Yo, CPC, Here’s a smart Tory
Unlike most politicians, David Cameron knows something about the global drugs industry. When he served on the Home Affairs Select Committee in 2002, he conducted a year-long investigation into it, taking more than 50 hours of evidence and long testimonies from the world’s experts. He went in very sceptical of the idea of legalisation: aren’t only crazy pro-heroin hippies in favour of ending prohibition? But as the evidence piled up, the committee was honest enough to admit that – in Cameron’s words – “about the only thing all our witnesses agreed on was that the Government’s strategy was a failure and prohibition of drugs over many decades had not worked”. They explained the truth: criminalisation does not kill the drugs industry. It simply hands it over to armed criminal gangs who flood the country with guns, terrorise their neighbourhoods, and drain resources that would be better spent helping and treating addicts.The Ambler and I were on a long walk yesterday afternoon and discussing our general sense of disillusionment – for entirely different reasons I hasten to add – with the CPC. One of the things which is annoying is how very little vision the Tories seem to have. They have fallen into the trap of letting the Liberal set the agenda and then trying to gain votes with little second order variations on the Liberal theme.Cameron found the prohibitionist rhetoric – stamp, stamp, stamp it out – increasingly ludicrous and self-defeating. So he has begun to advocate the only serious alternative: legalisation at the international level through the UN.
johannhari via andrew sullivan
The Tories in England seem to be made of sterner stuff as David Cameron proves with his clear eyed look at the massive defeat which is the “War on Drugs”. The old golfing rule, “Always change a losing game, never change a winning one.” seems to apply. Not even the most zealous DEA official can keep a straight face if asked if the war on Drugs is being won. They know that drug use in the US and the rest of the world is increasing, that the price of drugs is falling and that all their efforts are doing is tossing poor, often black, kids in jail and blighting the lives of the middle class dope fiends who are unlucky enough to get caught.
It is open to the CPC to actually embrace legalization and harm reduction rather than the silliness of Canada’s half hearted WOD. Will they? Of course not. that would be a position and the one thing the CPC is truly scared of is taking a position.
The Ambler thinks the Liberals will win a majority in the next election. So, sadly, do I.
“The Tories in England seem to be made of sterner stuff…”
That sound you just heard was everyone over at Samizdata bursting into peals of hysterical laughter. The British Tories are every bit as directionless and clueless as ours, trust me.
“Of course not. that would be a position and the one thing the CPC is truly scared of is taking a position.”
That’s not entirely true. I understand that most members of the CPC are rather fond of the Missionary Position.
“The Ambler thinks the Liberals will win a majority in the next election. So, sadly, do I.”
So do I. The CP has frittered away opportunity after opportunity to gain some ground. Considering that the majority of people who voted Liberal in the last election would prefer a better alternative, that takes some real skill.
Actually Sean, at a secret meeting in TO this weekend the socon end of the CPC is going to see if it can make the Missionary Position mandatory and declare all other positions, postures and preferences against nature, God and policy.
“So do I. The CP has frittered away opportunity after opportunity to gain some ground. Considering that the majority of people who voted Liberal in the last election would prefer a better alternative, that takes some real skill.”
We find it quite painfully frustrating to watch. This isn’t how a healthy democratic system works, there needs to be real competition! It’s not good for anyone (including the Liberals-in the longrun) if the Liberals keep winning by the crappy Tory strategy default.
I’m seeing a Liberal majority next time as well. And heaven help Alberta when that happens.
The Conservatives will win ~118 seats next election, the Liberals ~110 seats, the BQ ~58, the NDP ~22. It would be helpful if the people who repeatedly claim that a Liberal majority is imminent would make a specific prediction now, for the record. Thank you very much, and have a happy day.