Newt Gingrich: Drug test everybody, Singapore-style

[RockofStrength]

To me, legalizing drugs is like what happened when legalizing gambling. The tax dollars generated are plentiful, but at what cost? The money is filthy and seldom goes to what was promised.

A bunch of dumb people (and a few smart ones on a bad day) lost a bunch of money and some savvy businessmen who realize that humans are terrible at looking realistically at gambling odds made oodles of money off of them?

 

[88GT]

To me, legalizing drugs is like what happened when legalizing gambling. The tax dollars generated are plentiful, but at what cost? The money is filthy and seldom goes to what was promised.

Only if it's taxed. Since we're in a conversation about utopia, you have to understand it wouldn't be. It would simply be there. Might even be able to buy it from Burpee.

 

[rambone]

Newt praises Singapore... again.

Newt brought up Singapore for the second time in an interview yesterday. He really thinks that Americans are ready to spill the blood of addicts in the streets.


source

Q: In 1996, you introduced a bill that would have given the death penalty to drug smugglers. Do you still stand by that?

GINGRICH: I think if you are, for example, the leader of a cartel, sure. Look at the level of violence they've done to society. You can either be in the Ron Paul tradition and say there's nothing wrong with heroin and cocaine or you can be in the tradition that says, 'These kind of addictive drugs are terrible, they deprive you of full citizenship and they lead you to a dependency which is antithetical to being an American.' If you're serious about the latter view, then we need to think through a strategy that makes it radically less likely that we're going to have drugs in this country.
Places like Singapore have been the most successful at doing that. They've been very draconian. And they have communicated with great intention that they intend to stop drugs from coming into their country.

Gingrich Praises Singapore's 'Very Draconian' Laws That Mandate Executions For Drug Possession

Gingrich’s endorsement of Singapore’s drug war is stunning. The country’s “drug laws are among the world’s harshest. Anyone aged 18 or over convicted of carrying more than 15 grams of heroin faces mandatory execution by hanging.” In 2005, Singapore infamously executed an Australian citizen for possession of .4 kilograms of heroin.
Gingrich’s praise of a Singapore-style drug policy is also yet another example of the GOP frontrunner’s contempt for the Constitution. In Kennedy v. Louisiana, the Supreme Court held that “[a]s it relates to crimes against individuals . . . the death penalty should not be expanded to instances where the victim’s life was not taken.” Although Kennedy left open to possibility of execution for “treason, espionage, terrorism, and drug kingpin activity, which are offenses against the State,” Singapore-style drug policy is clearly unconstitutional.

 

[rambone]

Before introducing laws to kill drug users, Newt Gingrich used to be a pothead

Here Newt explains how he believes the morality of smoking plants has changed in the last 40 years. It took humanity tens of thousands of years to develop these Nanny State morals.


"See, when I smoked pot it was illegal, but not immoral. Now, it is illegal AND immoral. The law didn't change, only the morality… That's why you get to go to jail and I don't."

-- Newt Gingrich, 8/8/1996, Wall Street Journal (source)

 

[rambone]

Welcome to Singapore

This is the draconian system that Newt likes to praise. They cane you, imprison you, or kill you.

Newt must like Shariah Law a little more than he lets on.

 

[Tango]

I'd pass a drug test with flying colors, but the Constitution gives me the right to be secure in my person.

 

[steveh_131]

"See, when I smoked pot it was illegal, but not immoral. Now, it is illegal AND immoral. The law didn't change, only the morality… That's why you get to go to jail and I don't."

-- Newt Gingrich, 8/8/1996, Wall Street Journal (source)

This quote alone would prevent me from voting for this clown. It's frightening that he thinks a human's freedom should depend on his ever-changing morals.

 

[gvonpaul]

if we are serious about totally ending it, the punishment must be severe enough to deter.

