Rand is not your man when it comes to legalizing pot
Or that is what he told a cabal conclave prayer meetin' convention of Holy Christ You Want To Do What? Party this week.
He informed the Holy Rollers Who Must Be Asskissed that them druggies can expect a slightly kindler/gentler oppression when it comes to things like..oh...God's herb
“Straight libertarianism has nothing Christian about it,” said pastor Brad Sherman of the Solid Rock Christian Church in Coralville, Iowa, a participant in the Israel trip. “I know a lot of people attribute him to be a libertarian. My impression so far is that he’s not as libertarian as possibly his father was, but I’d like to explore that more.”
Sherman got that chance Friday when he joined other clergy members at the Cedar Rapids lunch to pose pointed questions to Paul. He said he came away liking what he heard. “He made it very clear that he does not support legalization of drugs like marijuana and that he supports traditional marriage,” Sherman said.
So all you (us) Paulista's that thought the bud would not fall far from the plant, are farting smoke at this point. But this post is not about politicians who we think are going to End the War on Some Drugs. This post is about solutions. It is about the Long Ride.
Or rather, the face of the solution.
This is Howard Wooldridge. He is a former police detective in Michigan. He is a certified Long Rider. Big ass belt buckle n shit.
When not riding his bicycle on an interrupted coast to coast awareness program (his wife was diagnosed with an illness that required his full attention), or riding his horse Misty from Maryland to the West coast while wearing a shirt at CPAC that says COPS SAY LEGALIZE POT, ASK ME WHY he is lobbying Congress for the legalization of cannabis.
I brought Howard into the drug law reform movement in 2000, and since then he has been a full time lobbyist first in Texas, then at Capitol Hill.
He is also the only full time citizen lobbyist in Congress. Each session, he speaks to all 525 member's offices, often directly to the congresscritters themselves. He is well known for his Stetson and shirt.
Howard is a regular at the Grover Norquist luncheons because arguing the fiscal approach with Republicans seemed the best approach for them. He didn't buy his way into these doors, he just kept showing up until Grover, Congressional aids and members made a personal connection. And that is how citizens lobby, folks. No agenda other than solutions and factual support when they are ready to come out of the closet.
Although most politico's do not publicly agree with his positions, everyone up on The Hill thinks he is refreshing; he is the only lobbyist who does not ask for money, he offers ways to save money. He is now the 'fact check' and go to guy for the issue.
And he did this without political connections or influence buying tactics. He simply kept coming back year after year. Aides became staff. Staff became Senior Staff. Now he is considered the Congress' unbiased (as in not influenced by a client) expert on drug policy.
I spoke to Howard Saturday. He was riding an hour north of here so we met and broke bread at a country BBQ joint known to be a GOP hangout. He got a lot of glances and fidgets from the GOP blue hairs, and a question from one of the staff. We discussed his frustration at the lack of a lobby group tackling this issue.
For now he is is the Lone Rider. His motivation is principle, not a salary. In a nod to the Jerry Lewis axiom "once the fundraising gets organized, the disease is never cured.", LEAP does not have a lobby group. NORML does not have a lobby presence, which is the reason for their existence. Neither does MPP. None of them have interest in funding a grass roots lobbying team, even though Howard can lead them through the wilderness because..you know..overhead, salaries and shit. What common folk like Howard who are motivated to be activists are focused on the state level.
But this post is not about Howard any more than Rand Paul. It is about us. It gives me hope we can take back government. We need to be Long Riders.
He feels confident his efforts can get a bill on the floor for a vote on marijuana by 2017. I feel like if there was a citizen lobby group of self-sufficient former law enforcement, law student interns (who garner lobbying experience and maybe a future job on the Hill), and a few moms, this could be pushed up further. Report cards issued, primaries suddenly get expensive, hard questions asked in public. They will come around once one or more of them come out of the closet (Howard's reference to closeted supporters, which are almost majority).
Pie in the sky: A young celeb + one from each state would have some media legs. Yea right. I'll settle for 5-6 people at this point.
Funding through the usual internet schemes. Total grass roots, etc. No marches, no emails, no bleary eyed geezers ranting at Town Halls. Organized, on message and consistent; it should work, in theory.
Politicians are followers, not leaders. We should lead Congress on this issue instead of hand wringing. How many average heeled folk does it take politely beating on their doors before they give up and reschedule cannabis?
