At least one solidly consevative blogger is semi-permanently off the Republican reservation.
John Cole of Balloon Juice is a strongly conservative blogger, whose wrath I have felt more than once. The Schiavo affair filled him with dismay at the antics of the Republicans, Cornyn’s speech disgusted him, and the Tom DeLay scandals have him pulling his hair out.
No, John Cole isn’t the typical swing voter. But it would still be nice to figure out a platform, and a set of candidates, that could capture his vote.
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
View all posts by Mark Kleiman