NH Senate Says No To Relief For The Ill

Failing by just 2 votes, the NH Senate allowed the Govern Lynch veto of the law that would have allowed Marijuana to be used in NH as a medical treatment for the ill to stand.

Barnes, Jr., John	Republican		17	Nay
Bradley, Jeb	Republican		03	Nay
Bragdon, Peter	Republican		11	Nay
Carson, Sharon	Republican		14	Nay

DeVries, Betsi	Democrat		18	Nay
Downing, Michael	Republican		22	Nay

Gatsas, Theodore

Republican

16

Nay

Letourneau, Robert

Republican

19

Nay

Odell, Bob

Republican

08

Nay

Roberge, Sheila

Republican

09

Nay

These are the names of those state senators who feel it is more important to punish someone for a victimless crime then providing relief to people suffering from illnesses.

What troubles me the most here are the numbers of republicans.  Now before anyone gets into a republican vs democrat debate, that's clearly not the case.  The argument for legalization is showing itself to be a non partisan issue after all it was Lynch who vetoed it in the first place.

That said however, republicans are the party who claim to represent individual responsibility and individual liberty.  They are the ones who stand up for personal choice over government forcing things on you for your own good.  For these nine republicans to disallow this personal freedom is the height of hypocrisy.

I would hope that other true Republicans who do support personal freedom and personal liberty and who agree with me that government should stop wasting the labor of others to punish victimless crimes will join me in contacting these senators and explain to them that this is not what the Republican party stands for.  We are not the party of punishing the ill for what comes down to a morality issue.

Comments

[Chaz Proulx]

Richard

You're right.

This has always vexed me. Why do Libertarians keep believing conservative Republicans when they expand government like Bush and club people over the heads with drug laws, like Nixon of old and like the current crop of Republican Senators in NH?

Cz

[Rick Barnes]

Chaz, a lot of times it ends up simply being the lesser of two evils. Democrats openly campaign for more government and more spending and stripping away personal liberty and freedoms. We see it time and time again. Both on a federal level and state level the Democratic party is spending far more then we ever saw under Republican lead. Democrats are the ones looking to expand government power on health care, who look to stripping away personal liberties and freedoms forcing things like seatbelts and banning foods (for our own good).

[Chaz Proulx]

Richard,

OK, I'm unvexed.

So the Free Staters will continue to blame Democrats for everything under the sun, while Republicans deny medical marijuana to those in need.

Democrats support the middle class and always have. Our policies have saved this country from a modern day feudal system disguised as free enterprise.

We are involved in government because that's what democracy is all about.

We believe in WE THE PEOPLE. You folks think government is a body removed from that concept.

This is silly--especially in NH the state with the most open government imaginable.

You just don't get it.

[Rick Barnes]

Chaz, I fail to see how "free staters" come into play here. I am not nor was I ever a free stater. I lived in NH since before the free state ever chose which state to relocate to. I am friends with free staters like Matt Simon and I support them on most things but that's the extent of it.

You can credit democrats for whatever you want but I'm pointing to the FACT that they are the ones more often then Republicans supporting and putting up bills that strip away personal liberty and freedoms. The seatbelt bills, they are now pushing helmet bills, the tell private businesses how much they must pay and what legal activities should be allowed within their doors, they try to tell us what we can and cannot eat such as trans fat, they believe that people should be compelled against their wishes to fund things they object to, they even seek to limit rights guaranteed by the constitution such as the right to own a gun.

You can put on your partisan blinders if you want and claim all that is done for the people but I'm calling them as I see them and anything that takes away a person's ability to choose for him or her self is something I see as wrong. Those nine republicans screwed up here and I'm calling them to task just as I call democrats who seek to limit personal freedoms to task when they do it.

[steven d]

Excellent post richard..and for a first time i think we agree 100%..BRAVO!!!

[Chaz Proulx]

Helmet laws?

Seatbelts and helmut laws as the high water mark of personal freedom. Is that all you've got Richard.

I ride a motorcycle--always have.

My insurance rates are very high--why? Because so many riders here don't protect their heads. They protect their vanity instead. Look--see everybody it's me on my motorcycle.

When these folks get hurt the citizens of NH get the bill. One person can easily run up millions of dollars.

So I pay for their vanity. Where's my Freedom? If government imposed the penalty I pay you would be all up in arms.

There's two sides to every story, but you guys are blind to anything sensible.

[Chaz Proulx]

ps

I wear an expensive, full face helmut.

I think that's what you call personal responsibility.

Not bragging about it, it's foolish not too.

[Rick Barnes]

Chaz, I don't doubt for a minute that you have your reasons for taking away a person's individual choice just as those who voted against the marijuana bill have their reasons. After all smoking is bad for you and increases your health problems... your having more health problems leads to me paying higher insurance rates as well... SAME argument and I disagree with both of them.

We've had the whole seatbelt argument (which was only one of MANY examples I gave) and I have no wish to rehash it here in a thread having very little to do with it so I'll just leave off by saying we'll have to just agree to disagree here. You go on playing partisan politics and I'll point out the flaws BOTH sides have rather then fooling myself as you do that one side is right and the other is wrong on everything.

[pinko]

Well, Dicky, for once I agree with you. Unfortunately this was a vote along party lines. If you look at the House votes you'll see the same thing. The GOP listened to Nancy Reagan (herself a pillhead) just saying no, and typically never bothered to amass any further information.

That whole party of "personal freedom" is just as much crap as the GOP being the "party of personal responsibility. Neither is true, as we've seen time and time again.

[Chaz Proulx]

Pinko

Right on.