| Charles Dhaparak/AP |
| Iowa state Senator Kent Sorenson speaks at a rally for Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul on Wednesday at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines |
People are talking about rats abandoning sinking ships. Michelle Bachmann’s Iowa Presidential campaign chairman has switched to rival Ron Paul’s political camp — and the switch could have been prompted by his conviction on a marijuana charge back when he was 20 years old.
Iowa state Senator Kent Sorenson‘s history was uncovered by the Des Moines Register last year when he was a candidate in Iowa’s 37th District campaign for the Legislature. The paper dug up the old marijuana conviction, reports Anissa Ford at Huliq.
Sorenson was snared in 1992 in a penny-ante undercover drug sting where he purchased one-eighth ounce of marijuana for $30 “with intent to deliver.” He was handed a six-month suspended sentence. He was also ordered to spend three to five days in jail for the misdemeanor offense, and had to pay a $300 fine.
Sorenson pleaded guilty in the case, but told the Des Moines Register that he “was not a drug dealer.” He claimed the “person he was with” dealt pot.
| Info Hemp |
| GOP Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann: Given her record on social issues, her support for legalization is seen as very unlikely |
The official reason given by the former Bachmann Iowa campaign chair for jumping to the Ron Paul camp is because Paul has taken a “commanding lead” in the Iowa polls, he told Time Magazine. Sorenson said it is important to stand behind Paul now in the effort to block the chance of Romney leading the GOP ticket.
Sorenson, in fact, said he wants to make sure Iowa does not elect “someone like Romney” in next week’s election.
He also claimed that he is “not the same person” that he was back when he was “involved with marijuana.”
| Blisstree |
| GOP Presidential candidate Ron Paul believes the legality of marijuana should be determined by state laws, not federal laws |
As recently as August — when Bachmann was riding high, leading the field in Iowa — Sorenson was an enthusiastic follower and Twitter commenter on her campaign. His commentary was reportedly the hardest on Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who has since dropped out of the contest.
But Sorenson never directly mentioned libertarian-leaning candidate Ron Paul until a November 22 retweet that gave Paul an “F” grade for his debate performance that night.
His switch to the Paul camp shocked Bachmann campaign workers, who accused him of taking money from the Paul campaign for the endorsement.
Sorenson denies that charge, but, reports Huliq, nothing in his past indicates he — at least, until his new posturing — ever had a strong dislike for Romney or any interest at all in Ron Paul.
Political observers speculate that when Bachmann eventually and inevitably drops out of the race (she’s currently running 5th or 6th by most counts, and is behind even Rick Santorum), she, too, as a Tea Party favorite, will endorse Paul. On Facebook, she’s already listed as one of the many “celebrities” who “support or endorse” Paul.
“If Bachmann were to drop out today and endorse Ron Paul, she would virtually seal Paul’s lead and leverage over Mitt Romney,” Ford writes.
See below for a video of Bachmann’s high praise for Ron Paul, early this past summer.
