cannabisnews.com: The Immoral Majority The Immoral Majority Posted by CN Staff on October 31, 2006 at 06:13:41 PT By John Tierney Source: New York Times New York -- As usual, Republicans are hoping that righteous voters will come through for them on Election Day. But this year looks like the revenge of the sinners. The sinners aren't easy to count, since they don't spend a lot of time doing grass-roots politicking. There is no Washington lobby for the Coalition of the Damned. They don't like to confess their urges to pollsters. But there are enough of them, particularly in places where Republicans are struggling, to cast doubt on the party's long-standing strategy. Why did Republicans assume there was a Moral Majority? Where in the Bible does it say that the virtuous outnumber the wicked? When you define wickedness the way Republicans do, the numbers are daunting. One of the G.O.P. Congress's few achievements this year was a law to crack down on Internet gambling, an industry that counted eight million American customers last year -- about four times the membership of the Christian Coalition. The new law hasn't stopped the online gamblers from betting, but it will give them second thoughts about voting Republican. The Republican war on marijuana -- the chief priority of the current drug czar -- isn't playing any better in the heartland. More than 40 percent of people over the age of 12 have tried marijuana, and more than three-quarters of Americans support legalizing it for medical purposes. The White House and the Justice Department have had little luck in their attempts to stop states from legalizing medical marijuana, but they have succeeded in alienating voters. These federal intrusions are especially scorned by independent voters in the Western states where Republicans have been losing ground, like Colorado, Nevada, Arizona and Montana. Western Democrats have been siphoning off libertarian voters by moderating their liberal views on issues like gun control, but Republicans have been driving libertarians away with their wars on vice and their jeremiads against gay marriage (and their attempt to regulate that from Washington, too). Libertarian voters tend to get ignored by political strategists because they're not easy to categorize or organize. They don't congregate in churches or union halls; they don't unite to push political agendas. Many don't even call themselves libertarians, although they qualify because of their social liberalism and economic conservatism: they want the government out of their bedrooms as well as their wallets. They distrust moral busybodies of both parties, and they may well be the most important bloc of swing voters this election, as David Boaz and David Kirby conclude in a new study for the Cato Institute. Analyzing a variety of voter surveys, they estimate that libertarians make up about 15 percent of voters -- a bloc roughly comparable in size to liberals and to conservative Christians, and far bigger than blocs like Nascar dads or soccer moms. They're especially prevalent in the West, where half a dozen states have legalized medical marijuana. When Californians approved one of the first medical marijuana laws, in 1996, drug warriors were so convinced it would lead to a catastrophic spike in illegal use by teenagers that they sponsored a study to document the damage. But there was no catastrophe: after the law, marijuana use by teenagers actually declined in California. In the decade since, as the Marijuana Policy Project documented in a recent study, popular support for legalized medical marijuana has increased in California and in virtually every other state with a similar law. Last year it was favored by 78 percent of respondents in a Gallup poll. Yet these realities still haven't registered with Republicans in Washington. This year the White House drug czar, John Walters, and his minions have been out campaigning in Nevada, Colorado and South Dakota, which have marijuana initiatives on the ballot. The drug warriors are still sounding the discredited alarms about youths turning into potheads. Their fervor's not surprising -- they may even believe their own hype. What's surprising is the political stupidity of the meddling. Westerners, no matter what they think of marijuana, don't appreciate sermons from federal officials on how to vote. In 2002, when the White House campaigned against another marijuana ballot initiative in Nevada, the state's attorney general said it was "disturbing" to see the federal interference in a state election. This year, with Republicans in so much trouble in the West, the missionaries from Washington aren't doing them any favors. They need every sinner's vote they can get. Source: New York Times (NY)Author: John TierneyPublished: October 31, 2006Copyright: 2006 The New York Times CompanyContact: letters nytimes.comWebsite: http://www.nytimes.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Safer Coloradohttp://www.safercolorado.org/Regulate and Control Marijuanahttp://www.regulatemarijuana.org/No Logical Reason To Punish Adults for Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22312.shtml Nevadans To Vote on Legalizing Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22294.shtmlMr. Walters Goes To Nevada http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22284.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #12 posted by The GCW on October 31, 2006 at 18:43:32 PT Remember the old bumper sticker... THE MORAL MAJORITY IS NEITHER. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by FoM on October 31, 2006 at 17:30:23 PT Whig I'll remove the extra post and thank you. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by whig on October 31, 2006 at 17:29:24 PT double post don't know how that happened [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by whig on October 31, 2006 at 17:29:04 PT FoM I haven't said why things are the way they are, that's what it seems to me you did. But I will drop it there. I have my opinions and you have yours. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by FoM on October 31, 2006 at 17:26:42 PT Whig I don't think we need to know why things are the way they are. Most people have their minds made up and it's best and polite not to stir up people during these very intense times. Your opinion is only your opinion and we all have our own opinions and will vote accordingly. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by whig on October 31, 2006 at 15:47:34 PT FoM I'm sure I have a lot to say about the subject but I'm afraid to say anything because I don't want to offend. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on October 31, 2006 at 15:17:11 PT Mayan I was told that we have two parties because after 8 years everyone is fed up with the party in power and they flip to the other party and that keeps the country balancing itself. That's what my Father told me when I was young and it still makes sense to me to this day. There wasn't any political discussions that I can recall except that. My dad was a Page in Washington for a while so he saw how it worked. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by mayan on October 31, 2006 at 15:04:01 PT It's Obvious To All The neo-cons have no monopoly on morality. It's also clear that they've only been posturing all these years. The big question is, will Americans continue to alternate back and forth between republicans and democrats? Look where the corporate duopoly has got us. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by global_warming on October 31, 2006 at 14:31:03 PT Maybe I am a Libertarian I can understand the statement "because of their social liberalism and economic conservatism: they want the government out of their bedrooms as well as their wallets."You can count me in that number when November comes along."YES" on A44 and Q7 and Measure K and every good chance to change the system that has failed all of us. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by whig on October 31, 2006 at 08:31:47 PT FoM Where does the Bible say thou shalt not use cannabis?Oh, right, that's not one of the commandments. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 31, 2006 at 06:48:32 PT Sinners or Saints? I think that the Republicans have twisted moralitiy to mean what they think sin is. One thing that is true is that sex, drugs and rock and roll seem to be how the Republicans measure morality. Caring for those less fortunate is being moral and they sure don't care about much of anything but how much money they don't want spent on those less fortunate in America. PS: Killing innocent people and putting people in prison for being different is ok with them and yet the Bible says thou shall not kill and we should visit those in prison. Where is their moral argument on those issues? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment