Now, I'm not a big booster of either of the Pauls; Ron Paul is far too much to the right socially for me to admire, and Rand is even further right yet. But for a huckster like Jack Conway to cater to the local yokels on this issue - when, of course, Kentucky is part of the immense and growing 'Marijuana Belt' - is both hilarious and despairing. Personally, I'm of the view that Hal Rogers and Jack Conway ought both be strung up by their shoelaces.At a forum yesterday in Louisville, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul was asked whether he’d support federal funding for the Eastern Kentucky anti-drug program UNITE, launched by Republican Congressman Hal Rogers. Paul replied that issues such as drug enforcement are better handled at the local, not federal, level.
Paul’s Democratic opponent, Attorney General Jack Conway, calls Paul “out of touch” with Kentucky in a blistering statement released this afternoon about the UNITE remarks. Read the statement after the jump:
Paul Declares War on Kentucky Programs
Identifies Republican Congressman’s successful drug aversion program as target for cuts
LOUISVILLE – In an appearance Thursday before the Kentucky County Judge Executives and Magistrates Summer Convention, Rand Paul once again showed how out of touch he is with the needs of Kentuckians by declaring he would not support funding for Operation Unlawful Narcotics Investigations, Treatment and Education (UNITE).
The successful substance abuse aversion program started by Congressman Hal Rogers (R-KY) in 2003 works with local officials in 29 Eastern Kentucky counties to reduce the occurrence of substance abuse and lessen the negative impact of drugs on individual communities.
UNITE is just one of many casualties that would result from Paul’s refusal to accept federal funds for Kentucky projects, including bridges, infrastructure and other programs beneficial to communities across the Commonwealth.
In less than a decade of existence, UNITE has resulted in 3,434 arrests, $9 million worth of illegal drugs seized, over $5 million in treatment program vouchers given to low-income families, and nearly 60,000 students’ participation in UNITE drug education programs, and these are merely a few of the program’s accomplishments.
Dr. Paul’s declarations against funding programs like UNITE at Thursday’s forum come on the heels of his proposals to eliminate the Departments of Education and Agriculture, which provide scholarships for our children, help farmers, and protect our nation’s food supply.
“While Rand Paul is working to be the leader of a national movement, he clearly doesn’t understand the needs of Kentucky. We simply cannot afford his outside the mainstream ideas, like doing away with federal money for vital projects and programs like operation UNITE. We deserve a Senator like Jack Conway who, as Attorney General, has built a positive record of getting results for our state, including participating in Operation Flamingo Road, the largest drug bust in the history of Kentucky,” said Conway spokesperson Allison Haley.
Conway attacks Paul over drug war
Moderators: Alyrium Denryle, Edi, K. A. Pital
Conway attacks Paul over drug war
and UNITE funding:
When the histories are written, I'll bet that the Old Right and the New Left are put down as having a lot in common and that the people in the middle will be the enemy.
- Barry Goldwater
Americans see the Establishment center as an empty, decaying void that commands neither their confidence nor their love. It was not the American worker who designed the war or our military machine. It was the establishment wise men, the academicians of the center.
- George McGovern
- Barry Goldwater
Americans see the Establishment center as an empty, decaying void that commands neither their confidence nor their love. It was not the American worker who designed the war or our military machine. It was the establishment wise men, the academicians of the center.
- George McGovern