deeply as well

 

[pigeon]

But it is not going to get out of committee, and no matter how hard the democrats push it, it is not going to grab any sort of media attention because the media is focused on the craziness of Trump.

The democrats would just be wasting their time because it will accomplish nothing. Nothing legislatively or politically.

I actually don't really agree with this. It's important for the Democrats to be pushing bills that would be good ideas. No, none of them will pass or even get out of committee, but having them written is healthy for the party. Today's example should make clear what happens to a party that spends years running on opposition without having actual practical policy proposals to pass when they get into power.

It's a decent bill from a middle-of-the-road politician that defied her highness. But that's all over, so now I feel the discussion should just be around the bill... but nahhhhh.

Funny how you assume that everybody who's against Tulsi must be against her because she endorsed Bernie, rather than, because of, you know, the things people posted. Somebody definitely came into this with a preexisting agenda, but I'm not sure it's the person you think it is!

I'm not a fan of Tulsi because she's actually my representative. She is not nearly progressive enough in her policy proposals given the blueness of Hawaii.

 

[Ogodei]

Liberal Icon.

I clicked on this thread just waiting for this post.

 

[Aaronrules380]

It's also funny he brings up the political purity test because he clearly doesn't understand what that means. There's a difference between pointing out that a certain politician is a scumbag and refusing to vote for them when the only other option is someone who is by all measures far worse. If this bill had a chance of passing and failed because people didn't like Gabbard or because they wanted a much more comprehensive marijauna legalization immediately that's a political purity test. But that would require this bill to be even remotely viable in the first place, and it won't be right now regardless.