Another funny Gary Johnson "Pothead for President" post

Everybody's having a little harmless fun at Gary Johnson's expense.

See, Willie Nelson and The Pothead TeaPot Party endorsed him for President. Then they forgot. Or got the munchies. Or saw something shiny. And then Willie remembered he doesn't really know as much about politics as playing the guitar. Which is probably for the best.

Anyway, anytime Johnson's name comes up, it's a good time for pot jokes. And a lot of it's funny.

But there's nothing funny about this.

KFOR-TV reports an Oklahoma woman is serving a 12 year prison sentence. For $30 worth of pot.

Dee Starr, who was facing more serious charges, two felony counts for dealing drugs and for having drugs in front of children, got 30 years probation, again no jail time. Patricia Spottedcrow pleaded guilty to her crimes as well.  She faced the very same two felony charges as her mother, Dee Starr.  However, Spottedcrow got a 12 year prison sentence, no probation. 

The four children are living with their grandmother. They'll be denied a mother for twelve years of their early lives. And I'm not hearing "don't do the crime if you can't do the time". Twelve years in prison for what basically amounts to a few joints is barbaric. And how can you justify the costs?

This year Oklahoma taxpayers will pay about $40 a day for Patricia Spottedcrow's minimum-security incarceration, that's appoxirmately $14,000 a year.

So that's what...? $168,000 over the course of her sentence? Oh, wait... I'm not factoring in the raises in organized prison labor costs over that stretch. So the cost will come somewhere closer to... say... a gajillion dollars sound right?

But surely we're talking small numbers here, right? How many prisoners like this are we talking about?

Oklahoma leads the nation in the incarceration of women. We imprison women at a rate twice the national average. And the number one crime for which Oklahoma women are in prison is drugs.

It's time to have a grown-up conversation about our marijuana laws.

We can laugh together. And we should also be able to have a serious discussion. According to the WHO, 42% of Americans admit to having tried pot. As have the last three Presidents. And what, half the candidates or would-be's? Santorum, Palin, Gingrich, Daniels... Oh yeah, and Johnson.

It's time to stop acting hysterical (or laughing hysterically) every time the subject comes up. (And just by the way... if marijuana were truly a scourge, would we be making jokes in the first place?)

We need to talk about this, and we have one candidate willing to do so. Fortunately, that candidate also has an impressive record in both the private-sector and public office.

(h/t Reason)

Cross-posted at Republican Redefined.

On the road again... and under the bus

Willie Nelson has un-endorsed Gov. Gary Johnson for President.

Has Johnson changed his positions since yesterday? No. But apparently Nelson has smoked more than enough of the substance he and Johnson want legalized to affect his thinking and judgement.

When asked by his own TeaPot Party to explain why he was for Gary Johnson before he was against Gary Johnson, Nelson offered the following:

“I know I said that... But I think I will wait and see where he stands on other things. My bad. Sorry. I still think he is a good guy but so Is Dennis [Kucinich] and if he decided to run I would personally vote for him. If it came down to either him or Gary I’m already committed to Dennis. They both have said they support legal pot.”

He went on to say (emphasis mine):

"If we back someone that’s us telling them how to vote. I’m not qualified."

I'm inclined to agree. In fact, if he can't stick to a decision from one day to the next, I'm not convinced he's qualified to vote, let alone endorse a candidate.

In truth, Nelson's endorsement would do more harm than good anyway. First, it offered itself as joke fodder for numerous bloggers and pundits. But more importantly, the TeaPot Party (as T pointed out) has "We lean a little to the left" as a portion of their motto. While I'd be happy to see a Republican candidate who can pick up moderates the way Obama did, the "lean left" and Nelson's efforts for farm subsidies would be held against Johnson.

So I'm not heartbroken that "my candidate" has lost his first endorsement. It comes, after all, from someone with so little understanding of politics that he thinks Kucinich has a shot at the White House. And as a Reason commenter mentioned, "If pot smoking aliens invaded tomorrow, Willie would endorse them."

No great loss.

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Cross-posted at Republican Redefined.