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In the early days of the state-level movement to legalize marijuana, we often got opposition from a surprising camp libertarians.

You would think libertarians would be thrilled with laws rolling back cannabis prohibition, but for many, it wasnt enough. Skeptical libertarians found a myriad of reasons to oppose legalization efforts, saying they didnt go far enough.

The movement started in the early 1970s and really started to grow with the legalization of medical marijuana in California way back in 1996. Opponents protested, what about everybody else?

Some libertarians also opposed medical marijuana on principle, saying people shouldnt need a state-issued card to access cannabis. Theyre not wrong theoretically. Asking the government for permission is never desirable. But the fact is virtually all of these people carry a card so they can drive.

As the legalization movement grew and states started allowing recreational marijuana, libertarians often complained about the tax and regulatory schemes attached to cannabis legalization bills and used this as a reason to oppose reforms. Of course, you never heard any of these people arguing that it would be better for alcohol to be illegal rather than heavily taxed and regulated, as it is in most states.

Another common objection was that legalizing marijuana doesnt help people who have already been convicted of marijuana crimes. Having a criminal record has lifelong consequences and millions of people have to go through life with this legal millstone tied around their necks simply because at some point they possessed or sold a plant. What about these people? Again, they would actively oppose legalization bills on this basis.

But think about the implied logic. Were going to allow more people to get caught in this legal web because this bill doesnt address the needs of people already caught in this legal web. Sounds self-defeating, doesnt it?

In reality, all of these are legitimate concerns. These libertarian opponents were generally right about the problems inherent in most legalization schemes. They were good on the philosophy. But opposing legalization efforts because they arent good enough is a bad strategy.

Consider this: would a starving man turn down a slice of bread because it wasnt a whole loaf?

Lets be honest here. Today, were starving for liberty at every turn.

Sometimes you have to take what you get so you have the ability to move forward. If the man gets a slice of bread, hell have the energy to go for that loaf.

The same principle applies to legislative activism. Small steps forward often lead to more steps forward.

Thomas Jefferson understood this well. In fact, in a 1790 letter to the Rev. Charles Clay Jefferson said liberty is to be gained by inches.

The ground of liberty is to be gained by inches that we must be contented to secure what we can get from time to time, and eternally press forward for what is yet to get. It takes time to persuade men to do even what is for their own good. [Emphasis added]

Consider the issue of past marijuana convictions. Its true that in the early days of the cannabis legalization movement, this was rarely addressed. But today, most proposed legalization measures include provisions to expunge past convictions. As just one example, Between July and September 2021, New Jersey courts dismissed or vacated an estimated 362,000 marijuana cases. But if those early efforts had failed because they werent good enough, we would have never gotten to this place.

Heres the strategic reality: once a state legalizes marijuana even if only in a very limited way the law tends to eventually expand, often times because good people are pointing out how the first step isnt good enough.

As the state tears down some barriers, markets develop and demand expands. That creates pressure to further relax state law. Ive seen this over and over again. States that initially ban home marijuana cultivation often relax laws to allow it down the road. Limits on production get raised. Expungement provisions get passed.

But you have to take the first step before you can take the second.

Jefferson understood this too. In a letter to James Madison on Nov. 17, 1798 the day after his Kentucky Resolutions opposing the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed he wrote:

"I inclose you a copy of the draught of the Kentucky resolves. I think we should distinctly affirm all the important principles they contain, so as to hold to that ground in future, and leave the matter in such a train as that we may not be committed absolutely to push the matter to extremities, & yet may be free to push as far as events will render prudent."

Its important not to allow the perfect to become the enemy of good when it comes to political activism. Opposing decent or even mediocre bills can slam the door on broader reforms in the future.

Thomas Jefferson was right. To advance liberty in the face of the largest government in history, we have to use smart strategy.

Take what we can get by pushing as far as events will render prudent, and then eternally press forward for more.

Michael Maharrey is communications director of the Tenth Amendment Center, managing editor of the SchiffGold blog, and founder of GodArchy.org. This article was republished from tenthamendmentcenter.com.

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OPINION: Step by Step for Liberty: Cannabis Edition - The Richmond Observer

The epicenter of the Republican intraparty battles was in northern Kentucky where the shakeups occurred.

