Saturday, March 28, 2009

Vote for me, and I'll ignore you

Update: Be sure to read the comments. Mr. Weinstein graciously responded to my question. Also, check out this editorial in the Baltimore Sun for more on this same topic.

I am irritated at one of the folks running for a State Delegate seat for 9A, Jon Weinstein. Two times over the course of the past two weeks I posted a question on his blog, and he still has not answered. The question, in my opinion, is perfectly legitimate. I don’t know the exact wording that I used, but it was something like this:

In 2007, a bill was introduced in the House of Delegates (HB 1040) called the Maryland Compassionate Use Act. This bill would have essentially legalized marijuana for medical purposes under Maryland state law. HB 1040 did not pass. Would you be supportive of a similar bill if one was introduced during your term?


This question is particularly relevant this year, because the Obama administration (to their credit) has basically ended Federal raids on medical marijuana facilities. Therefore, such a bill would have teeth if passed in Maryland.

I think such a bill would make a lot of sense. Why would a politician, most of whom have no medical training, limit what kinds of remedies are available to patients and their doctors? The ban on drugs makes no sense at all, but the ban on marijuana for medical purposes is particularly harmful and foolish.

Mr. Weinstein, however, has not answered the question nor even allowed the question to appear as a comment on his “blog”. Furthermore, he appears to have scrubbed all comments from his blog. I honestly don’t even know why the guy is running if he doesn’t want to deal with the public. The public can be a-holes, and I know this because I am a member of the public who can be an a-hole. But I am not running for an office which gives me the power for force others to do things against their will, Mr. Weinstein is. The least he could do is be courteous enough to answer questions from those in his potential district.

So far, the only thing the guy wants to do is raise money. Hell, I could run for office of the platform “send me your money and I won’t answer any of your questions.” I’d buy a sweet MacBook Pro for my use during my “campaign”.

Don’t take this as an endorsement of any of Weinstein’s opponents. During the last election I sent an e-mail to Bates and Miller asking them to clarify their position on gay marriage/civil unions. Neither was courteous enough to respond.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

See, now you're getting it. What elected people do well is raise money - that's how they got elected. Local voters don't hold them accountable because very few know who these elected people are and what they're supposed to be doing.

Anonymous said...

You forgot to mention that he was hooked up with Guzzone which likely means Weinstein is a party insider - constituents beware. These types will do anything for the party and the voters are relegated to pesky inconveniences.

jim adams said...

Wow!, have either of you meet Jon
Weinstein. You both sound very judgemental,and you seem tp find it easy to hide behind Anonymous title's and shot at others.

Meet the local candidates one on one, and then post something of substance, be it pro or con.

p.s. try using your own name, it may be easier to spell than Anonymous.

Freemarket said...

I dunno. It sounds like Anon may have met quite a few politicians to me.

jim adams said...

F.M, sounds can be deceiving.

Like the sounds in the dark.

Anon 9:01 admits "few know who these elected people (and candidates - my words) are and what they're supposed to be doing."

This why I make the point "meet the local candidates one on one"

I wouldn't employ someone I didn't know, to do something I didn't know had to be done. Of course that is just my preference.

Jon Weinstein said...

I guess its time to weigh in...

Dear Freemarket & Anonymous:

This salutation sounds like the beginning of a letter to “The Onion”, but I’ll proceed a bit more seriously. I have made engaging the citizens in District 9A in constructive conversations a key part of my campaign for the House of Delegates. I’m active in the community so I’m talking with people face-to-face about issues all the time and as a candidate I have talked with them at the county fair, at town hall meetings, and at a number of “Meet Jon” events that my early supporters – Democrats, Republicans, and Unaffiliated - are having in their homes across the district. I do not intend to use faceless and nameless methods of communication since a true open and honest two-way dialogue is impossible.

I described this in the email I sent you on March 20, but since you did not provide me actual contact information you did not receive the following email, “I appreciate your time in asking the question. Since I get a fair amount of questions, comments, and suggestions a thoughtful reply does take time. Also, I do enjoy engaging people in constructive dialogue as part of the campaign, especially face-to-face where I can learn more about the person. With email from anonymous sources that's hard to do. In that spirit, what is your name, where in District 9A or HoCo do you live? Regards, Jon”

Now I’ll temporarily retract my first campaign promise NOT to respond to anonymous queries. Since my campaign is focused on “Responsive and Responsible Representation” and since my opponents ignored you in the past, I offer you the following reply to your question regarding HB1040/SB757 in 2007 – the Maryland Compassionate Use Act. While this issue is wrought with legal, administrative, and ethical/moral issues, I believe it is fundamentally about helping those suffering from debilitating illnesses. Maryland’s current medical marijuana law (one of 31 states with such a law) was enacted in 2003. Though I do not have the benefit of having participated in the debate in the House of Delegates, my sense from reviewing HB1040 proposed in 2007, is that it would have strengthened the current law and improved and safeguarded access to patients with a medical need determined by their physicians. You may not be aware that an attempt to raise the issue this session has had its “first reading” in the Judiciary. HB1339 established a Task Force to study issues relating to medical marijuana in Maryland and report its findings and recommendations, including a recommendation regarding the maintenance or repeal of the State’s law on medical marijuana, to the Governor and the General Assembly by the end of 2009.

I am running to represent the people of 9A, not myself or any particular ideology and will show respect for those who may disagree with me and seek to understand their views while I seek their understanding of my views. I expect I’ll refrain from “blogging” here again since an honest and frank exchange is not possible when it is done anonymously and with rancor. Again, I invite you to learn more about me, my campaign, and to attend any of the free “Meet Jon” events hosted by supporters the district that we will conduct throughout the campaign. You can see the schedule on my site – www.Vote4Jon.com.

Regards,

Jon

Freemarket said...

Jon, thanks for your response, which I think was a yes. Just two quick comments from me:

First, if you want people to use their real names on your blog in order to get a response from you, you should have a comment policy which states that. Otherwise, you are being disrespectful to those who take the time to write to you.

Secondly, I could not agree more that this issue is wrought with ethical/moral issues. The ethical and moral issues are because politicians, most of whom have absolutely no medical training whatsoever, think that they have moral authority to go about restricting what patients and their doctors should be able to use to treat medical aliments. That is very unethical and immoral.

Good luck to you.

Jon Weinstein said...

Thank you for your suggestion about the contact info on my site. I have made a change to the contact page.

Jon

Eludius said...

Free Market - you should write a post thanking Jon for responding. If I hadn't read the comments to this post, I wouldn't have known that he actually responded. Good work!

I actually got a response from Saqib Ali on one of my posts, even though he's not even in my district. Funny how if you blog about someone it gets their attention!

Anonymous said...

You can set up google alerts to send links to sites that mention your name.

Jon Weinstein said...

Free Market,

Thank you for the "Update" you posted at the top and for the link to the editorial which appeared in the Sun the day after my post. I can report that I had no advanced knowledge of the topic of their editorial.

Jon

Zinzindor said...

As long as you're running corrections, there's another one needed. A week after AG Eric Holder pledged to end these silly raids, DEA agents conducted an afternoon raid on a medical marijuana in San Francisco.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/25/BA5B16N9LR.DTL

The Patriot Act, executive privilege, hiding information, beefing up the war in Afghanistan the war on drugs, and the war on civil liberties -- just how exactly is the Obama Administration different from the Bush Administration?