'No on Prop. 5' links liberal Martin Sheen with unlikely allies

Actor and liberal activist Martin Sheen has agreed to co-chair the People Against Proposition 5 campaign, a coalition of groups and individuals whose stated aim is to defeat the Nov. 4 ballot measure. Proposition 5, which would ease criminal consequences of some drug offenses and rewrite some parole guidelines, has among its supporters billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who has donated $1 million in support of the measure. Opponents include MADD, the California District Attorneys Assn. and the California Police Chiefs Assn.

The actor's stance against Prop. 5 puts him arm in arm with the conservatives whom Sheen, as an outspoken critic of President Bush and his Iraq policies, usually fights. GOP consultant Kevin Spillane is spokesman for the campaign against Proposition 5, which now makes him and Sheen allies.

It's a toss-up what the actor is best known for -- portraying President Jed Bartlet on "The West Wing" or being the father of bad boy Brat Packer Charlie Sheen, whose drug addiction and repeat stints in rehab played out in the public eye.

"I am accepting a leading role in this effort because I believe Proposition 5 will do so much harm to so many people," Sheen said in a statement.  "Fighting drug addiction is an issue that is very close to my heart.  I believe in rehabilitation and not incarceration."

Politics does make strange bedfellows.

—Veronique de Turenne

Comments

[Free]

If he believes in "rehabilitation and not incarceration" then he would have promoted yes, WTF?

[William Aiken]

Even if prop 5 doesn't pass this time around, there will be more initiatives like it on the ballot in the future. This costly tough on consenual crime leglislation will be too expensive for taxpayers to bear the burden. Don't look expect politicians to vote the right way when it comes to these cost saving measures. They are too fearful of being deemed soft on crime by their opposition. Most polls show our leaders are lacking behind the public's sentiments on this issue.

The War on Drugs only guarantees a endless supply of bodies to warehouse while doing nothing to lower drug use or the availbility of drugs in the community. It also suppresses the ability of minorities to better themselves through legal means.

The public should look to the groups opposed to prop 5 and take notice of the financial insentive these stand to gain by retaining the status quo of the drug war.

[Dave Snyder]

well it is obvious Terry Nelson likes to partake now that he is retired. You go bou! hahahha

[APOA Voice]

Law Enforcement urges a "NO" vote on Prop 5.

http://arcadiapoa.blogspot.com/2008/09/vote-no-on-proposition-5.html

No excuses, no "Get out of Jail Free" cards! Read the details and be informed.

[Dogs2u]

Tax payers need to support prop 5. Here's why. Currently a forth drunk driving in this state gets you a year in prison. Tax payers expense. Then as a condition of parole an additional 5 months is ordered at an inpatient facility. Again at tax payers expense. What happens is the prisoner spends the time in rehab trying to readjust for his stay in prison. The year in prison has taught him how to count days and stay alive, not how to be open to the challenges of behavior changes necessary to be successful in rehab. Prison should be a last resort, period.

[jackacole]

I am the executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). I am also a retired detective lieutenant—26 years with the New Jersey State Police and 14 in their Narcotic Bureau, mostly undercover. I bear witness to the abject failure of the U.S. war on drugs and to the horrors produced by its unintended consequences.

Terry Nelson’s comment posted August 27, 2008 at 04:27 PM was a mistake.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition has endorsed and fully supports Proposition 5 in California.

LEAP is an international nonprofit educational organization created to give voice to law-enforcers who believe the US war on drugs has failed and who wish to support alternative policies that will lower the incidence of death, disease, crime, and addiction, without destroying generations of our young by arrest and imprisonment.

In five years LEAP increased from the five founding police officers to a membership of 10,000, police, parole, probation and corrections officers, judges, and prosecutors, prison wardens, FBI & DEA agents, and others, across the United States and in 90 other countries, which is fitting since U.S. drug policy has ramifications that affect the entire world. All LEAP speakers must be former drug-warriors but anybody can join us.

View the LEAP promo at http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=Content&pid=28.

Walter Cronkite says, "Anyone concerned about the failure of our $69 billion-a-year War on Drugs should watch this 12-minute program. You will meet front line, ranking police officers who give us a devastating report on why it cannot work. It is a must-see for any journalist or public official dealing with this issue."

Anybody can join at www.leap.cc.

[Sean K]

Terry Nelson: uh.... did you read the article? It says prop 5 will "ease criminal consequences of some drug offenses" and that Mr. Sheen is AGAINST it. I agree with your general position on abolishing prohibition, but Mr. Sheen clearly does not, despite what lip service he might give to the issue, as evidenced by his opposition to this proposition. Typical hollywood liberal... only cares about issues or positions that are trendy and make him look like a good guy.

[Terry Nelson]

I don't often agree with celebrities but Mr. Sheen is right on the mark. I am a retired federal officer that spent three decades fighting the war on drugs. I am now a member of LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition www.leap.cc) and the only way we will make any progress against the drug cartels is to Legalize drugs and implement a system of regulation and control of the distribution process. This will eliminate about 80% of the crime and violence associated with drug distribution. It will do nothing for our drug problem. That is best treated with education and treatment and not incarceration. So, way to go Martin. /tln/

[Terry Nelson]

I don't often agree with celebrities but Mr. Sheen is right on the mark. I am a retired federal officer that spent three decades fighting the war on drugs. I am now a member of LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition www.leap.cc) and the only way we will make any progress against the drug cartels is to Legalize drugs and implement a system of regulation and control of the distribution process. This will eliminate about 80% of the crime and violence associated with drug distribution. It will do nothing for our drug problem. That is best treated with education and treatment and not incarceration. So, way to go Martin. /tln/