Personal & political

It’s said that the personal is political. Absolutely. When I hear about a new Bush administration idiocy, I can’t help thinking of his misstep in my own personal terms.

Take the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s ridiculous claim that marijuana has no medical benefits. They should have talked to me before they issued that report.

I’ve got proof that marijuana is effective against depression: I lived in San Jose, a.k.a. the armpit of California, for four years—1966 to 1970—while I was attending San Jose State University. Never got depressed. Was happy to contribute to medical marijuana research ahead of its time.

Then there is Bush’s death bed conversion (given how low his poll numbers are, he’s fighting for political air) to environmental greenness. All of a sudden he’s talking up alternative fuels and hybrid technology. This from a guy whose vice-pres famously termed conservation an act of personal virtue, not a valid national policy option.

Well, our two-car fleet of hybrids averages 35 mpg: 45 mpg for our compact Toyota Prius and 25 mpg for our mid-size Toyota Highlander SUV. If Bush and his oil industry-friendly cronies had pushed hybrids five years ago and demanded higher auto industry mileage standards, a lot more people would be driving patriotically like us and sending less money to jihad-supporting Middle Eastern oil producers.

Lastly, no good for progressives is going to come out of the Democrats cozying up to the Bush administration’s drive to give amnesty to illegal aliens. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid is all aflutter about passing an immigration reform bill this year that would put illegals on the road to citizenship and give more American jobs to temporary workers.

This is an utterly un-progressive attitude that is going to backfire on the Dems. I’m confident of this because I brought up the subject of immigration during a get-together of a bunch of unrepentant liberals at our house a few weeks ago. I was the rightiest person in the room and I’m a left-leaning moderate. When I blurted out that I didn’t want twelve million illegals made citizens, I was prepared to shelter myself from the organic cookies and carrot sticks that were about to be hurled at my progressive-heretic head.

Didn’t happen. Every person but one agreed with me that legalization would be a mistake and that guest worker programs drive down the wages for low-income citizens. What they wanted was tough penalties on those who employ illegal workers, something the Bush administration is unlikely to pursue beyond a few well-timed INS raids to buy off the conservative “shut down the borders” crowd.

So there we have it. Marijuana is a medical godsend. Hybrids should have been a policy priority long ago. Immigration reform is a landmine for Democrats. Next question?