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When I recently spoke with the Libertarian Partys chairman, Nicholas Sarwark, about his organizations unique perspective onthe presidency of Donald Trump, he highlighted a very important issue: the war on drugs.

Sarwark also argued that Congress needs tosay, Look, these penalties that we have for people having drugs or selling drugs or using drugs they need to be brought down into the area of reality. And stop locking people up for decades oversubstances people voluntarily consume and ingest.

Indeed many people onthe left might agree: What right does the government have to tell people what they can do with their bodies? Not to mention the fact thatsuch a crusade should be denounced for its racism,expenseand mass incarceration. Yet while those problems are horrific, the war on drugs could theoretically be reformed withoutdoing away with it altogether.

To me, though, the last part of Sarwarksphrasing perfectly captures whythe war on drugscannot be justified: Stop locking people up for decades over substances people voluntarily consume and ingest.

Do you want to claim that people who use drugs are more likely to commit crimes? Perhaps, but then outlaw the crimes themselves, not the substances that may make them more likely.

Sarwarksaid that anti-drug laws need to be brought down into the area of reality.

In my view, they shouldnt exist at all.

Watch our conversationto better understand libertarians argument aboutour governments drug policies.

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WATCH: Libertarian Party chair on the war on drugs: Stop locking people up - Salon

In the wake of Maxime Berniers loss to Andrew Scheer in the federal Conservative leadership race, another party has offered the Quebec MP its leadership: the Libertarian Party of Canada.

The Libertarian Partys current leader, Tim Moen, posted a video to YouTube Sunday promising to immediately step aside and nominate Bernier as leader should he accept the offer. The party also plans to adopt Berniers platform whether or not he joins them, Moen said.

I know Max and I know hes a solid libertarian, Moen said in an interview with the National Post. He hopes Berniers supporters shift their allegiance to the Libertarians, which he says will force the Conservative Party to consider adopting libertarian policies.

He could take a lot of political market-share away from the Conservative Party, he said. I think they need to be disciplined by the market.

Bernier finished a close second to Andrew Scheer in the Conservative leadership race, taking roughly 49 per cent of the available points toScheers almost 51 per cent. He campaigned on a platform that included lowering corporate taxes from 15 to 10 per cent, eliminating the capital gains tax and abolishing Canadas supply management system for dairy, eggs and poultry.

Moen said the popularity of Berniers platform shows that voters are interested in taking baby steps towards libertarian policies.

Maxs platform offers people something that is realistic and something that a libertarian can live with and embrace, he said. Itll show that were serious about winning some votes here.

Berniers office did not respond to a request for comment before deadline Monday.

The Libertarian Party of Canada was founded in 1973 with the mission of reducing the responsibilities and expenses of the Canadian government, according to the partys website. The party today has roughly 10,000 members, according to Moen.

The partys current platform which Moen says takes a more philosophically purist approach than Berniers plan includes proposals to establish a maximum federal income tax of 15 per cent, withdraw Canadian forces from all international conflicts and repeal the Canada Health Act to make healthcare a purely provincial responsibility.

Moen, who works as a firefighter and paramedic in Fort McMurray, has been leader of the Libertarian Party since 2014. He says hes reached out to Bernier (I sent him a text, he said) and he and Bernier will speak about the invitation this week.

Hes not sure if Bernier is at all interested, but said he felt he would be remiss not to provide the option.

I hope he takes me up on the offer, but Im not holding my breath.

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A second chance for Mad Max? Libertarian Party leader offers to step aside for Bernier - National Post

Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)

How Much Trump Is Good for the GOP in House Races? New York Times The race between the Republican Karen Handel and the Democrat Jon Ossoff in this reliably Republican district has become a proving ground for the surrogates tasked with defending the party's majority. Both sides together could spend more than $40 ... Democrats are outspending Republicans in Georgia 6th raceAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog) all 26 news articles »

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How Much Trump Is Good for the GOP in House Races? - New York Times

Republicans are running out of time to make major legislative achievements before they break for their August recess and President Trumps 200th day in office later that month.

Congress will be in session for just 31 legislative days between now and the end of July, when the five-week recess begins.

