Friday Talking Points (482) -- Democratic Party Approaches Tipping Point On Legalizing Marijuana

[ChrisWeigant]

Last week, we were admonished for celebrating 4/20 in a manner that was too subtle by half. We subtitled last Friday's article: "Dazed And Confused," and began with: "We don't know why that headline sounded like such a good idea on today, of all days. (Ahem.)" But the rest of the article didn't really have much to say about the issue of marijuana. So today we are going to correct that lack, as you can tell by this week's subtitle.

We wrote an article back in January which predicted that marijuana legalization had passed a "tipping point" with the public. No matter how hard the War On Weed warriors fought back, the growing swell of public support for legalization would ensure that America's second Prohibition would come to an end, the article predicted. We wrote this right after Vermont became the first state in the nation to legalize recreational adult use of cannabis through its legislature (rather than through the direct democracy of a ballot initiative). This law was signed by a Republican governor, it's worth pointing out. But we were only cautiously optimistic that national politicians would be part of the process this year:

Marijuana legalization has reached the tipping point, folks. We are simply not going back, no matter what Jeff Sessions thinks. We are fast approaching the point where one out of every four Americans lives in a state with legal weed. In 2018, more and more politicians at the national level are going to start realizing it is in their own best interest to support legalization. It probably won't be that big an issue this year, at least outside the states that are holding referenda (there are many other issues which will dominate the 2018 election cycle, in other words), but look for it to be a core issue in 2020.

But now it seems that things are moving forward faster than expected. More and more Democrats are coming around to legalization -- a position that only a few years ago was considered radical and a political liability in all but the most liberal areas. So politicians (from both parties) mostly avoided the subject altogether, which was the safest thing to do.

This has now shifted, which is why today we're predicting that the Democratic Party has reached a tipping point on legalization -- defined as: "when supporting a political issue becomes the default go-to position because opposing it would be a big liability with the voters."

Now, we've been trying to convince Democrats for years -- ever since Colorado and Washington legalized recreational pot use in their states -- that the issue was a big winner for them. Not only did it inspire young people to get out and vote, but it was actually a bipartisan issue, and one that for many voters was the single issue which decided their vote.

But, not unlike gay marriage before it, supporting full recreational legalization was deemed by many Democratic politicians as too risky a stance to take. But then support for gay marriage then suddenly became the default Democratic Party position -- the same process that perhaps has now reached a tipping point with marijuana legalization. The Washington Post ran an article this week examining how fast things are shifting, in both parties:

Democrats are increasingly embracing looser restrictions on marijuana -- and a growing number of high-profile Republicans are joining them, marking a shift in the politics of cannabis.

As Democrats try to regain control of Congress in the November elections and make gains in state races, some strategists are wagering that being firmly on the side of easing marijuana laws will help boost turnout among millennials, a key bloc in the party's coalition. Many of those voters have sat out recent midterms.

While pot enthusiasts celebrated their unofficial "4/20" holiday on Friday, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced his support for decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level. Echoing others who have revised their positions, Schumer said his thinking had "evolved."

. . .

As they gear up for the fall campaign, both parties are trying to energize their bases to turn out at the polls. For Democrats, who have embraced the most liberal platform in decades, marijuana reform is another issue they hope will enliven their core voters.

"This motivates young people because it's a question of freedom, of justice," said Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, part of a younger, more liberal generation of Democratic lawmakers.

Schumer's decision was informed in part by this belief, according to a Democrat familiar with his thinking.

"We see getting millennials to the polls in the midterms as a potential huge boon for us. And we need to give them something to affirmatively pull the lever for a Democrat in the midterms," said this Democrat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe strategy.

In a written statement announcing his decision, Schumer said "there's no better time than the present" to decriminalize marijuana. He said his planned legislation would remove it from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act.

We handed Chuck Schumer a Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week award last week for his evolution, of course. But the sentence which leapt out at us was: "...we need to give them something to affirmatively pull the lever for a Democrat in the midterms," since that could indeed apply to all sorts of issues the Democrats have been weak on in the recent past. You do indeed do better at the polls when you give the voters something to vote for and not just against. Marijuana support is an excellent motivator for younger voters.

We'll get to a few more examples of Democrats finally deciding to stand strongly for a few issues in this week's awards section, but we did want to begin today's column with a bit of a positive rant, for once. Could this be the "Year Of The Stoner Voter" at the polls? Well, probably not. All signs currently are still pointing to it being the "Year Of The Suburban Woman" voter, in fact. But no matter what label is used in the aftermath, this year also might just be the one where the Democratic Party as a whole realizes fully that supporting marijuana legalization is now a major asset for any political candidate, while the converse also becomes true: opposing legalization becomes a real liability within the party. Support among the general American public is at an all-time high, at 60 percent or greater, and that trendline is only going to go up in the years to come. The snarky bumpersticker "When The People Lead, The Politicians Follow" seems apt, at this point. The people are indeed leading. And finally, a tipping point may have been reached as Democratic politicians follow their lead.

