Letters from a Constituent

Last week I received an email from a constituent who lives in Sandston. For the benefit of voters, I am publishing my answers to his questions. Other voters may have the same questions as this gentleman. I hope my responses are informative.

"Dear Silver,

Hi, I am looking at the candidates for the upcoming election, and viewing your website. You'll have to explain a few things to me. First of all, it appears that you are interested in putting more power into the hands of civically educated citizens. I wonder how this is going to happen if the majority of us aren't that.

I'm also looking at your platform, and I see that you're against the death penalty, which is fine. That's a personal preference. But what exactly is your argument against the death penalty? Is it a moral argument? Is it a politcal one?

I'm also unclear as to why you would want to legalize marijuana. I personally find nothing worse about marijuana than any legal drug. At the same time, have you ever met a pothead before? Don't answer that, just think about it. Are you for encouraging the usage, or just having a more lassez faire attitude towards it? Don't you think it's possible to adopt a more lassez faire attitude within this system?

Maybe I'm asking questions which you hold very strong opinions towards already, but I am still curious as to your answers. We definitely need this type of dialogue occurring, and perhaps your answers will help me to understand better why you are running.

Thank you.

M.G.
Sandston"

The following is my reply:

"Hello Mr. G.,

Thank you for taking the time to write a candidate for office. You are the first independent citizen to contact me.

I will attempt to answer the questions you put to me.

More power to the people, why do that?

True, people are uninformed now. Naturally this is not the most desireable condition for an electorate. However, I am an ardent supporter of Democracy. I also believe in the basic goodness of mankind. I believe that humans when given choices will make the proper decisions. Also realizing that they don't ALWAYS make the proper decisions, I also believe that people are capable of correcting their mistakes. Why support a system that concentrates so much power into the hands of a few? Because they are experts or "informed." Additionally, it is my belief that local people know better how to arrange their affairs than an abstracted centralized government that isn't representative of its constituency.

A big part of my campaign is that I want citizens to become more informed and if I am elected I will do all that I can to inform citizens about what is going on in the General Assembly. Likewise, I look forward to being educated by the citizens on what is important to them. I advocate open government and public decision making. More power for the majority of the people and less for cronies, special interests, and small groups of career politicians. My campaign is about engaging citizens in our democracy -- if I can't even engage citizens enough to win their piddly vote -- I don't want to win because I won't be representing their views.

Why against death penalty? Moral or Political?

I am against it for both moral and political reasons. Politically, because it is not uniform in its execution, the majority of the people who are executed are black and poor. I also believe the death penalty is unConstitutional because it is "cruel and unusual punishment." What could be more cruel than death? There should be nothing "usual" about killing a fellow human being. I think life in prison is more of a deterent than the death penalty. Death is an easy out for a murderer. Additionally, innocent individuals are occasionly executed and that is not a mistake the state can afford to make. Morally, I am against it because I suscribe to the religious belief that it is wrong to kill. I also belief in forgiveness. I am a humanitarian, and believe prison is a more humane punishment to death.

On the other hand, I support a woman's right to legal abortion. If you'd like my rationale on that issue drop me another note.

Why legalize marijuana?

Well, like you said, there's "nothing worse about marijuana than any legal drug." I agree with that and actually believe it is less harmful. Why legalize it? A few reasons, it is a relatively harmless drug, could become an important cash crop for Virginia, and as Lincoln said, "Prohibition.. goes beyond the bound of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes.. A prohibition law strike a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded."

Additionally there is the infringement on the individuals liberty when they are thrown in jail. For committing a "crime" against themselves. I am also a firm believer in the God given rights of Liberty and Free Will. There is also the economic consideration that it costs $20,000 and more to maintain one prisioner for a year, then there are all the other costs associated with enforcement, courts, and torn apart families. In my opinion, the punishment exceeds the crime. Yes, I've known many "potheads" as you call them and they are a fine bunch of folks. I don't think anyone should go to jail for using any drug and I think the state ought to fund free voluntary addiction treatment programs.


You know, politics is all about having an opinion. How a person comes to their political beliefs is a mystery and different for everybody. I have had an easy and blessed life. I didn't have the advantage of great parents but I was raised in a good home by an older couple. I have come to my political views through a combination of my personal experiences and reading from the Bible to the history of the labor movement. My platform, particularly my national platform which can be viewed at http://www.freesocialism.org