People With No Guts Shouldn't Be Elected To Congress

Yesterday, Orange County ConservaDem, Harley Rouda, a former Republican who is now a New Dem, sent out a press release bragging about how he's the only Southern California freshman to be endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He noted they're "the world's largest business organization" but didn't mention that they are also vehemently and very aggressively opposed to anything and everything that supports the interests of working families. Rouda's voting record-- graded "F" by ProgressivePunch-- indicates the a real kinship with the Chamber.

And, as he said, Rouda's freshmen neighbors-- Katie Porter and Mike Levin-- have not been endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The idea would be absurd. But characters like Rouda-- reflexively conservative and with no spine at all-- are always whining-- and rending their garments and pulling out their hair-- when asked to vote on any bill that is even remotely "controversial." Over 100 Democrats and 3 Republicans are all cosponsors of the MORE Act-- Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act. All the Members whose districts border on Rouda's-- Lou Correa (CA-46), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Katie Porter (CA-46), Mike Levin (CA-49) are cosponsors of the bill.

Rouda has a Republican-leaning district... but with a lot of stoners in Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa. In theory it could be a tough vote for him, pissing off either Republicans or stoners (although these days, there are rumors that some Republicans are stoners!). But the most recent polling from Pew should reassure cowards like Rouda. 67% of voters support legalizing marijuana and just 32% oppose it. Among Democrats and independents who lean blue, 78% support it and 20% are opposed. And among Republicans and independents who lean red, 55% support it and just 44% are against it. Those odds aren't good enough for the whiny-bitches caucus-- jellyfish like Anthony Brindisi (Blue Dog-NY) who are always crying that anything the Democrats want to pass will get him kicked out by the voters. There are too many like him to name, mostly Blue Dogs and New Dems from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. Discussing this with one of his colleagues today, she told me "[Brindisi] shouldn't be in elective office; he needs to find something else to do with himself."

Last week, Don Young, Alaska's only member of the House, a conservative Republican and the oldest member of Congress, announced he's backing the bill. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Tom McClintock (R-CA), both already voted for it in the Judiciary Committee. Over in the Senate, the chief sponsor is none other than Kamala Harris, the Democrats' VP nominee.

But yesterday Pelosi punted, tabling the bill until after the election so all the whiny bitches don't have to pee in their panties. "The bill has been touted as a step toward criminal justice reform," wrote Sarah Ferris at Politico, "and progressives said they believed it would have helped increase voter turnout for both House and Senate races. But moderates [meaning conservative Blue Dogs and New Dems from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party] expressed worry that passing it before a coronavirus deal was reached could hurt them on Nov. 3."

This is why the whiny-bitches caucus should have bitten the bullet and backed the legislation. From NORML:

• According to a recent report by the ACLU, Black Americans are 3.6 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis-related crimes than white Americans.
• According to the FBI UCR, over 663,000 Americans were arrested for marijuana-related crimes in 2018 alone.
• The state-legal cannabis industry employs over 243,000 full-time workers. In context, that is over 4 times the number of jobs in the coal industry.
• While the substance is not without harm, it is far less harmful than legal and regulated alcohol and tobacco.

The MORE Act would:

• Decriminalize marijuana federally by removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act
• Facilitate federal expungements for minor charges and incentivize state and local governments to do the same
• Create pathways for ownership opportunities for local and minority entrepreneurs
• Allow veterans to obtain medical cannabis recommendations from their VA doctors
• Remove the threat of deportation for immigrants