Sholley blasts Frank for pot bill
By Jeremy P. Jacobs, PolitickerMA.com ReporterThe Republican challenging U.S. Rep. Barney Frank this year sharply criticized the congressman on Thursday for sponsoring legislation that would decriminalize possessing a small amount of marijuana, saying that Frank has "become part of the problem" in Washington.
Earl Sholley (R)Earl Sholley is running against Frank (D-Newton) this year in Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District. By any measure, Sholley, a retired landscaper, is a long way from unseating the 14-term congressman and current chair of the House Financial Services Committee.
But that didn't stop Sholley from lambasting Frank for having the wrong priorities.
"We have so many important and serious issues to discuss in this country and Barney Frank seems to have time to discuss something that no one cares about," Sholley told PolitickerMA.com. "People are not concerned about marijuana, they are concerned about paying four dollars per gallon for gas...They are concerned about immigrants coming into the country and taking people's jobs."
Last week, Frank introduced H.R. 5843, a bill that would decriminalize possession of less than 100 grams of marijuana. "The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government's business," Frank said last Wednesday at a press conference in Washington, according to news reports. "I don't think it is the government's business to tell you how to spend your leisure time."
The legislation is a waste of time, Sholley said. "No one is worried about marijuana," Sholley went on, "Except for the people that are smoking marijuana."
Asked if he was implying that Frank was smoking marijuana, Sholley chuckled and said that wasn't his concern. "I don't know what Mr. Frank does with his personal time, nor do I really care. I'm concerned about his performance and I don't think Mr. Frank represents the values or the priorities of the people in the fourth congressional district."
With the serious issues facing the country right now, Sholley said, his efforts on this marijuana legislation show that "Mr. Frank is not part of the solution, he's part of the problem."
Sholley supports implementing term limits on congressmen. In fact, he said he'd like to "dislodge 95 percent of incumbents."
"I don't think Mr. Frank has his priorities straight," he went on. "I think he's been there too long. I don't think he's in the real world anymore."
Contributors
Wally Edge
Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R) is scheduled to campaign for U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) in Atlanta and Savannah on Friday. Chambliss faces >
Rob Tornoe
To view a larger version of this cartoon, click here. >
Poll
PolitickerMA Partners
| Politicker INTERACTIVE | |
 |
The Pindell Report Keep up with the races in your state |
 |
Lawmaker Profile Follow the funding of your representatives |
 |
270 to Win Predict the road to the White House |
Top Tags
Most Active Stories
- Kerry on Lieberman vote: It’s time to move on
- Most newly elected state reps. not at DeLeo dinner
- Card: Clinton would be an interesting choice for sec. of state
- Wilkerson resigns
- Jones welcomes Evangelidis challenge
- Evangelidis declares candidacy for House minority leader
- Fundraising key for GOP rebuilding, Nassour says
- Globe: Kerry to be named to Foreign Relations chairmanship
- Newsweek: Obama tapping Holder, not Patrick, for AG
- Wade to return to Kerry’s office
- Kerry’s answer to the ‘boxers or briefs’ question: He goes commando and McCain would say ‘Depends’
- Dukakis: McCain using same race tactics as ‘Willie Horton’ ad
- Did Romney’s remarks hint at a Romney-Palin showdown in 2012?
- Roosevelt to lead Obama Social Security Review Team
- Local Republican caucus chairman endorses Obama
- PolitickerMA.com's Jeremy Jacobs assesses Primary Day on NECN
- From operative to chief of staff, Fitzgerald reflects on his long career in politics
- Bennett already up with aggressive door knocking campaign
- Frank hits Republicans, O’Reilly, in second ad
- Owens: Wilkerson arrest ‘unfortunate’
Quote of the Day
"I welcome Rep. Evangelidis' newfound enthusiasm and interest in participating."
--Current House minority leader Brad Jones (R-North Reading) on state Rep. Lewis Evangelidis' announcement Wednesday that he is running for minority leader.
Recent Press Releases
Syndicate
..haha.
This man seems to think marijuana is not an issue? There are over a hundred million "pot" smokers in this country, and most of them are responsible hard working CIVILIANS. Not drug dealers. Should we be punished for picking a safer means of intoxication than alcohol?
WTF?
This guy thinks that the billions upon billions we spend every year arresting, prosecuting, and jailing non-violent pot smokers is not important. How much money does it take to be important?
