To the Editor:

Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, and his extreme right-wing partisans have no problem wasting taxpayer money as long as he gets a headline and appears to be tough on the poor folks, as illustrated by his recent comments and support for a proposal to drug test anyone getting state benefits from programs intended to help people. The only people who will benefit are the lawyers, as usual, who will fight a losing battle because the suspicion-less drug testing of Americans has been ruled unconstitutional already by every federal court in every state that has attempted this ridiculous and pointless policy.

Alcohol is by far the most dangerous and widely abused drug of all, responsible for the majority of domestic violence arrests and in every other category possible where a substance is at issue, yet his “ drug testing” scheme does not cover that deadly drug. Any recipient of the Work First program can swill whiskey and stagger their way through life and that is OK with Davis; there are no tests done for alcoholics and problem drinkers, but some poor cancer patient with a minor amount of cannabis in their system would be excluded.

That is a sickening and shameful example of the hypocrisy of the nanny state promoters’ refusal to use common sense in the use of our tax money.

How about if Sen. Davis proposes a bill that would drug test all N.C senators and house members every year so we know our tax dollars are not being wasted on the politicians? Let them be the first. After all, we are paying their salaries with our money and have a right to make sure that the oftentimes insane and ridiculous laws and policies they pass are not the result of intoxication but just due to their individual failings as leaders. 

I guarantee you that if alcohol were forbidden to the talking heads in Raleigh and Washington, there would be virtually no one left to govern … and good riddance.

There has never been a  “drug-free” society in all of human history, and Davis is deluded if he thinks there ever will be despite the efforts of the people who would destroy our rights and freedoms to accomplish an impossibility. If someone does have a real drug problem, which statistically would involve alcohol far more often than any illegal substance, offering medical help and counseling would do more for them and their families than to deny them benefits and pressure them into serious crime to survive.

Republican politicians care nothing about results, common sense or human dignity, but are only concerned with headlines and promotion of far right wing nonsense never meant to succeed but only to curry favor from political donors and rabid far right voters. Unless we want to keep looking like illiterate and moronic bumpkins we would do well to ignore the grandstanding of Davis and his cronies and instead promote policies that actually help people, make common sense and use our money for beneficial purposes and not pipe dreams destined to fail.

Richard Moore

Sylva