How many citizen federal lobbyists do you think it would take to get this issue moved up 24 months? Oh and fuck Rand Paul.
He informed the Holy Rollers Who Must Be Asskissed that them druggies can expect a slightly kindler/gentler oppression when it comes to things like..oh...God's herb
“Straight libertarianism has nothing Christian about it,” said pastor Brad Sherman of the Solid Rock Christian Church in Coralville, Iowa, a participant in the Israel trip. “I know a lot of people attribute him to be a libertarian. My impression so far is that he’s not as libertarian as possibly his father was, but I’d like to explore that more.”
Sherman got that chance Friday when he joined other clergy members at the Cedar Rapids lunch to pose pointed questions to Paul. He said he came away liking what he heard. “He made it very clear that he does not support legalization of drugs like marijuana and that he supports traditional marriage,” Sherman said.
So all you (us) Paulista's that thought the bud would not fall far from the plant, are farting smoke at this point. But this post is not about politicians who we think are going to End the War on Some Drugs. This post is about solutions. It is about the Long Ride.
Or rather, the face of the solution.
This is Howard Wooldridge. He is a former police detective in Michigan. He is a certified Long Rider. Big ass belt buckle n shit.
When not riding his bicycle on an interrupted coast to coast awareness program (his wife was diagnosed with an illness that required his full attention), or riding his horse Misty from Maryland to the West coast while wearing a shirt at CPAC that says COPS SAY LEGALIZE POT, ASK ME WHY he is lobbying Congress for the legalization of cannabis.
I brought Howard into the drug law reform movement in 2000, and since then he has been a full time lobbyist first in Texas, then at Capitol Hill.
He is also the only full time citizen lobbyist in Congress. Each session, he speaks to all 525 member's offices, often directly to the congresscritters themselves. He is well known for his Stetson and shirt.
Howard is a regular at the Grover Norquist luncheons because arguing the fiscal approach with Republicans seemed the best approach for them. He didn't buy his way into these doors, he just kept showing up until Grover, Congressional aids and members made a personal connection. And that is how citizens lobby, folks. No agenda other than solutions and factual support when they are ready to come out of the closet.
Although most politico's do not publicly agree with his positions, everyone up on The Hill thinks he is refreshing; he is the only lobbyist who does not ask for money, he offers ways to save money. He is now the 'fact check' and go to guy for the issue.
And he did this without political connections or influence buying tactics. He simply kept coming back year after year. Aides became staff. Staff became Senior Staff. Now he is considered the Congress' unbiased (as in not influenced by a client) expert on drug policy.
I spoke to Howard Saturday. He was riding an hour north of here so we met and broke bread at a country BBQ joint known to be a GOP hangout. He got a lot of glances and fidgets from the GOP blue hairs, and a question from one of the staff. We discussed his frustration at the lack of a lobby group tackling this issue.
For now he is is the Lone Rider. His motivation is principle, not a salary. In a nod to the Jerry Lewis axiom "once the fundraising gets organized, the disease is never cured.", LEAP does not have a lobby group. NORML does not have a lobby presence, which is the reason for their existence. Neither does MPP. None of them have interest in funding a grass roots lobbying team, even though Howard can lead them through the wilderness because..you know..overhead, salaries and shit. What common folk like Howard who are motivated to be activists are focused on the state level.
But this post is not about Howard any more than Rand Paul. It is about us. It gives me hope we can take back government. We need to be Long Riders.
He feels confident his efforts can get a bill on the floor for a vote on marijuana by 2017. I feel like if there was a citizen lobby group of self-sufficient former law enforcement, law student interns (who garner lobbying experience and maybe a future job on the Hill), and a few moms, this could be pushed up further. Report cards issued, primaries suddenly get expensive, hard questions asked in public. They will come around once one or more of them come out of the closet (Howard's reference to closeted supporters, which are almost majority).
Pie in the sky: A young celeb + one from each state would have some media legs. Yea right. I'll settle for 5-6 people at this point.
Funding through the usual internet schemes. Total grass roots, etc. No marches, no emails, no bleary eyed geezers ranting at Town Halls. Organized, on message and consistent; it should work, in theory.
Politicians are followers, not leaders. We should lead Congress on this issue instead of hand wringing. How many average heeled folk does it take politely beating on their doors before they give up and reschedule cannabis?
How many citizen federal lobbyists do you think it would take to get this issue moved up 24 months? Oh and fuck Rand Paul.