Sen. Jeff Sessions
The Libertarian Party warns U.S. senators to quickly reject the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions for the position of attorney general.
“Jeff Sessions is preposterously unfit for the highest law-enforcement position in the land,” said Nicholas Sarwark, chair of the Libertarian National Committee. “For one, he’s an unyielding Drug Warrior in a war that the U.S. government is losing and in which lawmakers need to surrender to common sense.”
Sessions is among a dying breed of Nancy Reagan-inspired “tough on drugs” lawmakers who deny the truths about drug prohibition that are now obvious to most Americans:
- Marijuana is a relatively mild drug with far fewer harmful effects than alcohol.
- Labeled, quality-controlled marijuana products are far safer than unlabeled, untested black-market drugs.
- Drug warfare drives up crime which endangers Americans and terrorizes the people of supplier countries, such as Mexico.
- The demand for drugs remains unabated under prohibition. One-third of Americans have used marijuana, and despite strict penalties against narcotics, heroin use is an epidemic that now kills more Americans every year than do automobiles and homicide, combined.
As a grassroots movement to legalize marijuana sweeps the country, Sessions wants to enforce federal prohibition laws in the eight states that have legalized recreational marijuana.
“Sessions is terrible when it comes to civil liberties,” notes Sarwark. “He wants a bigger U.S. government spy apparatus that snoops on Americans’ e-mails. He wants police officers to continue to steal Americans’ stuff through civil asset forfeiture. He advocates for discrimination based on religious beliefs, in violation of the Constitution.
“Sessions is also a war hawk, and there’s a high risk that he would be Trump’s lap dog for justifying torture by the U.S. military, as did Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for the Bush administration.”
Libertarians enjoy growing support from millennials, who are claiming a larger block of the American vote and who are helping more and more Libertarian candidates beat the margin of victory in top-ticket races. Libertarian Joe Miller for U.S. Senate in Alaska won 29 percent of the vote in the November election, coming in second, ahead of the Democrat.
“We’ll be running Libertarians for U.S. Senate in upcoming elections,” Sarwark warned. “There will be a price to pay for any senator who confirms Sessions for attorney general.”
