A couple of interesting tidbits from this election cycle: first, concerning Allen West’s victory over Ron Klein (congratulations are in order) in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, the Palm Beach Daily News noted the following:

The West-Klein race was one of the nastiest campaigns of the season.

Only the Shiny Sheet would put it this way.  But now that the election season is out of the way, Palm Beach can turn to what really counts: the social season.

And this concerning the downfall of Proposition 19 in California, which would have legalised marijuana, this back and forth from the proponents and opponents (emphasis mine):

“It’s still a historic moment in this very long struggle to end decades of failed marijuana prohibition,” said Stephen Gutwillig, California director for the Drug Policy Project. “Unquestionably, because of Proposition 19, marijuana legalization initiatives will be on the ballot in a number of states in 2012, and California is in the mix.”

Tim Rosales, who managed the No on 19 campaign, scoffed at that attitude from the losing side.

“If they think they are going to be back in two years, they must be smoking something,” he said. “This is a state that just bucked the national trend and went pretty hard on the Democratic side, but yet in the same vote opposed Prop 19. I think that says volumes as far as where California voters are on this issue.”

Mr. Rosales is quick on his feet, but that’s the whole point of this: they are smoking something, and want to make it legal.   Rosales also has a point when he observes the state that just flushed two successful Republican women to preserve the People’s Republic characteristic of the place turned around and nixed the legalisation of marijuana, a cause célèbre of the left since the 1960’s.  It may not be the point he wanted to make, though: it looks to me like the people of California have moved on to other mind-alterning substances, the most serious of which is government money, which Californians like to burn with glee.  That in turn explains the financial condition of the state, and I’m not holding my breath about that being fixed any time soon.

Personally I think the legalisation of marijuana (along with other drugs) is coming, as was the case with same sex civil marriage (another phenomenon Californians voted down).  Then we’ll be regaled with pop-up ads like, “No stems, no seeds that you don’t need…”