News (Media Awareness Project) - US MI: Get Troops Out of Iraq, Let States Decide Marijuana Issue, GOP Candidate |
| Title: | US MI: Get Troops Out of Iraq, Let States Decide Marijuana Issue, GOP Candidate |
| Published On: | 2007-09-22 |
| Source: | Detroit Free Press (MI) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-11 22:18:09 |
GET TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ, LET STATES DECIDE MARIJUANA ISSUE, GOP CANDIDATE SAYS
If elected president, Texas congressman Ron Paul said he would change
drug laws to free non-violent offenders from prison.
"Mandated lifetime sentences are insane," he said during an interview
Friday with the Free Press editorial board. "I'd release them. I'd
pardon them."
The Republican presidential candidate, who used to be a Libertarian,
also would work to extract the federal government from the medical
marijuana debate by allowing state laws to stand unfettered.
By freeing up law enforcement from chasing down drug users and
non-violent drug dealers, Paul said they could spend more time
looking for rapists, murderers and child molesters.
"And look at how much money we spend on paying police to sit in
toilet stalls," he said, referring to the sting operation that
snagged U.S. Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho in a Minneapolis Airport men's room.
Paul's views are the polar opposite of most Republican presidential
candidates. He firmly believes that the United States should pull its
troops out of Iraq as soon as possible and drastically curtail
spending overseas.
"If they (the Republican Party) don't change their foreign policy,
they have zero chance of winning next year," he said.
Even though he trails badly in the polls and is enormously outmatched
by the front running Republicans in fundraising, Paul said he feels
support for his candidacy growing.
"I have no idea where it's going, but something really unique is
going on," he said, citing the crowd of 1,200 people he attracted
recently in California.
He was on his way Friday to the Michigan Republican Party's
Leadership Conference on Mackinac Island. He hasn't always gotten a
polite reception from the state party. Saul Anuzis led an effort
earlier this year to try and get Paul pulled from GOP debates because
of his libertarian views.
"Mackinac will be a test for us. But we might have a dozen supporters
there and we might have a couple of dozen supporters up there and
they will be excited," he said.
If elected president, Texas congressman Ron Paul said he would change
drug laws to free non-violent offenders from prison.
"Mandated lifetime sentences are insane," he said during an interview
Friday with the Free Press editorial board. "I'd release them. I'd
pardon them."
The Republican presidential candidate, who used to be a Libertarian,
also would work to extract the federal government from the medical
marijuana debate by allowing state laws to stand unfettered.
By freeing up law enforcement from chasing down drug users and
non-violent drug dealers, Paul said they could spend more time
looking for rapists, murderers and child molesters.
"And look at how much money we spend on paying police to sit in
toilet stalls," he said, referring to the sting operation that
snagged U.S. Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho in a Minneapolis Airport men's room.
Paul's views are the polar opposite of most Republican presidential
candidates. He firmly believes that the United States should pull its
troops out of Iraq as soon as possible and drastically curtail
spending overseas.
"If they (the Republican Party) don't change their foreign policy,
they have zero chance of winning next year," he said.
Even though he trails badly in the polls and is enormously outmatched
by the front running Republicans in fundraising, Paul said he feels
support for his candidacy growing.
"I have no idea where it's going, but something really unique is
going on," he said, citing the crowd of 1,200 people he attracted
recently in California.
He was on his way Friday to the Michigan Republican Party's
Leadership Conference on Mackinac Island. He hasn't always gotten a
polite reception from the state party. Saul Anuzis led an effort
earlier this year to try and get Paul pulled from GOP debates because
of his libertarian views.
"Mackinac will be a test for us. But we might have a dozen supporters
there and we might have a couple of dozen supporters up there and
they will be excited," he said.
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