You know who cares about
You know who cares about marijuana decriminalization? The thousands upon thousands of people currently in jail for nothing more than simple possession. These people didn't hurt anyone, they didn't rob anyone. They had a small amount of plant matter on them, and were arrested and incarcerated for it. Their families were split up, they lost benefits, jobs, etc.
Sholley is part of the problem. He is part of the prejudice in washington against responsible adults who make an educated decision about a plant. A plant which has never killed a person, only helped people.
Sholley is short-sighted, possibly blind
The War On Some Drugs costs at least five or six Big Digs per year, and that's just the money part of the cost.
A big chunk of this cost is due to marijuana prohibition. All of that money is wasted in favor of the Prison/Cop Complex and a few other special interests. None of it actually serves the public interest.
That Sholley can't see past the $4 gas at the end of his nose should disqualify him for office.
>>> "No one is worried about
>>> "No one is worried about marijuana," Sholley went on, "Except for the people that are smoking marijuana." <<<
Wrong, dummy.
It's an issue of how our tax dollars are being spent. I want our police to be going after criminals like murderers, rapists, thieves and illegal aliens. I don't care what people put in their systems, I don't care if they rent out their naughty parts for another's pleasure, and I don't care if they gamble.
I don't do any of those, but it's a waste of time whenever the government tries to legislate morality when others' actions aren't harming me, my freedom, or my property.
Lying about who is in Jail for Marijuana
There is a lie being told in this country that U.S. prisons are filled with drug users. This is simply not true. Actually, only 5 percent of inmates in federal prison on drug charges are incarcerated for drug possession - all drugs. In New York, which has received criticism from some because of its tough Rockefeller drug laws, it is estimated that 97% of drug felons sentenced to prison were charged with sale or intent to sell, not simply possession. In fact, first time drug offenders, even sellers, typically do not go to prison.
Lies?
Lies, yes
But they are being told by Lissa and the politicians.
Would you accept the statistics from the US Bureau of Justice (sic)?
Here they are
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/prisons.htm
They show 20% of prisoners are incarcerated on drug charges.
They show a huge disproportion of black and brown people
and almost a total absence of wealthy people.
The war on drugs is a war on blacks, on the poor,
and especially on the constitutional rights and freedoms of Americans.
This war must end and the POWs must be released.
There are very few issues more important to the salvation of America as we have known her.
WOW, idiot.
well, fortunately for everyone in this country, some old man who trimmed grass for 50 years most likely wont even get a chance to enact his bigoted, stereotypical-Republican ideas into law.
what a douchebag.
heres the deal, Sholly:
we DO care about marijuana law. it will ALWAYS be an issue, until it is resolved. what we DONT care about, is YOUR opinion.
if you really wanted to be elected, you should have jumped on the bandwagon with Barney. because no young person will vote for you with ideals like yours. sorry, theres just no room for another stuffy old bag of bones in the justice system.
Frank's negative impact on ecnomic situation
In 2005, Senator John McCain (AZ) proposed regulations that would change Fannie and Freddie and stop their risky business with subprime loans. He saw the disaster coming. Unfortunately, many democrats in Congress, one of whom is Barney Frank (who also leads the House Financial Services Committee) made sure it did not go through, knowing that they were getting so many donations from Fannie and Freddie and would lose financial support from them. Bill Clinton even blames the democrats partly for it.
Furthermore, in 2003, there was also an attempt to push some legislation through by people with knowledge of the coming disaster, and, as reported in the New York Times, Frank said that Fannie and Freddie were in no financial crisis at the time and that others were exaggerating the issue and just putting more pressure on them.
With the Community Reinvestment Act and such legislation, it was a nice idea of Barney Frank and others to try and make it simpler for lower-income individuals to have and own a home. They figured that if mortgage companies are forced to provide to such people with deals like no down payment and no credit checks, the playing field will be more even.
Unfortunately, all this companies were not prepared or able to accommodate the exceeding number of people who could, ultimately, not pay their mortgages, and amassed a lot of debt, eventually giving it to companies like Fannie and Freddie, perhaps thinking a government bailout was a good enough backup. That is exactly where we are today. Unfortunately, home is not free or ultra-cheap for low-income buyers and a cost must still be imposed. With not enough to pay it, we, the taxpayers will get some of the burden, and a big one at that.
Most agree that the subprime market is the true cause of this, but disagree on the root. No matter what one believes it has brought us here and congress is finally doing a bailout, with all these quirks added. Who knows what's next. What is Barney Frank doing to take a stand other than blaming his opponents for cover and blaming the forced-to-deal-subprime corporations that did not have a choice. I don't see much. We need someone new.
Post new comment