Barney Frank schools George Will, Paul Ryan on marijuana legalization

[SHRED]

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) told columnist George Will and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Sunday that Republican opposition to marijuana legalization was “a great embarrassment to the conservatives.”

During a town hall-style debate on ABC, Frank demanded a response from Will about decriminalizing marijuana.

“I mean, personal liberty, if someone wants to smoke marijuana who’s an adult, why do you want to make them go to jail?” Frank asked.

MORE:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/12/18/barney-frank-schools-george-will-paul-ryan-on-marijuana-legalization/

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Barney rockin' the house!

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[tridim]

1. Republicans have never wanted small government, they want (and have) massive government.

And they want it to become even bigger and more intrusive.

I adore Barney Frank and am imagining an hour with him every day on MSNBC.

[Jackpine Radical]

2. They oppose "government control"

for themselves

but want it for everyone else.

[Lint Head]

3. I love Barney so much! He is extremely smart.

[msongs]

4. maybe barney can shool Obama, who is all george will on the marijuana issue as well nt

[Bluenorthwest]

5. Who was the WH spokesman, Will or Ryan?

nt

[heathflax]

6. there was more to this than just the M'juana issue

Rep. Frank on the pot issue, here, yes...but even if that may have been the obvious highlight, .there was also a GREAT DEAL MORE that went "right" "sic" with this show:

Reich was also mostly brilliant, and extremely disciplined in calmly but incisively correcting Ryan and Will on facts, realities and the truth.

Yes, Frank quieted down Will a great deal on the pot issue, or really, the fuller show there may have been the bigger picture of keeping out of people's private lives as to things which are harmless ,or close to it, to others. G. Will mostly just had brief one liners he struggled to state, and couldn't really fill his response time(the opposite of what usually happens when anybody is responding).

And RYAN: at one point absolutely speechless after Reich's oratorical tearing apart! In that situation when your position is defeated so utterly that all you can do is SHRUG YOUR SHOULDERS and shift your gaze around toward nothing, around the room, your argument is done!

The bigger underlying point of encouragement, seems to me to be that Ryan, despite the attention upon him now and power that's come his way, in truth must be REALLY REALLY limited in CREDIBLE evidence to back up his radical positions. Many will undoubtedly fall for his few talking points and the seemingly one or two true facts or statistics he uses in the course of mostly just pretty much lying. Frank helped Reich a lot at countering Ryan, indicating over and over about things Ryan was saying, "Lie!" "Not true!"

If that's all Ryan "now has" as to his act, then maybe his "side" is less strong that it may seem. He really seemed to end up mostly just reciting the same old mind-numbing tired lines repeatedly, Don't go for economic equalization, go for equal opportunity, Don't reduce the rich, uplift the poor"...and eventually even Amanpour the moderator, jumped in on him to say, But the rich-poor divide is still now growing even worse, and aren't new, increased rules necessary to change that trend, instead of your idea of doing a lot of rule removing" and ButRepresentative, tax breaks for the rich and such have been tried now for a long time, and that's not working or helping.

Overall, to me, most encouraging "debate" I can remember on such matters, in a LONG long time.

[hootinholler]

7. Barney is now FREE!

Not having to run for reelection I think has been quite liberating for him.

[bullwinkle428]

8. K&R. Barney beat the shit out of "Scared of Denim" Will!