Concerning November

If HRC is the nominee, she has to be supported all the way.

I’ve had a couple of emails saying, roughly, “I agree with you 100%. If Hillary is the nominee, I’m voting for McCain or Nader or staying home.”

Perhaps I haven’t made myself clear. If (probably when) Hillary is the nominee, I’m sending her the maximum contribution and working my butt off to get her elected.

I’m angry about the tactics the Clintons are using in this race largely because they make things harder in November, whoever is the nominee. But while it would be nice to elect an inspirational, potentially transformational President who knows how to make a speech and knows that waterboarding is torture without waiting for his Super-Duper Top Secret briefing, it’s essential to prevent four more years of Republican misrule.

If Clinton is nominated, my advice to my fellow Obamites is: Think about the Supreme Court. Think about war with Iran. Think about global warming. Think about the abuse of science. Buy yourself a clothespin. And then do the right thing. This is not a year for sulking in your tent.

And I’m dead certain that Barack Obama is going to be leading the charge.

But all that’s in the future. For right now, if the prospect of a Clinton nomination makes you mad enough to think about letting one of the Republican clown show become President, it ought to make you mad enough to send some money here.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com