Moving right along, let's see what else has been going on in the world of politics this week. Yet another Republican House member has announced he's stepping down, after being caught in a sexual harassment scandal within his own office. There's a reason for all these hasty departures, and that reason is that when a House member quits his office, any Ethics Committee investigation against him is immediately closed. Representative Patrick Meehan of Pennsylvania decided to take this quick route rather than face an investigation into the payment of tens of thousands of dollars to a staffer he had harassed. Nothing like good old GOP family values, folks!

Which brings up the two parties' emerging themes for this fall's midterms. The Republican Party seems to have settled on the forward-looking theme of running against Hillary Clinton. No, really! This is technically known as "the generals trying to refight the last war," and it seldom leads to a good result. Meanwhile, the Democrats have a much more relevant theme, recently pushed by Nancy Pelosi: running against "the Trump administration's culture of corruption, cronyism, and incompetence." Here's a recent statement from Pelosi, explaining this position:

Some may recall that in 2005, 2006, one of our mantras during the campaign was to drain the swamp, to end the Republican culture of cronyism, corruption and incompetence, and that is exactly what we did. The president has misappropriated that term of art, "drain the swamp," and what does he do but have an administration that is wallowing in it.

Meanwhile, one Democrat in particular is doing his part for the party by baiting Republicans to retire now. Former Representative John Dingell tweeted this week: "To my Republican friends in Congress: Retirement is a blast. Naps. Snacks. Join me." He followed this up with an even funnier enticement: "Example: I just ate a Hostess cupcake for breakfast."

This did not amuse his wife, who ran for and won her husband's seat when he retired. Current Representative Debbie Dingell tweeted back: "Naps are okay, but I thought I hid the cupcakes. Yogurt > Hostess." Heh.

OK, we've been intentionally ignoring all the Trump idiocies of the week, which culminated with an extraordinary call-in interview yesterday on the Fox News morning "news" show. We'll cover most of Trump's antics in the talking points this week, but two really stood out. Trump called North Korean dictator "very honorable" this week, which provoked the following response from Senator Jeff Flake: "For the president to describe a leader who stands incredibly accused of starving his own people, violently executing his political opponents and murdering members of his own family as very open and very honorable is beyond comprehension."

In other bad news for Trump this week, his nominee to head the V.A. was forced to withdraw after dozens of people made allegations against him to the members of the Senate who were charged with vetting his nomination. Among these charges were being called the "Candyman" for handing prescription drugs out with abandon to any and all who wanted them, as well as being drunk on several occasions, one of which resulted in him driving drunk and wrecking a government vehicle. Whoops! Looks like the Keystone Kops White House vetting office fell on their faces once again. Trump threw Dr. Ronny Jackson under the bus early in the week, saying of the Senate confirmation process, "If I were him, I wouldn't do it." By week's end, Jackson realized this was the only exit and withdrew his nomination in disgrace.

What else? Housing and Urban Development chief Ben Carson just launched what is being called "a new war on the poor," with legislation that would hike the rent of anyone in public housing. Because that'll surely inspire them to get a better-paying job! How very Christian of Carson.

Speaking of so-called Christians who have never apparently read all those quotes from Jesus about being merciful to the poor, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan forced out the House's official chaplain this week. Reports are that Ryan was incensed at Father Patrick Conroy for daring to speak to the issue of the poor, while the House Republicans were busy deciding how many billions of dollars to shower on the rich with their tax cuts. Conroy was only the second Catholic House Chaplain in history, and his firing has upset many Catholics from Ryan's own party, so this story may get bigger over time.

And finally, we have to end on an amusing note. James Comey had a book tour party in Washington this week, and one attendee tweeted a photo of the bar's menu. The first drink is listed as: "{REDACTED} -- gin & tonic with a secret ingredient." Even more amusing was the second drink, a martini titled: "Lordy, I Hope There Is Vodka."





Before we get to the main award, we have an Honorable Mention this week, for Steve Stern, who won a special election for a New York state assembly seat this Tuesday, flipping a district that had been solidly Republican for over three decades. This was the 40th such state-level victory for the Democratic Party since the 2016 election. In the same period, Republicans have flipped four seats, for a net gain of 36 to the Democrats.

