NATION/WORLD
Saturday, March 2, 2019
East Oregonian
A9
Eyeing 2020 race,
White House
steps up ‘socialism’
attack on Dems
though Rep. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez of New
York, who introduced the
WASHINGTON — As plan along with Massachu-
the White House gears up setts Sen. Ed Markey, said
for the 2020 campaign, it would be “the same way
it’s pressing the case that we paid for the original
Democrats are rallying New Deal, World War II,
behind what it’s calling the the bank bailouts, tax cuts
for the rich and decades of
policies of “socialism.”
war — with public
Trying to por-
tray Democrats as
money appropri-
ated by Congress.”
out of step with
The
health
ordinary Ameri-
cans, Vice Presi-
care and climate
dent Mike Pence
proposals
have
said in a speech on
become
litmus
Friday at the Con-
tests in the race
Pence
servative
Politi-
for the Democratic
cal Action Confer-
nomination, with
ence that the choice in the many liberals embracing
next election is “between the ideas even as some
freedom and socialism, pragmatists raise questions
between personal respon- about cost and feasibility.
White House economic
sibility and government
adviser Larry Kudlow said
dependence.”
It was the latest step at the conference on Thurs-
in a coordinated effort by day that Americans should
President Donald Trump “put socialism on trial, and
and his allies to drive up then convict it.” Trump
enthusiasm among the was expected to deliver a
GOP base by sowing fears similar message when he
about the policies pushed addresses the conference
on Saturday.
by Democrats.
A Trump campaign
“The moment America
becomes a socialist coun- official said the campaign
try is the moment Amer- was exploring ways to use
ica ceases to be America,” the “socialism” message
Pence told the crowd of to drive a wedge between
conservative activists.
Democratic voters and
Pence also took aim independents. The offi-
at “Medicare-for-all” and cial spoke on the condition
the Green New Deal, pol- of anonymity to describe
icy proposals prominent in internal planning.
The campaign also
the crowded Democratic
contest for the presidential believes that the attacks
will activate Trump’s
nomination.
The Medicare pro- base, which may have lost
posal really means “qual- some motivation because
ity health care for none,” the president has run into
Pence said. And “the only congressional opposition
thing green” about the as he tries to fulfill his
Democrats’ environmental U.S.-Mexico border wall
framework to combat cli- promise.
mate change, the vice pres-
The head of the Repub-
ident said, “is how much lican National Committee,
green it’s going to cost Ronna McDaniel, told the
taxpayers if we do it: $90 conference on Thursday
trillion.”
that the GOP would look to
The American Action “go out and educate” vot-
Forum,
a
Republi- ers about socialism.
can-linked think tank, has
Responding to Pence’s
estimated that the Green socialism accusation, Mas-
New Deal could cost $51 sachusetts Sen. Elizabeth
trillion to $93 trillion over Warren said: “This is no
10 years. Democrats have surprise. It’s nonsense, but
not specified a price tag, Donald Trump and Donald
By ZEKE MILLER
Associated Press
AP Photo/Marina Riker, File
This Feb. 17, 2016, file photo, shows marijuana plants at a home in Honolulu.
Liberal Hawaii decides
again not to legalize pot
By AUDREY MCAVOY
Associated Press
HONOLULU — On the
political spectrum, Hawaii
is among the bluest of states.
Democrats control all the
levers of power at the state
and federal levels, and voters
back Democratic presiden-
tial candidates over Repub-
licans by some of the widest
margins in the U.S.
The state has committed
to the Paris climate agree-
ment that President Donald
Trump rejected and was the
first state to require people to
be 21 to buy cigarettes. The
tourist haven even banned
certain types of sunscreen
because they can harm coral
reefs.
But when it comes to legal-
izing recreational marijuana
for adult use, the islands are
out of step with liberal stal-
warts, such as California and
Vermont that have already
done so, and other left-lean-
ing states, such as New York
and New Jersey that are rac-
ing toward joining them. On
Friday, a legalization bill that
made it farther in the legis-
lative process than previous
efforts died when lawmakers
failed to consider it in time
for a deadline.
Senate Majority Leader
J. Kalani English has intro-
duced marijuana legaliza-
tion bills for the past 15 years
— but Hawaii has a track
record of moving slowly on
social issues. For example,
other states moved far more
quickly to sanction gay mar-
riage and medically assisted
suicide.
