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Cory Booker’s Libertarian Case Against the Drug War
Townhall.com ^ | July 18, 2012 | Daniel J. Mitchell

Posted on 07/18/2012 10:17:07 AM PDT by Kaslin

I’ve already confessed to man-crushes on Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Ron Johnson, and (or course) the Gipper, but it’s time for me to cross partisan and racial boundaries and announce my man-crush on Cory Booker.

From the Huffington Post, here’s what the Newark Mayor had to say about the failed War on Drugs.

Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker took to Reddit Sunday to criticize the war on drugs, saying it was ineffective and “represents big overgrown government at its worst.” “The so-called War on Drugs has not succeeded in making significant reductions in drug use, drug arrests or violence,” the Democrat wrote during the Reddit “ask me anything” chat. “We are pouring huge amounts of our public resources into this current effort that are bleeding our public treasury and unnecessarily undermining human potential.” Booker then called drug arrests a “game.” “My police in Newark are involved in an almost ridiculous game of arresting the same people over and over again and when you talk to these men they have little belief that there is help or hope for them to break out of this cycle,” he wrote.

At the risk of stating the obvious, this doesn’t mean that anyone should use drugs. I’ve led a very boring life, for instance, and have never tried any illegal drugs.

But Mayor Booker is right. Like Ron Paul, Pat Robertson, Richard Branson, and Gary Johnson, he’s figured out that the Drug War is mostly a vehicle to expand the size and power of government. It’s why we have fascist asset forfeiture laws and costly money laundering laws.

Oh, and by the way, the Drug War has totally failed in stopping illegal drug use. Though it has enriched organized crime, so big government isn’t the only beneficiary.

To learn more about the failed War on Drugs, I’d recommend this video and this video. But mostly, I suggest you read these two horrific stories.

P.S. As you can see from this post, there actually are political jokes about money laundering laws. I haven’t run across any about the Drug War, but I’ll be sure to post them if they show up in my inbox.

P.P.S. Here’s a very funny video featuring Cory Booker and Chris Christie. Kudos to both of them for having senses of humor.

A Cartoon Showing the Logic (or lack thereof) of Keynesian Economics

I’ve run across very few good cartoons about Keynesian economics. If my aging memory is correct, I’ve only posted two of them.

But at least they’re both very good. We have one involving Obama, sharks, and a lifeboat, and another one involving an overburdened jockey.

Now we have a third cartoon to add to the collection.

To provide a bit of additional background, the cartoon is channeling Bastiat’s broken-window insight that make-work projects don’t create prosperity, as explained in this short video narrated by Tom Palmer.

I make similar points in this post mocking Krugman’s wish for an alien invasion and this post explaining why Obama’s green energy programs lead to net job destruction.

P.S. This Wizard of Id parody is the best cartoon about economics, but it teaches about labor markets rather than Keynesianism.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial; US: New Jersey
KEYWORDS: bastiat; corybooker; drugs; drugwar; liberaltarians; libertarians; medicalmarijuana; neverlivedinnewark; newark; newjersey; rinos; warondrugs; wod; wodlist; wosd
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1 posted on 07/18/2012 10:17:09 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

WTH, “Man Crush”??? This mentality is why dipshitte politicians get away with murder.


2 posted on 07/18/2012 10:42:48 AM PDT by iopscusa (El Vaquero. (SC Lowcountry Cowboy))
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To: iopscusa

In before the first drug warrior claiming conservatism means supporting big government programs to make people act in accordance with their beliefs, no matter how expensive, how much the para-military thugs are a danger to democracy, no matter how much the Constitution is destroyed, and no matter how fruitless it is to attempt to protect idiots from themselves.

Also, in before the tear-filled post about how drugs killed some random love one, despite the illogic in supporting a drug war that clearly failed to protect said idiot loved one against him or herself.

And, in pre-rebuttal, no I don’t smoke pot and never have, and think those who do are idiots. I just don’t want to spend my tax money in a pointless attempt to keep them from doing drugs.


3 posted on 07/18/2012 10:57:06 AM PDT by TheThirdRuffian (I will never vote for Romney. Ever.)
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To: TheThirdRuffian

Society might survive legal marijuana. But legal hard drugs? Look at the societies that tolerated them: America in the 19th century, pre-communist China, Iran until the late 1950s. All had HUGE addict populations - the Iranians still do.

The drug war is a necessary evil. I wish it wasn’t, but it is.


4 posted on 07/18/2012 11:08:07 AM PDT by I Shall Endure
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To: Kaslin

The sick mind and worldview of John Maynard Keynes (Worldview matters): He was a sodomite who constantly engaged in homosexual orgies where little boys were used. Yes—he was a well-known pederast—everyone knew it. In some instances, these sodomites castrated the boys (in foreign countries where they sold their boys because of the poverty). That is the mind of a person who embraced Marxist economics and forced it into England and America with the help of socialists/progressives who were Fabian Socialists to destroy Western Civilization.