This week we have two Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week awards, both for Democratic senators who have introduced very progressive bills. Now, we often hear the complaint that a Democratic bill in a Republican Congress doesn't have a prayer of passing, but that misses a very large point. Democrats have to show the voters what they are for, as we discussed in the introduction. And it's a lot better to be for a concrete piece of legislation than it is to just offer vague support for a concept. So bills like these will help define the direction of the Democratic Party for years to come, even if they never pass in their current form.

Senator Bernie Sanders this week unveiled his new idea, for guaranteeing employment for all Americans. It would create a jobs program on a scale not seen since the Great Depression.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will announce a plan for the federal government to guarantee a job paying $15 an hour and health-care benefits to every American worker "who wants or needs one," embracing the kind of large-scale government works project that Democrats have shied away from in recent decades.

Sanders's jobs guarantee would fund hundreds of projects throughout the United States aimed at addressing priorities such as infrastructure, care giving, the environment, education and other goals. Under the job guarantee, every American would be entitled to a job under one of these projects or receive job training to be able to do so, according to an early draft of the proposal.

What also made this newsworthy was the fact that while Sanders may decide to make another run for president in 2020, two other prominent Democratic senators who are also considering a run also support the basic idea: Kirsten Gillibrand and Cory Booker.

A followup article explored how this could turn out to be a pretty good move, politically, for Democrats:

Coming from where they do, Republicans may make the mistake of treating a federal job guarantee as self-evident lunacy, when in fact it sounds like a pretty good idea to lots of Americans, including many of those vaunted working-class white voters the GOP has come to depend on. It isn't a giveaway, it's the promise of a job, which means it can have an appeal that crosses party lines. If we get a serious debate about this topic, Republicans will find themselves arguing against jobs, and saying it's important that private-sector employers don't feel pressure to increase wages. That may not be such a great place to be.

Republicans would be caught between their ongoing efforts to make it as difficult as possible to use the safety net without working, and the fact that there often aren't enough jobs in certain areas for people to work at, no matter how much they may want to work. And a whole lot of those areas are in Trump country.

Senator Gillibrand not only supports Bernie's plan, but she also wins her own MIDOTW this week, for introducting a bill to allow the U.S. Post Office to offer basic banking services. Her real target? The payday loans industry.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is introducing legislation Wednesday that would require every U.S. post office to provide basic banking services, an ambitious step aimed at improving the lives of Americans with limited financial resources.

The bill brings to Congress for the first time a policy idea that has already won the support of liberal economists and anti-poverty activists: Turning the nation's sprawling network of U.S. Postal Service facilities into places where working-class and low-income Americans who lack adequate access to commercial banking can obtain low-cost, short-term loans. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have both spoken out in favor of postal banking, but Gillibrand is the first to introduce legislation mandating it.

The central goal of the bill is to replace risky financial products like payday loans, which can trap borrowers in prolonged cycles of debt, with regulated alternatives.

"This is a solution to take on payday lenders, to take on the problems that the unbanked have all across the country. It's a solution whose time has come," Gillibrand said in an interview with HuffPost.

To hear Gillibrand and other postal banking proponents tell it, the Postal Service and underbanked Americans are the perfect complements.

The postal system's 30,000 locations touch every community. A majority -- 59 percent -- are in so-called banking deserts, or zip codes that have either no bank branches or just one.

This is no liberal, big-ticket pie-in-the-sky proposal, either. It would probably boost the revenue of the Post Office, in fact:

A postal banking system could be a major boon to the financially strained Postal Service. If even 10 percent of the money Americans currently spend on interest and fees for risky financial products went toward postal banking loans that cost 90 percent less, the Postal Service would gain almost $9 billion in annual revenue, according to a 2014 study conducted by the Postal Service Inspector General.

This proposal, like Bernie's, also would disproportionately affect a whole lot of Trump voters for the better:

Under Gillibrand's proposal, Americans could cash paychecks and deposit money in accounts free of charge at each post office location. Deposits would be capped at the larger of two amounts -- $20,000, or the median balance in all American bank accounts.

The postal banks would be able to distribute loans to borrowers of up to $1,000 at an interest rate slightly higher than the yield on one-month Treasury bonds, currently about 2 percent.

A postal banking system would be an alternative to the for-profit payday lending system, in which people routinely pay triple-digit fees to borrow money for bills that come due before their next paycheck. The average payday loan of $375 typically costs a borrower an additional $520 in interest and fees, according to Pew Charitable Trusts.

