George Bush, Jr.: Did He
Or Didn't He?
George Bush Jr.'s refusal to confirm or deny
rumors that he once used cocaine has made
for some fascinating political spectacles.
For one thing, it's amusing to see confirmed
"lock 'em up and throw away the key" Drug
Warriors suddenly insisting that drug use is a
private matter - at least, if you're the
millionaire son of an ex-US president.
Among the new converts to this way of
thinking: Elizabeth Dole, who has made
alleged laxness by the Clinton
Administration in fighting the Drug War a
central part of her campaign for president,
but who says that George W's prior drug
use is a "personal" matter; Senator John
McCain (R-AZ), who said people deserve
"privacy" on the issue; and even Drug Czar
Barry McCaffrey, who says the media
should stop "the game of 'gotcha'" (of
course, McCaffrey won't stop playing
"gotcha" with the hundreds of thousands of
peaceful users his Drug War arrests every
year).
In fact, notes the Libertarian Party in a news
release on the subject, "...the only
Republican who appears to disagree with
George W. Bush's claim that drug use
should be a private issue is...George W.
Bush. As Texas governor, Bush signed a
law that toughened penalties for people
convicted of possessing less than a gram of
cocaine."
Which leads Libertarian Party national
director Steve Dasbach to make this simple
proposal: Before politicians are allowed to
vote on any Drug War legislation, they
should agree to be subjected to the same
criminal penalties they would impose on
others.
"It's quite simple," Dasbach says. "If Bush
genuinely believes that people who use
cocaine belong in prison -- and if he has
personally used cocaine -- he should go to
prison.
"Yes, our prisons are overcrowded because
of the 1.5 million people arrested on drug
charges every year...but there's always
room for one more hypocritical politician
who believes that what's good enough for
presidential candidates isn't good enough for
ordinary Americans."
(Source: Libertarian Party media release /
MSNBC) |
