????
“In a recent op-ed, Rick Larsen, the president of Sutherland Institute, makes a call for increased #civility surrounding the medical marijuana ballot initiative.
He bemoans the spectacle that the discourse has become– like ‘a NASCAR pileup’– and frets that ultimately, uninformed voting on ballot initiatives could lead to anarchy.”
We only see one side in this debate who are acting like the rule of law and facts don’t matter. And, spoiler alert, it’s UMA, DSU, Eagle Forum and the plain made up “Neighbors” groups UMA stood up, the LDS Church’s shoddy “legal analysis,” etc. – and not ours!
Utah Policy’s Op-Ed continues….
“While we certainly agree with Larsen’s call for increased civility, we would add a call for increased transparency – which includes Sutherland being upfront about its own pot-stirring behavior. Unfortunately, Larsen’s hand-wringing here seems disingenuous.
‘This debate,’ Larsen writes, ‘and those caught in the middle, deserve so much more than front-porch ambushes, social media character assassinations and, now, litigation’.”
Yes they do! So how about YOUR (once? – see below) sponsored client – Drug Safe Utah (#DSU) quits doing all of those odious things…??
PS: Cred where due: Cool sentence though, guy. Props. Really. 🙂
“The litigation he refers to is a motion for an emergency injunction which would prohibit Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox from including the initiative on the ballot, regardless of whether it obtains sufficient signatures.
The motion was brought by DSU, a coalition of orgs and individuals of which Sutherland is a member. Its purpose is to prevent the initiative from passing -earlier, through a signature-removal campaign, and now, through litigation.
It is strange Larsen would decry this litigation in his op-ed and not mention Sutherland’s involvement in bringing the suit.”
We’ll level that ^ up to “surreal,” and you don’t even have to thank us, #Sutherland. ?
“Not that you would know it from Drug Safe Utah’s website. Sutherland isn’t listed online as a member of the coalition.”
Funny thing, that, yes/no…?? Sheesh. You can almost cut the hypocrisy with a knife…
…oh wait, the article later points out that Sutherland has SINCE been moved to “Others opposing the initiative” on DSU’s site.
So maybe DSU was getting too unsavory even for them…??
OK, then, Mr. Larsen – you get one inch of slack back, but no apologies for the callous and cavalier attitude and tactics of your (apparently) (now) former creature … and tell you what, you keep doing/saying actually sensible things and we’ll respond … civilly.
Note: Lots of interesting source docs with the article.
More coverage: https://ift.tt/2x3odPX
#MMJ #UTpol #UMCI #TRUCE
See full article – Guest opinion: Sutherland Institute should claim their role in the ‘NASCAR pileup’