These costs are disproportionately shouldered by the most vulnerable people in the economy: Lower-earning workers who can't afford fees that commercial banks levy if an account balance falls too low, or simply live in an area that lacks a traditional banking option. The lack of resources typically precludes these Americans from qualifying for a credit card with a reasonable interest rate.

Most other Western nations have some form of postal banking, as indeed America also did up until the 1960s. So it's not all that radical an idea, really. It will also conveniently serve to point out how many members of Congress have taken massive amounts of campaign contributions from the payroll loan industry over the past few years, which helps because absolutely nobody (except the companies making billions on exploiting people's misery) is going to stand up and defend the industry. In fact, it's hard to think of a more-hated industry in America, really.

So to Senators Bernie Sanders and Kirsten Gillibrand, for introducing bills that address real needs across both red and blue America, for boldly proposing ideas that millions of voters would support, you both well deserve a Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week award this week. Proposing bills that show real leadership is the way to get voters enthused about your party -- and when voters are enthused, they elect more of your party. Eventually, you get enough of them elected to actually make such legislation a reality. That's what showing leadership is all about, in fact.

{Congratulate Senator Bernie Sanders on his Senate contact page, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on her Senate contact page, to let them know you appreciate their efforts.}





This one is pretty easy, this week. Senator Bob Menendez wins the Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week this week, after the Senate Ethics Committee issued a scathing final report on his corruption. They "severely admonished" Menendez, and will force him to pay back all of the gifts he received from his wealthy buddy in Florida. Here's the whole sordid story:

The Senate Ethics Committee said Thursday that Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez, who avoided conviction in a federal corruption trial last year, violated federal law and Senate rules in accepting unreported gifts from a friend and political ally.

In a four-page "letter of admonition," the panel's three Republicans and three Democrats ordered Menendez to pay back the gifts he received from Salomon Melgen, a Florida eye doctor, and said he is "hereby severely admonished."

"Your assistance to Dr. Melgen under these circumstances demonstrated poor judgment, and it risked undermining the public's confidence in the Senate," the letter reads. "As such, your actions reflected discredit upon the Senate."

The Ethics Committee findings complete a winding, six-year saga in which the New Jersey senator was accused of corrupt dealings to benefit a political donor, Melgen, only to see his prosecution end in a mistrial in November after 10 weeks in court.

As long as Menendez repays the gifts, he is unlikely to face further official sanctions. But the stern reprimand stands to cloud his pending campaign for a third Senate term, though he retains an advantage as a Democratic incumbent in a liberal-leaning state.

Accepting tens of thousands of dollars in "gifts" from "a friend," and then attempting to intervene when that friend has problems with the federal government out of the goodness of your heart (totally unrelated to the tens of thousands of dollars in gifts, of course) is known as nothing short of pay-to-play bribery and corruption. He can argue "there was no quid pro quo" until he's blue in the face, but it won't stop us from handing Senator Bob Menendez another Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week award.

{Contact Senator Bob Menendez on his Senate contact page, to let him know what you think of his actions.}




Volume 482 (4/27/18)

Since our introduction this week was so positive, we're going to balance it by largely going negative in this week's talking points. Although we did throw in one hopeful bit at the end (which should be keeping Florida Republicans awake at night), just for fun.



A million other things to do

Maybe you've got better things to do, Mister President?

"President Trump, who hasn't given a solo press conference in over a year, decided to bask in the warm glow that emanates from his teevee set every time Fox And Friends is on, by calling them up to chat. He went on an extended half-hour rant that meandered through all his favorite subjects at great length. Finally, even the Fox hosts got embarrassed by Trump's incoherence, and actually hustled the president off the air. That's extraordinary, when you think about it. Most networks would have allowed Trump to ramble on for as long as he wished, but Fox -- the official Trump cheerleader network -- had to get him off the air before he embarrassed himself more than he already had. In the end, the hosts pointedly told Trump: 'We could talk to you all day, but it looks like you have a million things to do,' before hooking him off the stage with: 'I hope you can join us again.' I'm surprised they didn't just play him off the air by turning up the music, like they do at the Oscars."



Cheapskate-in-Chief

Among other amusing things to come out of Trump's extended rant (full transcript here, for anyone who wants to read the whole thing) was that he is an incredible cheapskate.

"President Trump, at the beginning of his Fox News meltdown, said he had called in because it was Melania Trump's birthday. When asked what Trump had gotten his wife, Trump replied, quote: Well, I better not get into that, because I may get in trouble. Maybe I didn't get her so much. I'll tell you what. She has done -- I got her a beautiful card. You know, I'm very busy -- to be running out looking for presents, okay? But I got her a beautiful card and some beautiful flowers. Unquote. So Trump is too busy -- or too much of a cheapskate -- to go shopping for a birthday present for his wife, but he's got all the time in the world to chat with Fox News. As one late-night comic remarked, Trump really needs to spend around $130,000 on a present for Melania, at this point."