FRANKFORT, Ky. Three prominent Kentucky House Republicans were defeated in bruising GOP primaries that reflected growing pains within the state's dominant political party.

Several other incumbent GOP lawmakers successfully fended off tough challenges on Tuesday.

The epicenter of the Republican intraparty battles was in northern Kentucky where the shakeups occurred. State Rep. Adam Koenig was unseated by Steven Doan. Rep. C. Ed Massey lost to Steve Rawlings, while Rep. Sal Santoro was defeated by Marianne Proctor.

Republican Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, in sizing up the three races, said Wednesday that a libertarian-populist narrative worked in a very, very low turnout election.

Koenig and Massey were committee chairmen while Santoro had a key role in setting transportation spending as a budget review subcommittee chairman. Koenig also gained prominence for leading the push to legalize sports betting in Kentucky an effort that came up short again this year.

Incumbent GOP lawmakers fared much better elsewhere in the state. State Sen. Donald Douglas defeated challenger Andrew Cooperrider in a high-spending primary. Other incumbents who won closely watched primaries included Reps. Kim King, Brandon Reed and Samara Heavrin.

Asked to assess the overall primary season, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear on Wednesday said: "What I'm seeing are nastier primaries. And we need to get beyond nasty elections in general. I don't wish some of the mailers that I saw on anybody.

Beshear is preparing for his own tough reelection fight next year.

With Republicans so dominant across much of Kentucky, winning the GOP primary in many districts is tantamount to securing a legislative seat. It has resulted in some hotly contested races.

I dont see a huge message in this primary other than it was the first of many where virtually all the action of import will be in May GOP primaries, said Scott Jennings, a Kentuckian and former adviser to President George W. Bush. Weve become so dominant so fast, and the GOP will have to reckon with these internal fights for many years to come.

Republican supermajorities in Kentucky's legislature include lawmakers characterized as business-oriented conservatives, social conservatives and libertarians. Many of their views overlap on such issues as gun rights, low taxes and opposition to abortion. Some of this year's GOP primaries pitted traditionally conservative incumbents against libertarian-minded challengers.

What you're seeing is just growing pains because the Republican Party is growing in Kentucky, Reed said in an interview Wednesday at the state Capitol.

Reed, the vice chairman of the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee, won his primary with nearly 70% of the vote in his rural district. Reed emphasized the primary victories by lawmakers aligned with the traditional party which he said has reshaped Kentucky policies since the GOP won total control of the legislature after the 2016 election.

Asked if he saw room in the party for libertarians, Reed replied: I think there's room in the Republican Party for Republicans. If you want to be a libertarian, you probably need to go join the Libertarian Party and run as a libertarian.

While the losses among the three northern Kentucky lawmakers garnered considerable attention, Thayer pointed to the success of other GOP incumbents in Tuesday's legislative primaries.

"Most incumbents were rewarded for their work passing a lot of priority conservative legislation over the last couple of years," Thayer said in a phone interview.

Primary losses by Koenig and Massey will create openings for two committee chairmanships. Koenig has been chairman of the House Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations Committee. Massey wielded influence as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

The outcomes of GOP primaries, both this year and in likely contested primaries in coming years, could factor into the divides that sometimes surface in the legislature on such issues as charter schools and whether to legalize sports betting and medical marijuana.

With Koenig's defeat, another lawmaker will have to step up as the primary sponsor of legislation to legalize sports betting in Kentucky.

It's important that we elect people to all offices that can help us get things done, Beshear said in an interview at the statehouse. That are willing to put differences aside and push forward on key issues like sports betting and medical marijuana. Their time has come and we need to make sure that we are electing people who believe in them.

Elsewhere, GOP voters settled two incumbent-vs.-incumbent primaries -- the result of a new House redistricting map passed as a result of statewide population shifts reflected in the 2020 U.S. census.

In western Kentucky, Rep. Jim Gooch Jr. defeated fellow Rep. Lynn Bechler. In a newly drawn eastern Kentucky district, Rep. Bobby McCool defeated Rep. Norma Kirk-McCormick.

Associated Press Writer Piper Hudspeth Blackburn in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this story.

