Posted on 04/11/2015 9:38:43 AM PDT by Citizen Zed
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., formally launched his presidential campaign Tuesday with a speech in Louisville. Among the notable quotes from Paul's speech was a comment seemingly meant to raise minority support by calling for reform of federal drug laws that disproportionately lead to incarceration of black Americans.
"I see an America where criminal justice is applied equally and any law that disproportionately incarcerates people of color is repealed," Paul said.
Paul went on to address other topics without expanding much on what kinds of laws he meant. But given his past comments, it's not hard to guess he was talking about the war on drugs. "The war on drugs has become the most racially disparate outcome that you have in the entire country," Paul said in November 2014. "Our prisons are full of black and brown kids. Three-fourths of the people in prison are black or brown."
Lauren Galik, the Director of Criminal Justice Reform at Reason Foundation, said she was excited to hear a Republican presidential candidate campaigning on drug reform. "More than half of our federal prison population right now is there for drugs, many of which are African-American," Galik told the Washington Examiner. "African Americans are more likely to receive a sentence that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment than white individuals."
Mandatory minimums disproportionately affect African American criminals compared to whites and Hispanics. "Although Black offenders in 2012 made up 26.3 percent of drug offenders convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty, they accounted for 35.2 percent of the drug offenders still subject to that mandatory minimum at sentencing," according to the United States Sentencing Commission, an independent federal agency.
(Excerpt) Read more at m.washingtonexaminer.com ...
He’s a Pander Paul.
“I actually think this is a great embodiment of what Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis called ‘the laboratories of democracy,’” Cruz said. “If the citizens of Colorado decide they want to go down that road, that’s their prerogative. I personally don’t agree with it, but that’s their right.” - http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3262590/posts
--Ted Cruz CPAC February 26, 2015
If you are trying to say that legalizers want pot to be less available than now, there isn’t anyone alive who would buy it
If you are trying to say that legalizers want pot to be less available than now
I am saying that the evidence indicates that legalization for adults would lower access for minors - regardless of whether or not all legalizers want that outcome. (I want that outcome.)
Let’s take a look at the states the twit is polling well in.
1. Iowa. A GOP nominee has only carried Iowa 1 election(2004)
since 1984. Yep that’s 1984.
Iowa is a democrat state.
No wonder they like Paul
2. Colorado, The Pot Head State. Not a conservative state.
Any surprise Paul is polling well in Colorado.
The differnce between Ted and Rand is Cruz has clearly said that he personally does not agree with legalizing drugs.
OK. Why does that matter, given that they're running for federal office?
No.
You seem to want to keep trying to paint Cruz as another Paul, he is not.
Paul is for the liberal-tarians where as Cruz is a conservative on social and fiscal issues.
I'm sorry to see that happen. Despite some of his political positions, Paul's perspectives on many current issues have caused people to think further about them.
I don’t agree with it means he doe snot agree with it.
Paul keeps saying he wants reduced military, drugs legal
see an America where criminal justice is applied equally and any law that disproportionately incarcerates people of color is repealed.
Panders, open borders, homosexual agenda.
Cruz being against the legallization of drugs matters because most people agree with him and would want to know where he stands on the issue.
yea but polls keep getting it wrong lately and the Dems would love Paul to be the nominee because if he won they get their social liberal agenda passed if he looses then they have Hillary to pass their liberal agenda, either way they the media wins’
I have teens and not one kid I have just asked said it is easier to get drugs more than Cigs and beer.
Guess you must live in another area or it’s B/S to get drugs legal.
No you should . It’s the same old crap of you keep saying the same thing on here while trying to paint Paul as a conservative of which he is not.
Guess you must live in another area
My statement is true as a nationwide average - of course there will be a few localities where the opposite is true.
I have teens and just asked them and not one of my kids said drugs are easier but of course the same lies will be used by the druggie crowd.
No.
Explain how he can be for the states deciding on pot legalization and still be for keeping it illegal at the federal level.
er because one is for making drugs legal and the other does not. Of course it matters unless one is stoned or high on drugs.
Where is your facts backing up your assertion?
I’ve asked teens and not one has backed your assertion and claim up, they actually go against what you have said.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.