Delegate John McGuire has decided he is going to launch an attack straight out of the 1990s Newt Gingrich playbook. In a new website labeled LibertarianNick.com [1], Delegate John McGuire accuses Delegate Nick Freitas of being “soft on crime” for supporting marijuana decriminalization.
Let’s break down the vote, shall we?
HB972 [2] was the bill to decriminalize marijuana in the state of Virginia and provides a civil penalty of no more than $25 for small amounts of marijuana. In the final vote count on the bill when it passed both houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the following Republicans supported the measure.
House: [3]
Bloxom (R-Eastern Shore)
Brewer (R-Isle of Wight)
Collins (R-Winchester)
Coyner (R-Chesterfield)
Davis (R-Virginia Beach)
Freitas (R-Culpepper)
Marshall (R-Danville)
Webert (R-Fauquier)
Senate: [4]
Cosgrove (R-Chesapeake)
Dunnavant (R-Henrico)
Norment (R-James City)
Stanley (R-Franklin)
Suetterlein (R-Roanoke County)
Vogel (R-Fauquier)
When reached for comment, the Freitas campaign directed us to this tweet from Campaign Manager Joe Desilets:
BREAKING: @JohnMcGuire4VA [5] unveils his new campaign platform to take back #VA07 [6]
In other news, John also announced the endorsement of the entire town from Footloose.https://t.co/4vJyyXlvnd [7]
— Joe Desilets (@JoeDesilets) June 25, 2020 [8]
Now, this is the part where you Freitas fanboys out there want me to jump on John McGuire because he attacked the patron saint of candidates, Nick Freitas.
Sorry, this is not that article.
This is about how Delegate McGuire is wrong and how his campaign tactics are stuck in the 1990s.
According to the Washington Post [9], in 2018, Virginia had the highest number of marijuana arrests in Virginia, topping 20,000. Read the following:
Marijuana busts account for nearly 60 percent of drug arrests across Virginia and more than half of them were among people who were under 24, according to the data. The vast majority of cases involved simple possession of marijuana.
Herring also pointed to a 2017 study showing a racial disparity in marijuana enforcement in the state. The Virginia Crime Commission found [11] that 46 percent of those arrested for a first offense for possession of marijuana between 2007 and 2016 were African Americans, who represent about only 20 percent of Virginia’s population.
The Virginia Crime Commission study found that only 31 people were in jail in July 2017 solely for a conviction of possessing marijuana in the state. The libertarian Cato Institute estimated Virginia spent $81 million on marijuana enforcement in 2016.”
First off, Delegate McGuire wants more people locked up for possession (and the people who do get locked up are younger and of color, according to the Virginia Crime Commission [11]) and he wants to spend more of your tax dollars to do it (even when Virginia is on the verge of financial collapse, but I digress). We don’t have the money as a state to continue locking up people for simple crimes that most of the time do nothing but make you want to listen to the Doobie Brothers and eat pizza.
The fact that we believe in the individual, GOD GIVEN RIGHT, to live your life as you so choose, is important to Virginia Republicans.
But, we as Republicans believe in LIMITED GOVERNMENT. We believe, to quote the Virginia Republican Creed: [12]
• That all individuals are entitled to equal rights, justice, and opportunities and should assume their responsibilities as citizens in a free society
• That fiscal responsibility and budgetary restraints must be exercised at all levels of government
• That the Federal Government must preserve individual liberty by observing Constitutional limitations
Let’s break this down one by one:
- EQUAL RIGHTS AND JUSTICE- It doesn’t just apply for the “Leave It To Beaver” crowd that McGuire wants to represent. Equal rights go for the person with epilepsy looking for some relief or the casual marijuana smoker. It’s not something I choose to do, but why does John McGuire get to make that decision for us? Who died and made John McGuire the morality police?
- FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY- We spent 81 million dollars on locking up people for marijuana in 2016 according to the Cato Institute. We could have used that to fix our schools, or pay our teachers more, or fix our roads. But no, John McGuire wants to break into college dorm rooms and arrest people to “keep the streets safe.” And this is where I roll my eyes.
- Individual Liberty- Individual Liberty means that you get to live your life how you choose. If you choose to smoke marijuana that is your choice. It’s not my choice, but who am I, or who is Delegate McGuire to judge the personal decisions one makes inside their home?
Also, look who he’s attacking when he attacks the people who voted for HB 972. He is attacking the future of the Republican Party of Virginia. Or the Gentleman from Roanoke County, Senator David Suetterlien, who I frequently butt heads with but almost always agree with his votes. Especially, John McGuire, young women who represent our party, like my friend the Gentlelady from Isle of Wight, Delegate Emily Brewer.
Delegate McGuire has also insulted some of the most senior members of the legislature, including Senators Norment, Stanley, and Vogel. I mean, if John McGuire thinks Bill Stanley is soft on crime, I think John might be having a joint himself.
Also, I would like for John to consider his fellow Henrico resident Senator Siobhan Dunnavant and her amazing work on decriminalization. Unlike John, Senator Dunnavant is an actual doctor with real medical experience [13] who can explain things. Senator Dunnavant actually uses medical knowledge and not scare tactics to get her point across, which is why Senator Dunnavant has a political future and Delegate McGuire does not have a future farther than a R+100 district that is currently represented by McGuire.
Delegate McGuire’s attack is not only a cheap shot at the Freitas campaign, it’s a betrayal of his fellow colleagues of the House of Delegates and State Senate. It is an indictment on the fact that McGuire is not in touch with the modern conservative movement or his party as a whole. McGuire wants to basically pull a Joe Biden and pass more laws that lock up more people. John McGuire is trying to win the legislative battles of the Clinton presidency that have left Virginians locked up.
Simply put, Delegate McGuire, the 1990s called and they want their political attacks back.