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'Growing pains' | Northern Kentucky incumbents ousted in legislative primary - WHAS11.com

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When the pandemic hit, the centre-left never forgave Kenney for tailoring his policies to the libertarian-right. The latter, meanwhile, never thanked him. This fact must give pause to every right-of-centre politician in the country.

Jason Kenney drove his famous blue pickup truck on to the Alberta stage, and, Wednesday night, off a political cliff, thus becoming not the Conservative wunderkind, the next federal leader-in-waiting, but a cautionary tale for Conservative politicians in Alberta and indeed across the country.

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His pivot to provincial politics, eschewing a crowded and convoluted field to replace Stephen Harper, had been triumphant. Having so skilfully and affably created the conditions to eat the federal Liberals lunch in the early 2000s by literally eating lunch with minority voters in every gurdwara, mosque and church to which he was sent (voraciously courting a base oft-ignored by the right), he would now unite the fractured right in Alberta, fix the provinces economic woes, restore pipeline supremacy and equally triumphantly return to Ottawa, rescuing the federal movement from its time in time-out.

But if Kenney could do little wrong in Ottawa, his time in Edmonton represented a case of reverse-Midas touch, as if every issue, everything he came into contact with turned to well, not gold.

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It started out well enough. In an election that drew 64 per cent voter turnout, his United Conservative Party earned 55 per cent of the popular vote. Three-in-five Albertans approved of Kenney back then. But by last fall, Kenneys approval had sunk to just 22 per cent. Pretty bad for any politician. Really bad for one facing a mutiny in his own caucus. Rachel Notley and the NDP were now finding a second wind competing with and in some polls pulling ahead of the UCP. (Shell miss him dreadfully, no doubt). In March, the Angus Reid Institute found Albertans dissatisfied with Kenneys government on more than a half-dozen metrics of provincial management, including stewardship of the economy, health care and COVID-19.

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Ah, the coronavirus. Kenneys bte noire. At the height of the troubles, while other provinces closed businesses, instituted mask mandates and insisted on vaccination, Kenneys government resisted and resisted, infuriating massive segments of the Alberta population wanting more protection, all to protect itself from the fury of the libertarian, restriction-resisting factions of its own base. In the end, Kenney pleased no one. Then came last years best summer ever, a premature end to the pandemic declared in Alberta which resulted in a surge of infection.

The centre-left never forgave him. The libertarian-right never thanked him. This is the important point that must now give every right-of-centre politician in the country pause.

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Kenneys successor in Alberta, Doug Ford in Ontario, those vying for control of the federal Conservative party each will continue to grapple with a base that has moved if not farther to the right (after all, Kenney has arguably been one of the most hawkish among them), then to a place more stubbornly resistant to authority, rules or a sense of common care. A place of extremes, felt most keenly by people in Alberta and next door in Saskatchewan but with pockets of growing resonance across the country.

While years of the Trudeau government have left those two western provinces, in particular, feeling profoundly alienated, this resentful disengagement has been more vociferously fed by six years of Trump and Tucker Carlson-style politics an ugly, gaslighting brand of misinformation combined with social media and two years of a pandemic that have legitimized all kinds of anti-government, anti-truth, conspiracy-minded kooks.

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The results? The Ottawa occupation. A front-runner for the federal Conservatives (Pierre Poilievre) who decries racism while at the same time using nativist, dog-whistle-style language in a widely shared video. And a splintering even further of the political right. If the Conservative Party of Canada doesnt go far enough, there is the Peoples Party of Canada federally, the New Blue Party in Ontario and any host of independence-minded parties in Alberta.

By no means am I suggesting all these parties or their supporters subscribe to or amplify toxicity, but some do. The more practical reality is that right-leaning parties must decide if they want to chase some voters farther and farther down a rabbit hole, or remain mainstream enough not to alienate everyone else.

It was the political problem that undid Jason Kenney. He wont be the only one.

Shachi Kurl is President of theAngus Reid Institute,a national, not-for-profit, non-partisan public opinion research foundation.

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Kurl: COVID, conservatism and the downfall of Alberta's Jason Kenney - Ottawa Citizen

Tuesdays primary elections in Kentucky reflected increasing polarization of the two political parties.

