LAUNDERING AND MUD

Furor Over Attack Ads Obscures Point

Politics in Texas is, like football, a contact sport. And the state's
two candidates for governor are already pounding on each other three
months before the November election, as Republican Gov. Rick Perry's
"suitcases" ad attacking Democratic challenger Tony Sanchez proves.
It's been described as the political equivalent of a nuclear bomb, and
the nasty tone it conveys shows us that it's going to be another long
political season.

The 30-second ad, shot in grainy black-and-white, shows stacks of
cash, a suitcase being loaded onto an airplane and a police mug shot
of ex-Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, who is serving a long
sentence in a U.S. prison for drug trafficking, the Associated Press
describes the television commercial.

The federal government says $25 million in suspected drug money passed
through a financial institution owned by Sanchez, Laredo's Tesoro
Savings and Loan in the early 1980s. Perry's advertisement claims
Sanchez allowed the money laundering to take place. As the AP
reported, Sanchez and legal experts said the S&L had to transfer the
suspected drug money because of the laws in effect at that time.

Sanchez has countered with ads of his own pointing out inaccuracies in
Perry's commercial, and he says Perry knew before it aired that the ad
was full of inaccuracies.

All the mudslinging over the transfer of some $25 million in suspected
drug proceeds obscures a major point. Regardless of the ad's validity
- -- and Perry has made some questionable claims -- there's something else
to think about.

This country's insatiable demand for mind-altering substances,
combined with its asinine drug policy, created the climate in which a
third-rate Central American dictator could rack up millions in profits
by expediting delivery of a derivative of the coca leaf.

If we had a rational drug policy, one that didn't reward narcotics
suppliers by making prices artificially high, the candidates for
governor wouldn't be clogging the airwaves with accusations and
counteraccusations.

Instead, this nation focuses on drug prohibition when it should be
trying to cut the demand for illegal narcotics instead of worrying
about the supply.

So far in the governors race, we haven't heard much from either
candidate about the drug war except for finger-pointing over Tesoro
Savings and Loan. We'd like to hear something new from both candidates:

An acknowledgement that prohibition hasn't solved our state's drug
problems, and a promise to look at new policies, including
decriminalization.

There's still plenty of time before the election to clean up the
debate. An open, honest debate about the steps Texas should take to
solve the drug problem would be of much more use to the state's voters
than slinging more mud.