Just like the mob

Hoo boy. Instant karma's gonna getcha.

"Donald Trump's personal lawyer-slash-fixer has announced he will be taking the Fifth Amendment in the civil case brought by Stormy Daniels against him and President Trump. Now, we already know what Trump thinks of such a move, since he repeatedly brought the subject up while campaigning for president. During one of the debates against Hillary Clinton, Trump said: 'When you have your staff taking the Fifth Amendment, taking the Fifth so they're not prosecuted... I think it's disgraceful.' On another occasion, Trump was even more disdainful, stating: 'The mob takes the Fifth. If you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?' But the most prophetic thing Trump may have said was when he brought up one specific Clinton aide, saying: 'Did you see her I.T. specialist? He's taken the Fifth. The word is he's ratting her out like you wouldn't believe.' His prediction didn't come true in that instance, but it might just come back to bite him if Michael Cohen winds up flipping because of a criminal case against him."



Pay-to-play, explained

Mick Mulvaney got in some hot water this week.

"Mick Mulvaney, who is now supposed to be protecting average Americans from the abuses of the big banks, just told a convention of bankers how the system really works. Mulvaney used to be a congressman from South Carolina, and he told his banker buddies how the world operated in his office: 'We had a hierarchy in my office in Congress. If you're a lobbyist who never gave us money, I didn't talk to you. If you're a lobbyist who gave us money, I might talk to you.' Honest Republicans are now admitting how bad things have gotten for their party. Veteran Republican strategist Steve Schmidt said as much this week, pointing out: 'We're living in a season of corruption the likes of which we haven't seen but in a banana republic. Everywhere you look, you see incompetence, malfeasance, self-dealing, and corruption.' Yep, there's nothing like draining the swamp, eh?"



I see nothing!

Speaking of incompetence and malfeasance....

"Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee just issued a report on Donald Trump and the Russians that should really have been written by Sergeant Schultz of Hogan's Heroes. Despite all the evidence, the report stated that nobody in Trump's campaign had ever heard of Vladimir Putin, and couldn't find Russia on a world map even if their lives depended on it. None of them had ever even ordered Russian dressing on their salads, it seems. The entire whitewash of a report could have very easily been handled in a tweet that quoted Sergeant Shultz's most famous line: 'I see nothing... NOTHING!' Thankfully, this is not the way that Bob Mueller's investigation is being conducted, though."



Hey, it worked in Nuremberg, didn't it?

Those who don't know history are condemned to repeat it, it seems.

"Speaking of whitewashing a sketchy past, the Central Intelligence Agency just declassified a report into Donald Trump's pick to head the agency. Gina Haspel was in charge of a 'black site' which tortured prisoners, but the declassified report only dealt with one specific allegation, that Haspel had drafted the memo that ordered C.I.A. agents to destroy all the evidence -- including videotapes of the interrogations. As a result of a disciplinary review in 2011, Haspel only wrote this memo 'on the direct orders' of her superior, who was worried the tapes would leak out to the public, and who believed his actions were legal -- without clearing them with his superior at the time. The report stated that 'It was not her decision to destroy the tapes,' and therefore the C.I.A. 'found no fault with her performance.' Because, as we all know, the 'I was only following orders' defense was proven to be a valid one by all those Nazi prisoners tried at Nuremberg. Oh, wait a minute...."



Getting the vote out

And finally, as promised, a positive note to end on today.

"Puerto Rico's governor has been paying some attention to Florida recently, encouraging Puerto Ricans who have moved there to become more engaged in politics. Since Puerto Ricans are American citizens, they instantly become residents of whatever state they happen to move to, just like all other citizens. Meaning that the exodus of people from the island to Florida could become a new and important demographic in Florida's elections. In a statement, Governor Ricardo Rosselló made his intentions clear: 'Seven months after Hurricane Maria... we learned who was willing to support us and who wasn't. With the 2018 midterm elections just around the corner, we want to fully exercise the influence we can have.' He is launching an organization to focus on voter registration, so that Puerto Ricans living elsewhere in the United States can, quote, 'fully participate in the democratic process and become agents for change for the island.' Florida's already a purple state, and with this new effort, it might just become a little bluer. So there's that to look forward to."




Chris Weigant blogs at: ChrisWeigant.com
Follow Chris on Twitter: ChrisWeigant
Full archives of FTP columns: FridayTalkingPoints.com
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