In the immediate aftermath of the debate, his stances were praised in the Nation while criticized as “waffling” and “weak” by a caller to a conservative radio talk show on which I appeared, the opposite of the response a Republican presidential candidate wants.
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And Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate offered plenty of bizarre moments for the canon: Jeb Bush suggested that British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher replace Alexander Hamilton in the $10 bill; Donald Trump claimed to have witnessed a boy getting autism from a vaccine; Rand Paul said his Secret Service code name would be “Justice Never Sleeps”. (Then to the panel) If we left it open maybe we could see how many people smoked pot in high school. For all the folks who think President Obama is a shrinking violet when it comes to what he once called “dumb wars”, the Nobel Peace Prize winner tripled troop strength in Afghanistan, tried to keep troops in Iraq after the withdrawal date negotiated by the Bush administration, intensified drone strikes in countries with whom we are not at war, bombed Libya without constitutional authority, has sent troops back to Iraq, maintained he has the right to kill even U.S. citizens without judicial review, and more.
“The marijuana kids are smoking today is not the same marijuana Jeb Bush smoked 40 years ago”, Fiorina added.
He said, however, that didn’t make him a hypocrite when he opposed a ballot initiative that would have legalized marijuana in Florida. “My mom’s not happy that I just did”, 62-year-old Bush continued. Bush said he supported states being able to decide their marijuana laws for themselves.
Not amused, Paul pointed out to the national audience that Jeb had campaigned against medical marijuana in the Sunshine State, reciting the heart-wrenching story of a Florida child being unable to medicate her illness with cannabis oil. But his refusal to separate medical from recreational marijuana was disingenuous, as Christie duly noted.
“I personally think that this is a crime in which the only victim is the individual, and I think America has to take a different attitude”.
Clearly, Paul landed the best blows.
“We are misleading young people when we tell them that marijuana is just like having a beer”, she said. I might be ancient by Vine standards, but one time on a plane a flight attendant asked if I was a member of a traveling group of high schoolers.
Two gun rights organizations sued Santa Clara County police and city officials last month over the seizure of a man’s guns following his receiving psychiatric treatment.
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Her daughter died of a drug overdose.