The Republican Party kept moving right, with the victories of several candidates who campaigned primarily on cultural issues and against government overreach.

The Democratic Party kept moving left, with the U.S. Senate primary victory of former state Rep. Charles Booker of Louisville, probably the most liberal nominee for major statewide office that Kentucky has ever produced.

Booker vowed on election night, Were gonna blow Rand Paul out, but defeat of the two-term libertarian Republican would be one of the greatest upsets in American political history, given the strong Republican trend in Kentucky.

A more likely impact is that of the wins of seven or so Republican primary candidates who emphasized personal liberty (the major exception being a womans right to an abortion), showing that voters GOP primary voters, at least care less about the status and influence of their state legislators than the lawmakers would like to think.

NKyTribune is the anchor home for Al Cross column. We offer it to other publications throughout the Commonwealth, with appropriate attribution.

That was obvious in Northern Kentucky, which saw three of its four state House committee chairs defeated: Reps. Sal Santoro (Transportation), Ed Massey (Judiciary) and Adam Koenig (Business Organizations and Professions). Respectively, they lost to Marianne Proctor, Steve Rawlings and Steven Doan. One common theme was opposition to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshears pandemic restrictions.

In a region where legislative district lines cut across municipalities and even neighborhoods, the liberty candidates consistent cultural themes may have created a tide that lifted all their boats, former Kentucky secretary of state Trey Grayson of Northern Kentucky said on KETs election-night show (where I was also a panelist).

Northern Kentucky also drove the result in an open state Senate race, in which former senator Gex (jay) Williams of Verona, endorsed by libertarian U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, defeated three more mainstream candidates: well-funded Phyllis Sparks, also of Boone County; and Calen Studler and Mike Templeman of Frankfort.

Williams, who gave up a Senate seat to run for Congress in 1998, is now in an interesting match-up with Teresa Barton of Frankfort, who was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. After serving as Franklin County judge-executive, Barton ran the state Office of Drug Control Policy for Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher and supported him for re-election but didnt change parties. She may be Democrats only hope to pick up a state Senate seat, in a newly drawn district that is 5 to 4 Democratic in voter registration but seems clearly Republican in recent voter performance.

Several liberty candidates lost. The biggest failure was Andrew Cooperrider of Lexington, who led protests against Beshears restrictions and petitioned the legislature to impeach him. He lost to Sen. Donald Douglas of Nicholasville, who was propped up financially and legislatively by Republican leaders who didnt want another liberty fire-breather like Sen. Adrienne Southworth of Lawrenceburg in the Senate. Two other impeachment petitioners also lost, to Reps. Samara Heavrin of Leitchfield and Kim King of Harrodsburg.

Kentucky Republican leaders have tried to steer the state party away from the national partys growing fever swamps of conspiracy theories and misinformation; they know that the hundreds of thousands of Kentucky Democrats who joined the GOP officially or unofficially because of Donald Trump may not want to go as far as the liberty candidates and culture warriors would go. Perhaps the best example of that is how the Republican-controlled General Assembly soft-pedaled the pseudo-issue of critical race theory in the last legislative session, passing a bill that only alluded to it.

Still, candidates who campaigned against pandemic restrictions and other alleged government overreach had enough success Tuesday that they may lead Republican candidates for governor to double down on the issue as they run against Beshear next year, even though the governor built his strongly positive rating during the crisis period of the pandemic. The Williams-Barton race could be a strategic indicator of just how far right you can go and still win.

Republicans are beginning a crowded and potentially fractious primary for governor, in which the nuances of cultural issues could be decisive. Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles are running partly on their active opposition to Beshears pandemic mandates, and former U.N. ambassador Kelly Craft has indicated that she will do likewise if she runs, as expected. The liberty candidates success will surely encourage like-minded Rep. Savannah Maddox of Dry Ridge to run.

As the GOP sorts itself out, opposition to Beshear will be the glue that holds the party together in Kentucky through 2023, Republican consultant and commentator Scott Jennings said on KETs primary coverage. (Jennings says hes neutral in the governors race.) But looking a year ahead, Beshears pandemic-driven approval ratings appear to be holding steady, and what works in Republican primaries will not necessarily work in general elections. Voters in November should give us a clearer picture.

