Crack Smoking is Contraindicated.

Not safe for humans in an election year.

This Biden-is handing-out-free-crack-pipes meme is an epic news item.

I’ve long ago come to terms with the congenital condition of right wing stupidity — but really? Crack pipes? I don’t get the attraction for this arrant nonsense.

For starters, the claim is simply not true. But even if it were, I still don’t see the controversy. If the government randomly decided to give away free chainsaws in an ill advised community cleanup initiative, I wouldn’t suddenly feel compelled to satisfy a latent desire to start cutting down trees. Nor would I feel compelled to take on a new hobby of shooting up heroin because the government was handing out clean needles. And for the record — acquiring free condoms never helped me get laid.

But as I type these words, I realize that I am not talking about Trump’s coordinated effort to overturn an election, the violence on January 6, or about the current dissension within the Republican party. I am being distracted. Unfortunately, I don’t think we Democrats can afford to completely ignore such inane attempts at distraction.

Republicans politicians love this culture war stuff. It riles up their base, offers them a clear target to hate, and distracts them from the issues that matter. I think the best course of action is to politely point out stupidity and illogic as it arises, and then to move on to topics that matter. 

As things now stand, I think I’ll refrain from taking up a new crack smoking habit, even if at a later time, they should become free.