America owes talk host Rush Limbaugh a debt of gratitude, Libertarians say

Thomas Jefferson had to deal with public drunkenness.

Which had been a problem for a 1000 years before Thomas Jefferson was born.

Crack, heroin, and even pot smoking were basically unknown in Jefferson's day.

Yeah, yeah, I know that Jefferson and Washington grew hemp, but they didn't smoke it and Martha Washington didn't put out the communal bong in the parlor after dinner.

They grew hemp for rope and paper.

"The Bushes and Ashcrofts and McCaffreys of the world may believe, correctly, that individuals fighting a drug addiction deserve medical, not criminal treatment," he said. "That would explain why they're not demanding that Limbaugh be jailed.
"But if that's the case, these politicians have spent decades tearing apart American families for their own political gain. And that's an unforgivable crime."

It is an unforgivable crime.

Public drunkenness and private drunkenness also will be a problem for the forseeable future. Only lunatics wish to make the control of people's eating, drinking, and drug-using a priority of government.

I'm astonished that this essentially totaliarian and utopian view has so much traction among American conservatives. When 'Liberals' draw up guidelines for improving the world, I am not surprised; when conservatives do so, I am.

Human nature is not changing as quickly as cooking methods.

Political ideology is not about who attacks whom most successfully, it's about outlining and adhering to a set of political beliefs. You make it sound like an us-versus-them thing, winner take all, and that's it: good guys vs. bad guys, white hats vs. black hats.

Ideology doesn't mean squat if you can't get other people on your side. You don't do that by alienating those who could be your allies. Read Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People".

Why do all you GOP cheerleaders sound like you care more about the GOP's best interests than America's best interests?

I see the GOP as the best vehicle for implementing what I believe are America's best interests and combating those who are against those interests (Democrats), therefore I guess I am a "GOP cheerleader".

Do I agree with the GOP on everything? No, but that's the way political parties work. As Maggie Thatcher says, parties are "organized consensus". You can't get your ideology implemented in a representative government if you don't have a sufficient number of allies.

What I don't see with the LP is any type of long term strategy for implementing their ideology. They focus their campaigns against both parties, and it gets them nowhere.

Do they think the country is going to embrace the libertarian ideology overnight, with the size and intrusiveness of the current government? No - it must be done gradually. IMHO, helping Democrats get elected (by attacking Republicans) does not move the country towards the libertarian ideology. Electing Democrats is going to expand government giveaways into the middle class (like national healthcare, etc.), and once that happens you will lose all hope.

He should be treated like any other first time offender.
Deja vu! Rush Limbaugh should be punished as any other first-time offender is punished.
You people don't seem to understand that even a first time offender can get several years in prison, even if it is just their first offense. It has to do with amount/quantity!

jmc813, the playbook is getting awfully transparent these days. Getting away for a while helps...

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