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The Height of Disingenuity

by Mark Thompson

As some of you know, Sen. Grassley has put forth an amendment to prevent a proposed panel on criminal justice reform from engaging in any discussion regarding the propriety of decriminalization or legalization of any drugs.  Jacob Sullum (h/t: Popehat) notes Grassley’s mind-boggling rationale for this amendment, which is summed up with this sentence: “I filed this amendment in an effort to start a debate on this important issue.” 

In other words, Sen. Grassley’s amendment to prohibit discussion of decriminalization or legalization is, in fact, an extraordinarily open-minded effort to ensure that there is no discussion about decriminalization or legalization without first having a discussion about whether there should be a discussion about decriminalization or legalization.  It would seem that, in Grassley’s view, it would clearly be against the spirit of freedom of speech and intellectual freedom if we just went forward with having a debate without first having a debate about whether we should have a debate.

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5 comments

1 Jaybird { 11.24.09 at 6:48 pm }

Are there transcripts of the discussions that inspired this amendment?

2 North { 11.25.09 at 8:17 am }

Damnit why? I mean seriously, why?!

Mark Thompson
November 25th, 2009 at 8:26 am

You mean the real reason? I suspect it has something to do with drug warriors not wanting there to be any opportunity to second-guess the drug war.

North
November 25th, 2009 at 10:37 am

Yeah most likely. Well nothing to be done for it but to keep on making cracks in the dike. The Drug warriors will run out of thumbs eventually.

3 Nob Akimoto { 11.25.09 at 2:01 pm }

It’s Chuck Grassley… His behavior’s been rather nakedly hypocritical over the last few months. I still wonder how Max Baucus can stand to be in the same room as him given how badly Grassley screwed him over.