And Then He Lost Us... And Palin is Bail'n

Two items today...

Ron Paul's popularity has steadily grown over the last few years as his libertarian leanings have inspired many in the small government crowd.  His presidential bid is nothing more than a way to get his message heard by larger audiences. I think everyone knows he can't win, but makes for a good conversation starter on a range of topics. 

Part of the reason he can't win is attributed to his inability to filter his views. Case in point - he announced yesterday that he's teaming up with Representative Barney Frank to introduce a bill to legalize marijuana. Yes, a guy who needs conservatives to buy into his views and was attracting a crowd, just lost all of that progress in one stupid move. 

The first thing conservatives won't like is the promotion of drug use.  Legalization is in fact promotion of use - there's no way around it.  For conservatives who were mulling over becoming a Ron Paul libertarian, this was a red flag.  They now realize that libertarianism isn't for the faint of heart and that there is such a thing as "too much freedom." 

The second offense was teaming up with a guy that conservatives see as a super villain on the hill - Barney Frank.  I think he's second only to Representative Nancy Pelosi on the Republican hate index.  Casual observer of politics, who get most of their information from talk radio, won't be able to comprehend the reasons for such a union.  It didn't matter if they were teaming up to sponsor a bill that would repeal Obamacare - conservatives don't like the idea of working with Frank for any reason. 

Goodbye Ron Paul - it was nice while it lasted.

------------------

The word on the newsprint lined street is that Sarah Palin has quit her cross country bus tour before it reached its halfway point.  The big quest is - why?  I'll tell you why.

Palin hasn't jumped into the presidential primary race because she was expecting to walk in fashionably late and steal the show.  Palin is now realizing that the show may be over by the time she gets there.

Mitt Romney is the clear front-runner and there's already a female Republican in the race making waves (Rep. Michele Bachman).  There's no room, or support, for Palin now.  She failed to learn from Fred Thompson's disastrously late appearance in the 2008 presidential primary.  I truly believe that had Fred Thompson put himself in the race when everyone else got in - he'd be our president at this very moment.  Instead, Thompson waited until the last minute and ran into an array of problems with none being more prevalent than the public's perception that he didn't want to be president all that bad. Palin's traveling circus would have suffered the same fate had she continued the bus tour.

In one of the only smart moves she's made in a while, she pulled back the reigns and is in the process of redefining her role in the upcoming presidential primary.  She will likely be better received as an endorser/fundraiser/cheerleader of one of the candidates in the race now and thus solidifying her role as one of the rings you have to kiss to become a top Republican.  It's not a bad gig if you can stand all the millions of dollars they will pay you to be a personality instead of a politician...

She's by no means going away, but she's surely not running for president now.

Comments

[johnnyfriegas]

I read somewhere that Ron Paul is 75% genius and 25% crazy... Yea, that's about right.

I wonder how much money Palin would raise the day she anounced? I know I would send money. 'course if I ever met my girl Sarah I would act exactly like this:http://youtu.be/TptsP4ryido

[sarah fan]

Do you think Palin bought a house in Arizona in order to run for the senate from Arizona?

[Northern Exposure]

I think Sarah bought a house in Arizona because its fucking cold in Alaska during the winter time and dark all day long. Didn't you ever watch Northern Exposure.

[Mike]

Legalization is in fact promotion of use - there's no way around it.

How silly, Dave. So because something is not illegal, the government is PROMOTING it?

Think about that for a few seconds. The government is promoting alcohol consumption. The government is promoting skydiving. Etc. Etc. Etc.

There are absolutely no good arguments for the continued criminalization of most drugs. The War on (some) Drugs is an abject failure which has created false economies in both the law enforcement/denial of civil liberties/prison complex and for the inner city poor. Not to mention Latin America's travails.

The problem is that people like you, who regularly use legal drugs that are taxed and regulated, can't take the first step toward ending the War on Drugs charade - one that also happens to be helping bankrupt this country.

It's time to view drug usage and addiction as a civil matter and not a criminal one.

BTW, I was thinking about your comment that you drove away traffic by accusing some people of being liars and bigots. Sounds like your hit count went way down and you're whistling past the graveyard. I remember similar excuses after your failed political bid.

[david k]

Mike,

Hit count is up as a matter of fact. The comments have slowed significanlty. Those are two different things. I turn down ad offers almost daily (would you even believe I play on line poker or use bezid?).

Do not assume you know my views on pot based on a post where I lay out the political realities for a guy whp supports legalization. I did not express my opinion on the subject in this piece. Read closely and you'll see that.

Thanks for reading