Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Rubio won't answer pot question
http://prospect.org/article/republican-candidates-marijuana-dilemmaThe Republican Candidate's Marijuana Dilemma
Back in 1992 when Bill Clinton said he kinda smoked pot, but "I didn't inhale," it was a big deal, both for the sort-of admission and for the squirreliness of the evasion. Eight years later, when Barack Obama said not only did he smoke pot, but he inhaled ("That was the point"
, it was much less of a big deal, partly because Obama made no attempt to explain it away. As we move toward an era when most American adults have at least tried marijuana (more on that below), the chances that any particular candidate will have done it at least a time or two in their younger days grows higher and higher. But if you're a Republican, it's still complicated, since a large proportion of the population whose votes you need look at pot as something only done by hippies and jazz musicians.
You can see this struggle in the person of Marco Rubio, soon-to-be presidential candidate and erstwhile GOP golden boy. Yesterday he got asked in an interview with ABC's Jonathan Karl whether he had ever smoked pot, and here's what he said:
"If you say that you did, then suddenly there are people out there saying, 'Well, it's not a big deal. Look at all these successful people who did it.' And I don't want my kids to smoke marijuana. And I don't want other people's kids to smoke marijuana. I don't think there's a responsible way to recreationally use marijuana. On the other side of it is, if you tell people that you didn't, they won't believe you."
Karl gave the appropriate answer to that last part: "We'll believe you. If you didn't, you can just say you didn't." If the answer to the question was actually "no," then there would be no need to go through all this contemplation about the deleterious effect an admission might have on our nation's youth. Rubio's rationale for remaining mum is exactly the one George W. Bush had back in 2000 when he refused to answer any question about whether he had ever done drugs (there were rumors of cocaine use, as well as pot). As Bush said in a recorded conversation with advisor Doug Weade released in 2005, "Do you want your little kid to say, 'Hey Daddy, President Bush tried marijuana; I think I will.' … I wouldn't answer the marijuana question. You know why? Because I don't want some little kid doing what I tried."
Back in 1992 when Bill Clinton said he kinda smoked pot, but "I didn't inhale," it was a big deal, both for the sort-of admission and for the squirreliness of the evasion. Eight years later, when Barack Obama said not only did he smoke pot, but he inhaled ("That was the point"
, it was much less of a big deal, partly because Obama made no attempt to explain it away. As we move toward an era when most American adults have at least tried marijuana (more on that below), the chances that any particular candidate will have done it at least a time or two in their younger days grows higher and higher. But if you're a Republican, it's still complicated, since a large proportion of the population whose votes you need look at pot as something only done by hippies and jazz musicians.
You can see this struggle in the person of Marco Rubio, soon-to-be presidential candidate and erstwhile GOP golden boy. Yesterday he got asked in an interview with ABC's Jonathan Karl whether he had ever smoked pot, and here's what he said:
"If you say that you did, then suddenly there are people out there saying, 'Well, it's not a big deal. Look at all these successful people who did it.' And I don't want my kids to smoke marijuana. And I don't want other people's kids to smoke marijuana. I don't think there's a responsible way to recreationally use marijuana. On the other side of it is, if you tell people that you didn't, they won't believe you."
Karl gave the appropriate answer to that last part: "We'll believe you. If you didn't, you can just say you didn't." If the answer to the question was actually "no," then there would be no need to go through all this contemplation about the deleterious effect an admission might have on our nation's youth. Rubio's rationale for remaining mum is exactly the one George W. Bush had back in 2000 when he refused to answer any question about whether he had ever done drugs (there were rumors of cocaine use, as well as pot). As Bush said in a recorded conversation with advisor Doug Weade released in 2005, "Do you want your little kid to say, 'Hey Daddy, President Bush tried marijuana; I think I will.' … I wouldn't answer the marijuana question. You know why? Because I don't want some little kid doing what I tried."
16 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
