The beverage 'institute' (is that a place to learn how to imbibe?) is obviously biased, but his points are still valid.
The MADD crowd are formidable because they are generally white suburbanites (i.e., neighbors of many politicians), have plenty of time and independent money to spend on the cause, and (unfortunately) they have a flood of unending emotion spurring them on.
For the responsible drinker, it's a bad cocktail when you combine MADD with lawmakers and law enforcement types who like nothing so much as a 'defenseless' target (i.e., one who won't fight back). So, we end up at the inevitable conclusion of the legislation-and-enforcement fever of the 80s and 90s. Roadblocks for any purpose (DUI, 'safety,' seatbelts) are the most shocking example of abuse operating under the guise of enforcement.
Ask any 'normal' person who's had their first DUI - the financial costs (fines, legal, insurance) and the ordeal of court dates, treatment weekends and trying to keep/obtain work driving privileges. For better or worse, real jail time is a rarity but the plot is revealed quickly: a DUI cottage industry has grown. Locking offenders up costs money - fining them earns it. Unfortunately, we can read frequent stories about the guy charged with a 19th or 20th DUI offense. They are often destitute and have long had their licenses suspended or revoked. Still, they filter through the system time and again since they aren't a revenue producer. Why aren't they off the streets? Could it be because the roadblock was set up on a nice 4-lane boulevard in the suburbs and not by the railroad tracks next to the coke plant?
And no, I haven't had a DUI.
"For better or worse, real jail time is a rarity but the plot is revealed quickly: a DUI cottage industry has grown. Locking offenders up costs money - fining them earns it."
You nailed it!
MADD is out of control.
Just like any other do-gooder, busy-body organization, they gained power with money and are now pushing for prohibition. They've realized that they stand to lose their clout if people are actually responsible drinkers.