Prop 19

So, prop 19 did not pass here in California, which, as I'm sure most of you are aware, would have the legalized marijuana. And though it's hardly a cause as worthy as health care or education reform, the argument surrounding marijuana legalization is pretty effective in determining one's political temperature. (A relatively reliable test to find out if a Tea Partier really believes that more government=worse government is to ask whether or not they support government restrictions on weed).

I was surprised to discover the wide distribution of support for Prop 19, the loudest advocates of course being the libertarians-- Reason and the CATO Institute (who've been advocating the loudest, and longest), as well as the expected progressive voices: Huffington Post, Salon, etc. But support also came from "conservative publications such as The Economist and National Review, prominent Republicans such as former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, a growing portion of the Tea Party movement, and even Fox News personality Glenn Beck. (Beck has said he favors marijuana legalization, although he has been typically schizophrenic on Prop. 19.)"

Which brings me to the main point of this article, which claims that the media is not, as is commonly asserted, liberal:

"It's telling that the loudest voices opposing pot legalization are coming from the mainstream media, politicians, and law enforcement. The three have a lot in common. Indeed, the Prop. 19 split illustrates how conservative critics of the mainstream media have it all wrong. The media—or at least the editorial boards at the country's major newspapers—don't suffer from liberal bias; they suffer from statism. While conservatives emphasize order and property, liberals emphasize equality, and libertarians emphasize individual rights, newspaper editorial boards are biased toward power and authority, automatically turning to politicians for solutions to every perceived problem."