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Al Cross: As primary voters move GOP farther right, will others follow? - User-generated content

Its voting season in the District. Heres what you need to know.

This years city-wide general election will be November 8. Contests will be for the mayors office, six D.C. Council seats, and for the first time a chance to pick a new D.C. Attorney General, as Karl A. Racine (D) the citys first elected AG is not running for a third term. The D.C. Council Chair position will also be on the ballot in addition to the D.C. Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives and the citys shadow representative to the U.S. Senate.

The District will hold a party primary on June 21 to determine finalists on the November general election ballots. Given how heavily Democratic the nations capital is, the results of the Democratic Party primary tend to be decisive in the November elections.

According to the D.C. Board of Elections (DCBOE), primaries are held only for partisan offices (such as Delegate to the House, Mayor, Councilmember, and Senator and Representative). Therefore, only the following recognized parties will be holding primaries on June 21: Democratic, Republican, D.C. Statehood Green, and Libertarian. In the District only voters registered with one of these parties may vote in their partys [primary] election.

DELEGATE TO THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Democratic Party: Wendy Hope Dealer Hamilton, Eleanor H. Norton and Kelly Mikel Williams

Republican Party: Nelson F. Rimensnyder

MAYOR OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Democratic Party: James Butler, Muriel E. Bowser, Trayon Washington DC White and Robert White

Republican Party: Stacia R. Hall

CHAIRMAN OF THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Democratic Party: Erin Palmer and Phil Mendelson

Republican Party: Nate Derenge

AT-LARGE MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Democratic Party: Lisa Gore, Nate Fleming, Anita Bonds and Dexter Williams

Republican Party: Giuseppe Niosi

ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Democratic Party: Brian Schwalb, Ryan L. Jones and Bruce V. Spiva

LOCAL PARTY OFFICES DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DEMOCRATIC STATE COMMITTEE

NATIONAL COMMITTEEMAN: Kevin B. Chavous

NATIONAL COMMITTEEWOMAN: Denise L. Reed

AT-LARGE COMMITTEEMAN: Charles E. Wilson, James S. Bubar, Dave Donaldson, Keith Hasan-Towery, James J. Sydnor, Matt LaFortune and John Green

AT-LARGE COMMITTEEWOMAN: Monica L. Roach, Linda L. Gray, Dionna Maria Lewis, Patricia Pat Elwood, Andria Thomas, Maria Patricia Corrales and Chioma J. Iwuoha

WARD TWO COMMITTEEMAN: John Fanning and Brian Romanowski

WARD TWO COMMITTEEWOMAN: Janice Ferebee and Meg Roggensack

All other positions on Republican Party ballots are write-ins. There are only write-ins on ballots for the DC Statehood Green Party and the Libertarian Party.

Beginning on May 16, voter ballots will be sent to all registered D.C. voters giving citizens a chance to vote by mail. Ballot drop boxes may be used beginning May 27. Early voting in D.C. runs from June 10 through June 19. On June 21 Primary Election Day polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

Registration is required to vote in the District. However, the DCBOE must receive your Voter Registration at least 21 days prior to Election Day. So, the deadline to register for this years party primaries is: Tuesday, May 31. However, if you miss the deadline, the DCBOE website says, Same-Day Registration is available at Vote Centers during the Early Voting period [June 10 through 19] and on Election Day.

According to the Washington Post, a voter registration application swearing or affirming voting qualifications and a valid proof of residence is required. D.C. residents who are U.S. citizens ages 16 and older can register to vote online, or in person at the DCBOE office (1015 Half St. SE, Suite 750, Washington, D.C. 20003) or any voter registration agency, by mail, email or fax. Residents can call (202) 347-2648 for more information.

A list of answers to Frequently Asked Questions from the D.C. Board of Elections can be found here. Voting sites and locations can be found here.

Stay tuned for Election 2022 campaign profiles, updates and news in upcoming newsletters and our June print issue. For our recent exclusive interview with D.C. mayoral candidate Robert C. White, Jr. (D), see here.

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Election 2022: Who's on the Ballot? - Georgetowner