At Face The State, we consider Mason Tvert, executive director of Safer Alternatives For Enjoyable Recreation, a friend of freedom. Although we may not always agree on how freedom is defined, we respect his tireless energy. His recent attempt to condemn potential first lady Cindy McCain as a "drug dealer," however, is a step in the wrong direction.
SAFER
SAFER's new web site, DrugDealerCindy.com, seeks to cast McCain as a drug dealer because of her role as the head of Hensley & Co., one of the nation's largest beer distributors. He even goes so far as to call the company the "Hensley Cartel."
But why? With Republicans more likely to oppose marijuana legalization than Democrats, he's only likely to further isolate the very constituency he needs to win over if he ever wants marijuana fully legalized, or at least decriminalized.
Mason defended his position to us: "If you suggest that selling alcohol is a bad thing, people freak out," he said. "SAFER's goal is to have a public which understands marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol."
This is not the first time Tvert has cast a prominent public official as a drug dealer in order to get his point across. And at first we thought it was cute. In 2005, he waged an active campaign to label Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper a drug dealer. A year later, Tvert repeated this tactic during his 2006 campaign to legalize possession of less than an ounce of marijuana for adults in Colorado. He accused Hickenlooper and Republican Senate candidate Pete Coors of being "drug dealers" for alcohol sales. Tvert's measure, Amendment 44, was shot down by nearly 59 percent of Colorado's voters.
SAFER's latest McCain effort features a Web site where a Cindy McCain wanted poster is prominently featured and a counter ticks away how many cases of beer Hensley & Co. has distributed this year.
Tvert has a point that America's complacency toward marijuana prohibition is irrational - but going after a political wife just makes him look desperate. After winning two of three of his initiative efforts to bring Colorado into the 21st Century when it comes to sensible drug policies, Tvert needs to develop tactics that match his winning record. While once we could giggle at his sophomoric ways, his latest stunt leaves us with an important question: What's the point?