JamBoi
02-12-2006, 09:19 PM
From a different article (also worth reading)
[link:http://web.greens.org/news/displayarticle.php?mediaId=3929|"Thornton believes new drug policies must include legalization, medicalization and decriminalization of illegal drugs. He does not call for dismantling the criminal justice system, but for control of the distribution and use of drugs."]
http://www.thornton.politicalgateway.com/elections/images/2006/8/2/0/0/314/314_150_060104102253.jpg
Third-Party Candidate's First-Class Issue
Hartford Courant
February 12, 2006
By Paul Bass
A candidate for statewide office in Connecticut spoke about drugs and race during a campaign stop the other day.
A candidate for governor.
Yes, this qualifies as news.
He wasn't a Democrat or a Republican, of course. He's a third-party candidate. And he's not a big-time politician like Lowell Weicker or a movie star like Arnold Schwarzenegger. So he may have trouble getting many voters to listen to what he has to say.
But in our limping democracy, serious discussion of pressing issues that require painful self-examination can be hard to find. So it's worth listening to what a third-party candidate like Clifford Thornton has to say.
Especially when it's about drugs and race in Connecticut.
"Connecticut has a population of 3.4, 3.5 million people," Thornton told me after his public appearance. He doesn't need a roomful of voters to rev up his outrage. "Of that population, black and Latino males make up less than 6 percent. But they account for almost 68 percent of the prison population, with almost 70 percent of them being there for drug-related charges.
"I ask you, is race and class a factor?
"If, in fact, whites were arrested and incarcerated [at the same rate] per illegal drug use and sale, we wouldn't be having this conversation because there would literally be armed insurrection in the streets. For instance, when they have these rock concerts in the Meadows, you will see where they arrested 10 or 15 or 20 people for drugs. Within a 24- to 48-hour period, most of those children are out because most of them come from the suburbs, and their parents will not tolerate that. If the same thing happened to an inner-city youth, chances are he would be doing some time.
"Am I lying?"
Third-party candidates rarely win statewide elections. But they have managed to force issues onto the radar and have even seen some of them become law. Social Security happened that way. Ross Perot forced Bill Clinton to tackle the budget deficit. In New Haven, the Green Party got ruling Democrats to embrace campaign finance reform.
So third-party candidates like Cliff Thornton - who's seeking to become the Green Party's candidate for governor - should not, must not be discounted.
[link:www.courant.com/news/local/northeast/hc-newbass0212.artfeb12,0,306074.story?coll=hc-headlines-northeast|More...]
[link:http://web.greens.org/news/displayarticle.php?mediaId=3929|"Thornton believes new drug policies must include legalization, medicalization and decriminalization of illegal drugs. He does not call for dismantling the criminal justice system, but for control of the distribution and use of drugs."]
http://www.thornton.politicalgateway.com/elections/images/2006/8/2/0/0/314/314_150_060104102253.jpg
Third-Party Candidate's First-Class Issue
Hartford Courant
February 12, 2006
By Paul Bass
A candidate for statewide office in Connecticut spoke about drugs and race during a campaign stop the other day.
A candidate for governor.
Yes, this qualifies as news.
He wasn't a Democrat or a Republican, of course. He's a third-party candidate. And he's not a big-time politician like Lowell Weicker or a movie star like Arnold Schwarzenegger. So he may have trouble getting many voters to listen to what he has to say.
But in our limping democracy, serious discussion of pressing issues that require painful self-examination can be hard to find. So it's worth listening to what a third-party candidate like Clifford Thornton has to say.
Especially when it's about drugs and race in Connecticut.
"Connecticut has a population of 3.4, 3.5 million people," Thornton told me after his public appearance. He doesn't need a roomful of voters to rev up his outrage. "Of that population, black and Latino males make up less than 6 percent. But they account for almost 68 percent of the prison population, with almost 70 percent of them being there for drug-related charges.
"I ask you, is race and class a factor?
"If, in fact, whites were arrested and incarcerated [at the same rate] per illegal drug use and sale, we wouldn't be having this conversation because there would literally be armed insurrection in the streets. For instance, when they have these rock concerts in the Meadows, you will see where they arrested 10 or 15 or 20 people for drugs. Within a 24- to 48-hour period, most of those children are out because most of them come from the suburbs, and their parents will not tolerate that. If the same thing happened to an inner-city youth, chances are he would be doing some time.
"Am I lying?"
Third-party candidates rarely win statewide elections. But they have managed to force issues onto the radar and have even seen some of them become law. Social Security happened that way. Ross Perot forced Bill Clinton to tackle the budget deficit. In New Haven, the Green Party got ruling Democrats to embrace campaign finance reform.
So third-party candidates like Cliff Thornton - who's seeking to become the Green Party's candidate for governor - should not, must not be discounted.
[link:www.courant.com/news/local/northeast/hc-newbass0212.artfeb12,0,306074.story?coll=hc-headlines-northeast|More...]