Rand Paul's Kooky Take on Drugs Will Hurt Him in Rural Kentucky
Not that it's a surprise, but Rand Paul is Too Kooky for Kentucky (www.tookookyforkentucky.com). Literally. Last year he served as the one of the principle spokesmen for a Presidential candidate who wants to decriminalize… perhaps legalize… drugs. Here's the Courier Journal's Joe Gerth on Rand and the drug war:
By taking away precious federal resources, such as the DEA, the FBI, and various forms of federal aid for communities, Paul would hamstring our Appalachian communities in their bid to stem the drug tide. What’s more, difficult cases that require US Attorney oversight and cases built using RICO statutes would be harder to make.
Paul’s ideological take is also at odds with the politics of the region. Congressman Rogers has done a yeoman’s job trying to create programs that would alleviate some of the worst ravages that drugs have inflicted on our communities. These often rely on federal funds. Paul’s decision to abandon outright these efforts won’t make his Senate bid easy in the old (or new) 5th C.D.
Some of the programs that could be directly affected by the election of Rand Paul include:
City/County/DEA partnerships (which provide undercover task force officers in local communities)
Appalachian HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas)
Operation UNITE
At the end of the day, for many main street conservatives in KY, choosing our next Senator is a matter of choosing someone who find you the resources and tools you need to make your communities better. For Rand Paul to abandon outright many of the tools rural communities have come to rely on is downright kooky.
Crossposted at Cyberhillbilly.com. Cyberhillbilly will be cross posting while Osi's away.
Paul said that on federal drug laws, he believes “most policies of crime and punishment should be and are addressed at the state level.”
He wouldn't say if the U.S. laws should be done away with or if the Drug Enforcement Administration should be disbanded, but he said, “I would favor a more local approach to drugs.”
By taking away precious federal resources, such as the DEA, the FBI, and various forms of federal aid for communities, Paul would hamstring our Appalachian communities in their bid to stem the drug tide. What’s more, difficult cases that require US Attorney oversight and cases built using RICO statutes would be harder to make.
Paul’s ideological take is also at odds with the politics of the region. Congressman Rogers has done a yeoman’s job trying to create programs that would alleviate some of the worst ravages that drugs have inflicted on our communities. These often rely on federal funds. Paul’s decision to abandon outright these efforts won’t make his Senate bid easy in the old (or new) 5th C.D.
Some of the programs that could be directly affected by the election of Rand Paul include:
City/County/DEA partnerships (which provide undercover task force officers in local communities)
Appalachian HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas)
Operation UNITE
At the end of the day, for many main street conservatives in KY, choosing our next Senator is a matter of choosing someone who find you the resources and tools you need to make your communities better. For Rand Paul to abandon outright many of the tools rural communities have come to rely on is downright kooky.
Crossposted at Cyberhillbilly.com. Cyberhillbilly will be cross posting while Osi's away.
Labels: Appalachia and Drugs, Rand Paul, Too Kooky for Kentucky, War on Drugs
posted by Johnathan Gay at 8:54 PM
2 Comments:
That kooky constitution thing. We should scrap it.
It's the better policy position-- philosophically and practically.
But aside from that, I can imagine it hurting and helping him. My guess would have been a net gain for him, especially in rural Kentucky.
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