Washington political news outlet The Hill reports on the recent "professional left" remarks made by the Obama White House's press secretary Robert Gibbs. Gibbs was expressing frustration at progressive activists who are complaining that the president hasn't lived up to campaign promises on a number of issues.
The press secretary dismissed the "professional left" in terms very similar to those used by their opponents on the ideological right, saying, "They will be satisfied when we have Canadian healthcare and we've eliminated the Pentagon. That's not reality."
"I hear these people saying he's like George Bush. Those people ought to be drug tested," Gibbs said. "I mean, it's crazy."
I don't disagree that comparing Obama to Bush is crazy; Bush could push the exact bill he wanted through Congress and Obama can pronounce "nuclear". It's the "drug users are crazy" slur, the "drug test" variant of the "what have you been smoking?" that offends me. It's that joking about these drug tests that ruin thousands of lives is a response from an official addressing the disappointment in the president felt by the people who voted for him. Considering the vast majority of people who use "drugs" are using cannabis and the tests for "drugs" most often find cannabis metabolites, he's talking about us, the 22 million* Americans who will use cannabis this year.
Full disclosure: I am one of the "professional left"** and attended that Netroots Nation conference Gibbs is obliquely referencing, representing NORML on a marijuana policy panel.
Gibbs said the professional left is not representative of the progressives who organized, campaigned, raised money and ultimately voted for Obama.
Well, we know what President Obama and Robert Gibbs think of those of us who "ought to be drug tested", especially us online activists in the "professional left" who helped get him elected. We're chuckled at when we suggest legalizing marijuana (see videos below), even as more than half of America on some polls - not just Left Blogsylvania - are beginning to think it is a damn good idea and California is voting on the issue this November.
Legalization is more popular than the Congress and the President - who once, like us, was just one bust away from being "Barry the Drug Criminal" for life - so maybe equating our criticisms of the president to drug-induced psychosis isn't the smartest political move.
* Remember these are numbers from a government-sponsored survey where an anonymous pollster surveys random strangers by telephone to ask whether they currently are violating state and federal law... so you might want to adjust upward a bit. For comparison's sake, there are more adults in America who will smoke pot this year than there are adult African-Americans in this country.
** And yes, I would be satisfied with Canadian health care, thank you very much! My insurance premiums went up 24% this year!
*** The admitted / strongly suspected (Danforth, we're looking your way...) marijuana users are italicized:
1992 Clinton / Gore vs. Bush / Quayle
1996 Clinton / Gore vs. Dole / Kemp
2000 Bush / Cheney vs. Gore / Lieberman
2004 Bush / Cheney vs. Kerry / Edwards
2008 Obama / Biden vs. McCain / Palin
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