The punishments are Draconian already. The death penalty does not deter murderers, how will it deter drug traffickers when the lure of easy money is so strong?
The only way to take the power away from drug cartels is to take the money away from them. We can't invade Mexico or Colombia (legally) and take them out. They're certainly not lining up to surrender, what can we do?
30 + years of the "War on Drugs" has completely failed to make a significant dent in addiction rates and has cost Americans billions of dollars and in many cases, their freedom.
How many here would start doing heroin or cocaine if it were legal? I know I wouldn't, any more than I would abuse alcohol knowing the consequences of such use.
Prohibition of both alcohol and drugs has failed and it's time we stop eroding our freedoms in the name of something that can't be stopped.

 

[IndyStudent]

the need to start out by drug testing people on Unemployment, and welfare first !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

if you fail all benefits are revoked.

I'm not sure if this is a serious post, but this is a legit belief some people have, so let's address it.

In Florida, they did exactly this. Only 2% failed the test, which based on news reports I read at the time, is a disproportional low rate of drug use than the general population. It cost more to institute the testing of all welfare recipients than they saved by kicking those 2% off the rolls.

Now as far as testing, for the sake of argument, I'm fine with that as long as it applies equally. So let's take the state of Florida. Will every business owner that applies for a tax incentive, every lobbyist who wants to lobby the legislative body, every contractor trying to score a government gig, also go under testing? These people may very well be making and using MORE money than those on welfare.

 

[IncendiaryGunner]

The reason the death penalty is not a sound deterrent for crime, is because an individual weighs the chance of getting caught to a much greater degree than the punishment when deciding if they will commit a crime.

Since the chance of getting caught is not great, people would still believe they can commit the crime without being caught, and the harsh punishment does not change their minds.

You might deter a very small percentage of drug dealers, but more profits will just end up in the hands of the people willing to traffic drugs... It creates the same artificially controlled supply problem that prohibition creates in the first place - putting money in the hands of cartels and organized criminal networks. It would cost taxpayers a ridiculous amount of money, and would not be effective.

 

[sepe]

It is kind of funny to hear Newt talking about drugs and spilling blood since he has admitted to smoking pot back in college and grad school. Doubt there would be many on the hill that would pass a drug test so I'm guessing Newt is thinking that they should be exempt from testing.

Gingrich would explain his shift in position in an interview with journalist Hilary Stout in 1996.
“See, when I smoked pot it was illegal, but not immoral. Now, it is illegal AND immoral. The law didn't change, only the morality… That's why you get to go to jail and I don't.”
August 8, 1996, Wall Street Journal

Gingrich on Marijuana

 

[rambone]

You can either be in the Ron Paul tradition and say there's nothing wrong with heroin and cocaine or you can be in the tradition that says, 'These kind of addictive drugs are terrible, they deprive you of full citizenship and they lead you to a dependency which is antithetical to being an American.'

I wonder what the hell Newt is talking about here? Maybe he wants to degrade the meaning of citizenship such that accusations of a crime would cause you to lose your "full citizenship." I guess we'll have to wait and see!

 

[grube555]

How about we Drug test the people that are taking free money from the gov first! I have to take a drug test to get a job but for some reason the alcu finds it wrong to drug test someone on welfare!!!

 

[IncendiaryGunner]

How about we Drug test the people that are taking free money from the gov first! I have to take a drug test to get a job but for some reason the alcu finds it wrong to drug test someone on welfare!!!

Because when you tally it all up, the cost of testing recipients is greater than the money saved by not paying out benefits to the people that fail the tests.

 

[longbarrel]

I wonder what he meant by "drugs come in, guns go out".

Ask the alphabet agencies involved.

 

[longbarrel]

I wonder what the hell Newt is talking about here? Maybe he wants to degrade the meaning of citizenship such that accusations of a crime would cause you to lose your "full citizenship." I guess we'll have to wait and see!

We'll never find out. If he gets the nod, he will lose miserably. And if he doesn't get the nod, then.........?????