vision2020
Re: candidate questionaire: US House
Dear Vision 2020:
Greg Burton's message stated that he knew of "no Congress folks who
suggest the United States should kill people for selling drugs."
On the contrary, the expansion of the death penalty was part of the
Republican's 1994 Contract With America. That comical moralist and
fraud, Newt Gingrich, advocated the death penalty for "drug kingpins".
In fact, for all I know, it may have become law. Typically, this
nonsense came from a white, middle-aged, male, ruling class, admitted
past drug user. These raving cries for the extension of the death
penalty are stupid, hypocritical, barbarous excuses to kill young,
non-white males: America's dirty form of ethnic cleansing, hidden under
judicial drapery.
As we have seen recently in San Diego, when a law intended for non-white
young men is applied to white kids, the judicial and political system is
thrown into turmoil. I refer to the attempts to prosecute a group of
15-17 year old, upper class, white boys for chasing down, beating-up,
and shooting (with pellet guns) an elderly, poor, latino man. Republican
San Diegans from the boys' neighborhood had voted overwhelmingly in
favor of a law to allow prosecution of juveniles as adults. But, when
the prosecutor tried to indict these white boys as adults, the same
"tough-on-crime" Republicans went bananas; in their panic that one of
their own might be prosecuted, many of them actually admitted to NPR
that they voted for the law on the belief it would only be used against
non-whites.
It is not the least bit surprising that Butch Otter has proposed the
death penalty for drug dealers, since it will have no effect on him or
his family. As long as he is at it, why not the death penalty for those
who violate environmental laws by intentionally destroying wetlands? Or,
for drunk driving? Or, best of all, for stupid, hypocritical
politicians. (A bipartisan measure!)
Duncan Palmatier
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