Anyone who practices Keynesian economics has the same worldview as Keynes—probably a big homosexual (sodomy) “rights” person—a Godless one and is working for an Ameritopia. They are EVIL.

Ideas matter.

Laws should NEVER promote EVIL behavior—they no longer are Just Law. Morality is essential to “Just Law” since Justice is the first and most important Virtue for freedom and equality.

The Holmesian irrational idea that morality and law have to be separated is a lie (and Marxist). All Just Law is about promoting a Virtuous people-—which is needed (Aristotle, Cicero, Founders) for a free Republic. Without Virtue, there can only be slavery. With allowing government to promote evil behavior—like drug use for children which destroys their brain and emotional health—it destroys a rational populace—and creates an evil dependency on government.

Drug use destroys the brain, especially in children. Legalizing murder would be equivalent to legalizing the destruction of the brain-—the death of logic and Reason and a responsible and moral populace. Again—without morality—there is no Freedom. People using drugs are immoral and irresponsible and costly to civil society. They drain the wealth of a country and destroy the emotional health of any children they are supposed to raise to be responsible citizens-—what Confucius said is the most important reason for existence of man. They shirk their prime responsibility—Duty—which is the essential part of citizenship in a civil society and reason for any government.

Duty (being responsible) is the necessary ingredient of citizenship and freedom from dependency. Drug users cheat, lie, steal and generally have no qualms about treating others in inhumane, unjust ways. They use others for their own selfish “needs” which are addictive. We do not want to ever encourage such evil, slavish behavior.

Besides—drug use endangers children (many have died from neglect and accidents because of druggie parents), not counting the deaths caused by being on drugs of oneself and others. The emotional damage done to children because of neglect of “druggie” selfish parents is seen in prison costs and gang activities. The medical costs are costly also. Parents HAVE to teach children to be moral......doing drugs models the opposite and teaches irresponsibility and Keynesian morality. (see first paragraph).


5 posted on 07/18/2012 11:14:27 AM PDT by savagesusie (Right Reason According to Nature = Just Law)
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To: savagesusie
We do not want to ever encourage such evil, slavish behavior

Then why in the world do we ensure that drugs will be so expensive that the habituated must necessarily resort to crime?

Then why in the world do we ensure that there will always be a profit in the trade?

Then why in the world do we ensure that the habituated will engage in the trade and push drugs to finance their expensive addiction thus encouraging such evil, slavish behavior?


6 posted on 07/18/2012 11:27:14 AM PDT by nathanbedford ("Attack, repeat, attack!" Bull Halsey)
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To: Kaslin

But Mayor Booker is right. Like Ron Paul, Pat Robertson, Richard Branson, and Gary Johnson, he’s figured out that the Drug War is mostly a vehicle to expand the size and power of government. It’s why we have fascist asset forfeiture laws and costly money laundering laws.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Total BS. All anyone needs to know about the WOD is just what kind of kooks oppose it.

There used to be a large contingent of liberal FReepers who supported legalizing dope. But I think they’ve all been zotted. Or they now know better to open their mouth about it.


7 posted on 07/18/2012 11:43:51 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd (NO LIBS. This Means Liberals and (L)libertarians! Same Thing. NO LIBS!!)
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To: Responsibility2nd
Total BS. All anyone needs to know about the WOD is just what kind of kooks oppose it.

You don't need to know about the New Deal Commerce Clause, and the "substantial effects" doctrine?

I think I'll step right up and take exception to that claim.

8 posted on 07/18/2012 11:50:28 AM PDT by tacticalogic ("Oh, bother!" said Pooh, as he chambered his last round.)
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To: I Shall Endure
What is your source for claiming that 19th century America had a huge addict population?

How do you justify support for trampling the Tenth Amendment by use of the expansive Commerce Clause?

9 posted on 07/18/2012 11:56:07 AM PDT by Ken H
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To: nathanbedford

Because, since Oliver Wendell Holmes, we no longer have Justice—Rule of Law.

We have arbitrary (unjust) laws that are irrational.

We also have a severely corrupt “Justice” department. In an ideal society—we would have Justice which would give help to addicts—through programs which free them from addictions—BUT THE BETTER SOLUTION—is EDUCATION by moral parents doing their DUTY so that the addictions will never happen. Emotionally healthy parents raise emotionally healthy children who are independent and moral and fulfill all their duties.

We have allowed media and schools to promote lies and brainwash children and remove Virtue from curricula. That happened with Dewey. You need no “drug laws” with moral people—None. That is why the Founders stated that Virtue was NEEDED for a free Republic-—that idea was stated as far back as the Ancient Greeks. Marxists know to destroy civil society—you destroy Virtue—then society collapses. That is the plan stated by Cultural Marxists to bring down the US. Homosexual, Feminists, Keynesians, are all communist fronts to destroy our institutions to corrupt the people and destroy morality. When you destroy the natural family—you destroy the emotional development of the children which creates all sorts of dysfunctional behaviors and addictions.

