141–150 of 194 posts
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It’s almost like the US is a representational republic, not a democracy.
That's a clever turn of a phrase, but doesn't justify your position in any meaningful way. Can you tell me why it makes sense for so few people to dominate the wills of so many?
The fact that this won't sail through congress in a week (it'll never even come up for a vote in the senate) really illustrates how out of touch legislators are with voters. If there was a nationwide referendum on legalizing (not just decriminalizing) it would pass in a landslide today. Instead, congress will dither on this issue for probably the next five years at minimum. I realize it's more complicated than giving…
> The fact that this won't sail through congress in a week (it'll never even come up for a vote in the senate) really illustrates how out of touch legislators are with voters. There is a single person blocking this vote. I'd say it's rather unfair to characterize legislators in general as being out of touch when 228 members of Congress voted in favor of the bill. If fact, if you include both chambers of Congress, mor…
I thought it went without saying which specific party in the legislative branch is out of touch with the voters, but yes, this is a specific party who is on the wrong side of history, as usual.
Passing this bill in the house now, when the control of the Senate hangs on an upcoming election, was a brilliant move.
> not expected to advance further as long as the Senate remains in Republican hands. > “This legislation does not legalize cannabis across the country. It stops the federal government from interfering with what states have decided to do” In all seriousness, isn’t the Republican platform weaker central government? Why the exception?
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I've given up trying to find coherent values in Republican actions. There are many conservative views that have merit, but they're not reflected in Republican policies.
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Maybe not "voters as a whole", but legislators know which side their bread is buttered on. This fell along party lines, and it won't come up in the Senate because it's controlled by the party that opposes it. That party has the overwhelming favor of its constituency. They lost the top spot, but largely held their own in legislative elections. They may have a large contingent of people who would be in favor of decrimi…
Name them. The reason weed will not be legalized in America with this bill is solely, and only, the fault of Republicans
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Comments like this add nothing. By this logic, the inverse is also true.
Not really, the very idea of conservatism is based around not doing new things. Without passing judgement on whether or not that's a good policy standpoint, it's clear the parties are asymmetrical - one wants to pass new policies to change something , the other oppose that. The GOP policy website this election was literally copy pasted from 2016 - it infamously contained references to how they need to change things t…
I would love a Neoliberal Democratic party.
The fact that this won't sail through congress in a week (it'll never even come up for a vote in the senate) really illustrates how out of touch legislators are with voters. If there was a nationwide referendum on legalizing (not just decriminalizing) it would pass in a landslide today. Instead, congress will dither on this issue for probably the next five years at minimum. I realize it's more complicated than giving…
> ...illustrates how out of touch legislators are with voters. If there was a nationwide referendum on legalizing (not just decriminalizing) it would pass in a landslide today. In your own echo chamber, that may be true, but I hope you understand, there's a large number of voters (myself included) who oppose legalization. They may not be as vocal about it online, but their votes count just as much as yours.
After seeing what has happened in Colorado (and many other states) and the entire country of Canada, I'm curious to learn why you oppose legalization?
I don't use it, and personally don't really care, but I see it like same-sex marriage - let people do what makes them happy and lets move onto actual important issues.
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"Family values" as used by republicans always has the implied but not said "of a white, christian, man, who lives in the 1950s" added to it
“Who doesn’t act according to Christ” should also be added to it.
The modern gun totting intolerant Christ is a lot different from the compassionate one who taught about "Loving your neighbor" and "Forgiveness" we learned about in bible school...
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> somehow this is taking away your freedom IIUC it could indirectly reduce some people’s freedom to live, because marijuana can impair driving but is harder to diagnose as the cause for accidents than alcohol — because tests only show whether it has been taken in the last few weeks, not whether the subject is intoxicated at the moment of the test. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
As could mobile phones, putting on make up, working a 24 hour shift at the hospital... In fact, all the things listed above make someone a far more dangerous driver than marijuana use. Yet working extra long hours and sleep deprivation in the name of "productivity" is celebrated.
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> ...illustrates how out of touch legislators are with voters. If there was a nationwide referendum on legalizing (not just decriminalizing) it would pass in a landslide today. In your own echo chamber, that may be true, but I hope you understand, there's a large number of voters (myself included) who oppose legalization. They may not be as vocal about it online, but their votes count just as much as yours.
It's not just an echo chamber, there's actual data: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/11/14/americans-s... https://news.gallup.com/poll/323582/support-legal-marijuana-... That's not to say people who oppose the legislation's vote doesn't matter, but it's overturned by the majority that favor it.
By the numbers in the links you provided, those supporting legalization for medical use only (which I do) represent a significant portion (> 1/3) of those lumped into the broader "support legalization" category. At the same time, many people interpret that broader category as supporting legalization of recreational use, which nationwide, has just 59% support.
Also important to note that public support is much lower in some states, and as a federal republic, those individual states have (and should continue to have) the power to decide for the citizens who live there.
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As could mobile phones, putting on make up, working a 24 hour shift at the hospital... In fact, all the things listed above make someone a far more dangerous driver than marijuana use. Yet working extra long hours and sleep deprivation in the name of "productivity" is celebrated.
I believe governments can and do outlaw using mobile phones or taking hands off the wheel while driving. 24 hour shifts at the hospital may be justified AFAIK by potentially saving more lives than they risk losing — I would hope there are precautions in place to minimize those risks (such as housing immediately adjacent to the hospital — IIRC this was the case for Ben Carson when he worked long shifts at Johns Hopkin…