Do You Believe it's Time Colorado Legalized Marijuana? Tom Tancredo Does!

Guys, I got this from a friend of mine. It is an article so you understand what the position of the third party, (minority party), wants to do to our state. This is for informational purposes only.  Pete

 

Do You Believe it’s Time Colorado Legalized Marijuana? Tom Tancredo Does!

 

Jimmie H. Butler, Colonel, USAF, Retired, Contributing Writer

 

At the 25 September gubernatorial debate sponsored by Action 22 in Colorado Springs, Congressman Tom Tancredo revealed why he might be the darling of some Libertarians and most pot smokers. However his unequivocal stand on legalizing marijuana makes me wonder how any Coloradoan with children to raise would consider voting for Tancredo. Why are the various establishment Republicans who turned their backs on the people’s choice, Dan Maes for governor, willing to link their names and reputations with a proponent of legalizing marijuana in Colorado?

The three-way debate between Democrat John Hickenlooper, Republican Maes, and self-appointed third-party candidate Tancredo started out informative and spiced with controversy. This key exchange started with a rather simple question on what should be done about the flood of marijuana dispensaries rolling over the state since the approval of medical marijuana use in Colorado. I expected answers involving zoning as is currently being wrestled with in Colorado Springs and El Paso County.

Tancredo led off stating that since the war on drugs has been lost, Coloradoans should just go all the way and legalize marijuana and tax it to increase state revenue. In one way this was a typical career politician’s answer similar to what we’ve seen this year from the liberal Democrat governor and legislature in Colorado. Find something new to tax to feed the government’s ever-growing appetite. The implications are much broader, of course, since joining the liberals on this issue puts the lie to Tancredo’s oft proclaimed label of being the true conservative in the governor’s race.

Following Tancredo’s 90 seconds, Maes attacked the concept of just legalizing various vices with the goal of increasing government revenue. He challenged Tancredo on what would be next. Legalizing prostitution, cocaine, heroin, etc.? Maes pointed out the fallacy of thinking the revenue from taxing marijuana would be free money to the state. He predicted the costs of Colorado dealing with the consequences of much wider marijuana use would likely eat up all—and more—of the imagined windfall Tancredo forecasts.

Mayor Hickenlooper started off jokingly warning Maes that such sarcasm likely would reappear in an attack ad suggesting Maes supports legalizing prostitution and drugs. Mayor Hickenlooper made a reasoned argument for medical marijuana in cases where it was uniquely able to treat symptoms such as chronic pain. He cited a council member whose back pain was relieved only by taking small doses of marijuana. Hickenlooper said that every person he’d talked to in law enforcement and social services has told him legalizing marijuana would be a bad idea.

Hickenlooper’s assessment should have convinced Tancredo he was off the grid. What true conservative puts himself on the liberal side of a liberal Democrat position? Nevertheless, Tancredo started off his 30-second rebuttal stating that he, too, had talked to many police officers. They all said that when responding to an incident, it was easier to deal with someone high on pot than someone who was drunk. Okay. Tancredo seemed to think that logic supported his case for legalizing marijuana.

More than a year ago Tancredo stated his position on legalization while speaking to the Lincoln Club of Colorado on 20 May 2009. He said since the war on drugs is lost, it was time to consider legalizing drugs. He spoke of how violence between drug cartels over cocaine smuggling is moving closer to our borders and that the Drug Enforcement Agency says Denver is a distribution hub. So Tancredo’s May 2009 stand adds credence to Maes’s concern that Tancredo’s legalization of marijuana could be just the first step. Would a Governor Tancredo push to keep legalizing more drugs with the politician’s dream of pulling in more tax money—while more lives go down the drain?

In this year of peaceful revolution with millions of Americans standing strong to take America back, I doubt any career politician will be elected on a platform of undercutting our society by legalizing drugs. Tancredo will not become governor by offering to champion such change for Colorado.

In the 3-way debate, Tancredo was obviously the odd man out. So that leaves Colorado’s governor’s race as determined on 10 August. Our choice is between Hickenlooper continuing the wasteful spending, liberal Democrat policies that have hurt all Coloradoans or conservative grassroots businessman Maes leading us back from economic failure. If you’ve been taken in by the gutter-level attacks on Maes by career politician Tancredo, I urge you to attend a debate and get acquainted with Maes. On 25 September I saw Tancredo as somehow diminished on stage beside Maes. I concluded that was because Tancredo had to be silent on the lies his campaign ads push because Maes was there to refute all the misleading statements Tancredo has built his ill-fated campaign upon.

 

Jimmie H Butler is a retired USAF veteran who flew 240 combat missions in Cessnas, mostly over the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Laos. He is the author of A Certain Brotherhood and two technothrillers.

 

 

Suggested pull quote: Hickenlooper’s assessment should have convinced Tancredo he was off the grid.