Instill Virtue and you have no drug problem-—you get a true utopia, something that is non-existent without Virtue.

We have usurped parental authority and destroyed marriage so that parents neglect the education of their own offspring and we allow Marxist public schools to destroy Virtue (BK Eakman).

We have such an unconstitutional government involved in “education” of our children (Centralized Education creates slaves of the State (JS Mill) that there can only be a promotion of evil and unjust law—which we have now which is destroying our civil liberties and the Constitution.

You want no drug laws-—well, fine—you won’t need them, if we had “Just Law” like at our Founding== which only promoted Virtue in all our Institutions-—which gets government OUT of the welfare system (so druggies aren’t enabled to do drugs)—the school system—the parenting system—brainwashing our children, etc.

You can’t have a Socialist system like we have now promoting drug use to our children-—which is what legalization does. It is why alcohol use is so prevalent in our youth. That will just quickly collapse the society (not that that isn’t going to happen anyway if we don’t ditch the socialism).

We have allowed media to glorify all sorts of immoral behavior and normalize it. There has to be Truth in media-—ha ha —that right there is the Marxist means of destruction......our press has been controlled for a century by the Marxist/Soros type—who form our “perceptions” that drug use is cool and groovy and “fun” when it destroys people and all their important relationships and makes people slaves. (Just the type of people Marxists want Americans to be).


10 posted on 07/18/2012 12:10:10 PM PDT by savagesusie (Right Reason According to Nature = Just Law)
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To: I Shall Endure
To the extent that drugs kill, they also put an end to the problem. If you don't like that scenario, then we need to recognize addiction as a medical problem and look for treatments. The addictive personality will abuse anything, including food, so banning what addicts use does not fix the problem; it just feeds the cartelistas. Such people can be addicted to behaviors, like gambling. Governmental suppression of these is even less likely to succeed.
11 posted on 07/18/2012 12:41:35 PM PDT by BlazingArizona
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To: Responsibility2nd

The government must be correct in stating that anyone talking about the constitution or rights just might be a dangerous kook. /s


12 posted on 07/18/2012 12:43:05 PM PDT by KEVLAR
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To: Kaslin
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I’ve...never tried any illegal drugs.
You could drive an 18 wheeler through that huge hole in the wall! Nobody has ever tried any "illegal drug".
That's because there is no such thing as an "illegal drug", there are only controlled substances and actions taken with those controlled substances are what are illegal.

Simply consider the charges filed...
Manufacture of a controlled substance.
Possession of a controlled substance.
Distribution of a controlled substance.

Not one word about an "illegal drug".
What a facade and charade.

13 posted on 07/18/2012 1:11:25 PM PDT by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty, and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
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To: savagesusie
promoting drug use to our children-—which is what legalization does.

Nonsense. It's legal to insult one's spouse - does that mean it's "promoted"?

14 posted on 07/18/2012 1:25:16 PM PDT by JustSayNoToNannies (A free society's default policy: it's none of government's business.)
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To: savagesusie
Emotionally healthy parents raise emotionally healthy children who are independent and moral and fulfill all their duties.
What, exactly, do you consider the "duties" of these children to be?
15 posted on 07/18/2012 1:29:06 PM PDT by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty, and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
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To: JustSayNoToNannies
It's legal to insult one's spouse - does that mean it's "promoted"?

LOL
"No, honey, your enormous girth makes you look fat, not the dress."

Is that truth or insult?

16 posted on 07/18/2012 1:33:39 PM PDT by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty, and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
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To: Responsibility2nd
There used to be a large contingent of liberal FReepers who supported legalizing dope.

Now it's just us true conservatives supporting legalized dope - against the unchanging bleatings of the nanny-statists.

17 posted on 07/18/2012 1:36:50 PM PDT by JustSayNoToNannies (A free society's default policy: it's none of government's business.)
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To: savagesusie
Drug use destroys the brain, especially in children. [...] People using drugs are immoral and irresponsible and costly to civil society. They drain the wealth of a country and destroy the emotional health of any children they are supposed to raise [...] Drug users cheat, lie, steal and generally have no qualms about treating others in inhumane, unjust ways. [...] drug use endangers children (many have died from neglect and accidents because of druggie parents), not counting the deaths caused by being on drugs of oneself and others. [...] The medical costs are costly also.

Is there any evidence that these claims are any less true of the legal drug alcohol? Should we recriminalizat that drug?

18 posted on 07/18/2012 1:43:06 PM PDT by JustSayNoToNannies (A free society's default policy: it's none of government's business.)
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To: savagesusie
"recriminalizat" -> recriminalize
19 posted on 07/18/2012 1:43:57 PM PDT by JustSayNoToNannies (A free society's default policy: it's none of government's business.)
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To: JustSayNoToNannies

That assumes there is truth there to begin with.


20 posted on 07/18/2012 1:47:41 PM PDT by KEVLAR
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