2012 Presidential Election

[TJ in Oregon]

Romney/Romney. Not particularly enthusiastically, but against Obama I almost have to.

Both, among other things. I'm a paleoconservative, so Paul is much closer to me overall than the neocon Romney. On social issues, Paul has a solid pro-life record and a pretty good record of supporting traditional family values; good enough that I am comfortable voting for him. Lastly, I believe Paul to be a genuine soul who actually cares about serving the people; whereas Romney and the rest of the Republican establishment only care about serving the globalist elite (just like their friends in the Democratic Party).

Out of curiosity, what's your opinion of the War on Drugs? For me, I'm not sure whether I'd vote for Paul even if he won the Republican nomination. The prospect of en masse drug legalization is just too much for me. (Granted, I don't agree with Paul's economic views much either).

[TJ in Oregon]

Out of curiosity, what's your opinion of the War on Drugs? For me, I'm not sure whether I'd vote for Paul even if he won the Republican nomination. The prospect of en masse drug legalization is just too much for me. (Granted, I don't agree with Paul's economic views much either).

Why? What possible argument is there for jailing drug addicts?

It's a deterrent from doing drugs and constrains the supply.

[TJ in Oregon]

Even assuming that the drugs we're talking about are bad and have a destructive effect on people, should those people be jailed for making a mistake? Should we jail single mothers who give birth out of wedlock? Alcoholics?

Jailing people for making a mistake is done to incentivize not doing the activity leading to jailing or to protect others from people who would do such a thing. I will certainly agree with you that jail is not always beneficial for the person incarcerated. Perhaps an option of some sort of mandatory rehab couple with community service would be better for the users, though we typically don't give users nearly as harsh of sentences as dealers, which makes sense.

As for jailing single mothers, that would be a disastrous idea because it would leave the child parentless and incentivize abortion. I'm not sure what you mean by jailing alcoholics, in order to be jailed people have to be charged and convicted of doing something, not being something.

[TJ in Oregon]

So, TJ, do you believe all pot users used have mandatory rehab or just those who are clearly addicted to it?

Umm I'm pretty sure not all pot users have used mandatory rehab. I'm not sure if that's what you intended to ask there???

If this is the case, do you believe the same treatment should be meted out to alcohol and tobacco users?

No, because it isn't feasible to do so when those things are already legal. It sounds all nice in abstract theory land to have ideologically consistent laws but in reality we have to recognize the social implications of banning alcohol or tobacco would be completely untenable.