Half the Democrats in the
state Senate co-sponsored
English’s measure, helping
spur speculation this would
be the year legalization
becomes reality.
But the effort fizzled as
other leaders worried about
contradicting federal law,
which continues to classify
marijuana as an illegal drug,
and jeopardizing Hawaii’s
existing medical marijuana
program.
To move forward, the bill
had to pass the Senate Health
Committee and Senate Ways
and Means Committee by a
Friday deadline so it could
be considered by the full
Senate. But the Health Com-
mittee did not schedule a
meeting on Friday to con-
sider any bills, effectively
killing the marijuana legal-
ization measure.
Rep. Della Au Belatti, the
House majority leader, said
before the bill died that she
believes Hawaii will legal-
ize adult use marijuana at
some point. But she said
lawmakers will vet the issue
carefully.
“I also think that we have
enough folks who are sit-
ting around the table who are
saying ‘Let’s do it right. Let’s
not just rush into things and
let’s do it right,’” she said.
Belatti said lawmakers
must closely study the expe-
riences of states that have
legalized marijuana. She
also wants to have abuse
prevention, treatment and
education programs set up
before legalization. Hawaii
also will have to make sure
legalized marijuana doesn’t
lead to more impaired driv-
ing, she said.
For now, Belatti said she’s
just inclined toward decrimi-
nalizing marijuana, or reduc-
ing fines and criminal penal-
ties for possession.
Twelve states and the Dis-
trict of Columbia have recre-
ational marijuana laws. All
except Vermont did it by bal-
lot initiative, an option not
available in Hawaii.
Sen. Karl Rhoads, the
chairman of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, said
Hawaii residents are becom-
ing more accepting of legal-
ization now because it has
happened elsewhere and
“the world hasn’t come to an
end.” There’s also recogni-
tion that the status quo isn’t
working, he said, noting that
juniors at a high school near
his district tell him they can
get pot whenever they want.
“It’s like Prohibition,” he
said. “We’ve been trying to
squish it out, squeeze it out,
by making it illegal. And it’s
just failed miserably.”
U.S. hits Venezuela officials with sanctions for blocking aid
By MATTHEW LEE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON
—
The Trump administration
imposed sanctions Friday on
six high-ranking members
of the Venezuelan security
forces and revoked the visas
of other officials and their
relatives in the latest effort
to pressure President Nicolas
Maduro into leaving office.
The sanctions are in
response to the blocking of
humanitarian aid convoys
last week while the visa revo-
cations on dozens of individ-
uals are intended to punish
people who have flourished
amid the South American
country’s dire economic cri-
sis, Elliott Abrams, the spe-
cial representative for Vene-
zuela, told reporters.
“Maduro
supporters
that abuse or violate human
rights, steal from the Vene-
zuelan people or undermine
Venezuela’s democracy are
not welcome in the United
States,” Abrams said. “Nei-
ther are their family mem-
bers who enjoy a privileged
lifestyle at the expense of
the liberty and prosperity of
millions of Venezuelans.”
The measures were the
latest by the Trump adminis-
tration to increase the inter-
national pressure on Mad-
uro, whose re-election last
year is seen as illegitimate,
to resign and turn power
over to the opposition leader
Juan Guaido, who has been
recognized by the U.S. and
50 other government as
interim president.
The State Department
later said that the U.S. had
revoked the visas of 49 peo-
ple, making them subject to
deportation if they are in the
country. It placed an unspec-
ified number of others on a
visa restriction list.
The
U.S.
already
has travel bans on other
high-ranking Venezuelan
officials connected to Mad-
uro who are accused of com-
mitting human rights abuses
or corruption.
Separately, the Treasury
Department imposed finan-
cial sanctions on six officials
from the National Guard
and police who are allied
with Maduro. These officials
played a role in closing Ven-
ezuela’s borders with Bra-
zil and Colombia to prevent
the entry of assistance from
countries opposed to Madu-
ro’s continued rule.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
The United States special envoy to Venezuela Elliott Abrams
looks over the room before the start of a Security Council
meeting at U.N. headquarters on Thursday.
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