Two legislative committees last night passed a bill that would make possession of less than an ounce of marijuana punishable by a ticket rather than potential jail time. The bills now head the floors of the Senate and the House. Decriminalization of marijuana makes a lot of sense as it would save taxpayers money and resources without any real downsides.
Rep. Jon Brien, a conservative Democrat from Woonsocket who is also a member of ALEC’s board of directors, has a letter to the editor about how the conservative group has been treated in the media as of late. He writes, “The attacks on the American Legislative Exchange Council have grown louder over the past few months, and even more so over the past few weeks. The real reason ALEC is under attack is because liberal front groups are attempting to completely silence our organization. This was never about the way we operate or a few pieces of legislation. It’s about the fact that they vehemently disagree with our free-market, limited-government principles.”
We applaud Republican congressional candidate Brendan Doherty’s decision not to sign Grover Norquist’s anti-tax pledge but suspect it has more to do with running for office in generally-liberal Rhode Island than it does with his ideas on how to fund government.
Telling headline of the day: “Over 50% of Dropouts Come From Just 12 RI Schools”
Equally telling lede: “The Providence schools are not meeting the needs of its English-language learners, even though they make up 15 percent of the district’s 22,000 students.”
Why isn’t the national media covering Florida’s attempts to purge registered voters from its books?
Why doesn’t Brien just come out of the closet and switch party affiliations? He’s so out of touch with his constituents’ needs and beliefs it isn’t funny.
During a canvass in his district yesterday, not a single person approached claimed they made more than $250K/year and all thought reinstating the tax rate on the rich to where it was in 2006 was a great way to raise revenue that could in turn then be used to help distressed communities like Woonsocket.
When was the last time Rep. Brien held a community forum not in an elderly high-rise where he could control the conversation? He needs to get out in the community and start answering the tough questions; and more importantly, someone in his district should come forward and run as a real Democrat, not as a Republican placing a (D) beside his name to confuse voters.
You have to give Brien a lot of credit; he is not embarrassed to publicly identify himself as a low wage corporate sell-out. Also, he did a pretty good job of copying all the words from the Koch Brothers talking points memo and inserting them into his letter. And finally I have to admit, he is an expert about the “ugliest facet of American politics”.
To your point Thom, the RI Democratic Party brand is completely soiled, probably more so than any where else in the nation. Look at the bosses and shot callers here, G. Gordon Fox, Teresa P-Weed, Gina Romniando, Anthony (Jobs) Gemma, etc etc. These clowns make the Nixon administration look like a pack of raging Trotskyites.
Sure, the residents of Woonsocket would be better served by legitimate representation in the General Assembly but Brien and Bald-Hunt are just minor front men and really insignificant in the overall picture. Real change will come only when the bosses at the top are replaced by people with intelligence, integrity, honesty and courage and who are unaffiliated with either existing political party.
I last saw Doc at the Stadium Theater, I sure am going to miss him.