Comments on: Why I am No Longer a Republican (and never was a Democrat)

By: Minnesota hates Wine at B12 Solipsism

Minnesota hates Wine at B12 Solipsism — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 03:10:57 +0000

[...] obsessive government. Al Franken ought to make this reform part of his platform. — update: Minnesota hates mushrooms too, [...]

By: BenP

BenP — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 03:36:59 +0000

I am so happy to hear that your nephew was not put into a system where he had no chance or making it out, I happen to agree with you and happened to wear the same political tag as you before many events which have unfolded in the last decade did.

I am happy to see more people waking up, and maybe together we can field a new party or reform an existing one and take back our liberty.

I to am disheartened by the current state of affairs, and for the state of affairs on the right side of the isle. I find myself drifting from a constitutional conservative to a libertarian every day.

My thoughts and prayers for you and yours, and all those going through what your nephew did, but do not have the means to catch a break.

God Bless.

By: steve stanley

steve stanley — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:14:23 +0000

I was a republican because the government is too big? You have a simplistic belief and so you choose to support the party of simplistic lies (“fight em over there so we don’t have to fight em over here”) and then you’re disillusioned. I have no sympathy for you.

By: Jay

Jay — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:02:09 +0000

Our so called war on drugs is just another failed prohibition! It has ruined America, Columbia and now Mexico.

By: Tamara

Tamara — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:33:13 +0000

I am still a republican but I lean heavily libertarian..My dear friend had drug problems, severe addiction, I feel prison exacerbated the problem. He died last year!

By: Valerie Belew

Valerie Belew — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 17:00:20 +0000

Hello,

I am actually a substance abuse counselor who agrees with you 100%. Those consumed with the drug war, have allowed common sense to go out the window. Drug use is not okay, but it is not on the same level as murder or child molestation, either. It needs to be discouraged, and addiction needs to be treated, but in most cases, incarceration should not even be an option. Alcoholism and nicotine addiction are similar problems, and neither include prison or jail time unless impaired driving is involved, which is a different issue, but one that is still not equal to murder, or even close in most cases. Glad your nephew has people who love him enough to protect him, but what about all of those who don’t. It is downright scary. Valerie

By: Chelsea

Chelsea — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:09:40 +0000

You know what, I like to pride myself on my ‘extreme-liberalism’- however, I totally 100% agree with what you have to say, and you pose a very decent argument.

Respect!

By: Paul Frank

Paul Frank — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 03:37:32 +0000

The drug laws are a vestige of the “I’m-not-soft-on-crime” political calculus of most mainstream politicians, which is in turn a response to the popular lumping together of crime and drugs into one big heinous mass. Senator Jim Webb (D – Virginia) is one of the few politicians with the courage to take on the issue of sentencing reform, and I will applaud him here for that.

While majorities of both parties have failed on this front, on this issue I think “Freedom”(Steve) would at least not be out of place in the Democratic party. I would encourage him to view both party’s failure on this issue not as a reason to give up on politics, but as a reason to go into politics. His decision is our loss.

By: amy

amy — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:24:24 +0000

I agree that the “war on drugs” is useless and wasteful. The drug laws in this country are insane. But what bothers me mostly about this post is that it seems that most people don’t give a crap about something until it knocks at their door and affects someone in their life. This person was a republican who supported strict laws and then the second it affects a loved one he sits back and realizes that REAL people are getting screwed everyday- no shit! But no one thinks about it or cares, until it happens to them. Sort of like people who criticize unemployment benefits…until they need them. Or like people who criticize the uninsured….until they are uninsured. And then it suddenly dawns on them that these things can happen to anyone. It just annoys me with their johnny-come-lately “only when it happens to me” outrage.

By: Coyote

Coyote — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:44:42 +0000

When I think “Small government,” I think a government that keeps itself out of people’s private lives, and only intervernes when the “commons” are threatened.

To me that means, you don’t tell people whether to smoke pot or not, who to marry, how to worship, or how to paint their house, but you do keep people from dumping trash into the water supply, you stop them from engaging in asinine pyramid-scheme-level economic endeavors that affect banking, communications, and other infrastructure.

Mushrooms and pot won’t make anyone become insane and hurt anyone.

Banking practices based on allowing people with too much money to prey on those without, are likely to cause more deaths and more upset.