President Biden: The NEW one and only politics thread

I've never smoked it, but the Democrats should make that part of the party platform for November and campaign on it alongside reproductive rights.
If weed and abortion were made legal today, I'm still not going to do either, but I support other people's right to. And if that could lead to a blue wave that washes away the orange stain for good, more the better.

 

Agreed. I can't stand the stuff, but that would be part of my platform too.

 

Of course he will. What kind of moron would doubt it for a second??

 

It’s legal in so many states now that it does seem inevitable. So why not enjoy the tax revenue?

It also needs federal approval to be able bank it. I might be wrong, or ham-fisted in the description, but as I (sort of) understand it, cannabis proceeds have banking issues since, even in legal states, since it’s still illegal on the federal level. It means lots of raw cash and heightened chances of robbery and other criminal activity.

All that being said, I’m just oblivious as to how much it would move the needle in an election. Many would support, but it might also have a negative effect with parts of the electorate? I really don’t know.

I’m also not sure if Biden would go that far. It’s definitely an interesting conversation.

 

True about legal pot shops not being able to get into mainstream banking. I recall once upon a time Newsom talked of wanting to set up a state-run bank for pot businesses. The UFCW in this local has even been trying to organize workers.

It's all about tax revenue, of course. What generally happens is, while Springfield will talk about wanting to protect children and citizens from the evil weed, Shelbyville will put out the welcome mat. Springfield folks will see how much business is suddenly going to Shelbyville as a result and, of course, change its mind about the children.

 

Or just making it wworse.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_Drugs

 

I recall New York at least discussing the state-run bank solution at one point but haven’t kept track of the progress.

 

Let’s compare sports betting vs. legalized weed.

Weed sales have not been the panacea some states thought they would. You’re still buying from your dealer of X years because you know the product they offer, you don’t need your ID checked to make a purchase, etc. Also the only legal weed sales in many states is for medicinal purposes. The market is a limited one.

Legalized sports betting is so much more accessible vs. traditional bookies. The lines (“product”) are similar. You can do it from the house without feeling any “shame” by visiting the bookmaker in the back of some divey bar or (shudder) make a phone call, which millennials hate. You can follow along with every game at home.

It’s why sports betting has exceeded expectations in some states, whereas legalized pot isn’t the boom industry everyone thought it’d be.

 

Heck, I want it to go national and the tobacco companies get involved. You know they have it set up and ready to go. I have a good bit of retirement in tobacco stocks, and I figure the dividends would soar.

 

Re: marijuana money

A friend of mine owns a dispensary here. He makes a large profit each week. He built his own “bank” out in the country on some acreage. You drive by, see the cows and think nothing of it. Drive down the driveway, over a hill and then you see the two armed guards, concertina wire and secure building where he’s got a few million in cash stored.

 

Cannabis and cannabis users won, it's legal in 24 states during a repressive time in American history. Still pretty damned amazing. Now granted, the stocks might have been a big pffft.

 

Since there was no response, I'll assume no one watched Beau.

He commented on a rumor I had heard from a Republican Congressman, I can't recall who, in an interview. It's in a tweet on this thread some pages back. He was commenting on the ever narrowing Republican majority, about to drop to one vote, and said that if Speaker Johnson were to be recalled "I know of several others who plan to resign, some immediately."

More than one additional resignation would mean Speaker Jefferies, and the D's holding all three branches. That codifies Roe, makes the removal of the filibuster possible, etc. It *probably* means a huge loss for the R's in November, unless there is a huge Red wave vote in reaction. I had thought about that, although he touched in some things I had not considered.

The wild card he brought up, though, was "deterrence", the idea that putting that on the table would make MTG and Gaetz back off on forcing the recall vote and give Johnson some room to maneuver. That may already be in effect - note MTG's refusal to say that they would be calling the vote on the speaker, saying only that they would discuss it Monday.

Here's what Beau brought to the table that I had not considered. If the D's hold both houses of Congress and the WH, they can do what the Supremes said was required and vote to convict Trump of insurrection. He would no longer be eligible to return to office. If the Crazy Caucus has been warned of that possibility, that idea may be a big enough club to shut them down.

Of course, all of this is "rumor", but it smells of a rumor deliberately leaked as a power play. It's a bare knuckled strategic play worthy of McConnell. None of the above may come true, but it might be enough to change the recall vote to raise the number of people voting for it to something more reasonable than a single vote.