Speaker Paul RyanPaul RyanFive goals for Republicans this summer Five tax reform issues dividing Republicans GOP leader tempers ObamaCare expectations MORE (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellMitch McConnellTrump calls for end to filibuster Five goals for Republicans this summer GOP leader tempers ObamaCare expectations MORE (R-Ky.) have both put more of an emphasis on the 200-day mark than Trumps first 100 days.

The two want to show that Republican control of Washington is a status quo the voters should support as they make their case for next years midterms.

Theres still time for Republicans to make some gains.

Adopting a budget

Republicans frequently blasted Democrats when they controlled Congress for going years without adopting a budget.

Then they were unable to adopt a budget last year due to internal divisions about cutting spending, though the inaction didnt hurt the GOP legislative agenda.

This time, failing to adopt a budget would imperil GOP hopes for passing tax reform through special budget rules that would prevent a Democratic filibuster.

Without a budget, in other words, the GOP may have to forget about a broad tax overhaul, a longtime dream of Ryans.

Figuring out a budget for next year will also have consequences for keeping the government funded after September.

Some Republicans want a bipartisan budget deal similar to those hammered out over the past four years, that would establish top-line spending levels for appropriations bills and raise the debt limit at the same time.

We need that kind of agreement to provide budgetary stability, said Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee.

Raising the debt limit

Top Trump administration officials told Congress this week that lawmakers may have to approve a debt ceiling increase sooner than expected.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged lawmakers to pass a clean debt ceiling hike with no strings attached before leaving for the summer break.

I think its absolutely important that this is passed before the August recess and the sooner the better, Mnuchin said before the House Ways and Means Committee.

Conservative groups want to tie spending restrictions to a debt bill. The conservative House Freedom Caucus announced this week that they would demand any debt hike be paired with spending cuts.

Striking a bipartisan deal to avoid a bruising debt limit fight would let GOP leaders demonstrate they can govern responsibly, as they did with the four-month spending package earlier this month. But a wide-ranging budget and debt limit deal would be a disappointment for conservatives hoping to get policy wins under unified GOP control of government.

My concerns with the past years is that in a bipartisan fashion weve been kicking the road and adding to the debt substantially. Thats my concern with the past years. Going forward, when you win the House and the Senate and the White House, and youre the small-government party, thats my concern, said Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), a Freedom Caucus member.

Avoid a government shutdown

Congress is far behind where it normally is at this stage of the year in the annual appropriations process.

The House will enter June without having approved a single appropriations bill, and appropriators concede that theres no time to pass each individual spending bill given other priorities.

We can get the bills ready to get all 12 bills out of committee. The real question is, do you have the time to do them on the floor? Probably not. So you're going to have 'minibuses' or an omnibus, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told reporters.

At a minimum, Republicans need to show that at a minimum they can keep the lights on while controlling Congress and the White House.

Government funding wont run out until the end of September, but the GOP will want to start putting together a plan this summer.

In frustration over accepting this months spending compromise, President Trump called for a good shutdown in September to fix the mess in Washington. But most Republicans in Congress want to avoid such a situation, believing they and Trump would get the blame for a shutdown.

Tax reform

Republicans cant move a 2018 budget, which they need for tax reform, until they finish work on a fiscal 2017 budget needed to repeal ObamaCare.

That means a tax reform vote in either chamber is still a long way off. But Republicans are eager to get moving.

The border adjustment tax proposal pushed by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to tax imports and exempt exports is withering in the face of opposition from conservative groups, retailers and fellow Republicans who warn it would increase prices on consumer goods.

Yet Republicans need to find some other way to pay for their tax reform proposal if they dont want to add to the deficit.

The border adjustable piece, I wish they would whip that to find out what the sense is. And if you dont have the votes on it, then you got a trillion dollar hole that you gotta fill. And theres ways to do that linked to the budget, Brat said.

Healthcare

In the Senate, the GOPs goal is to finish work on legislation repealing and replacing ObamaCare by the August recess.

Whether they can do it is anyones guess. There are severe differences among Republican senators over how to move forward, and McConnell has been careful about setting expectations.

GOP senators distanced themselves from a Congressional Budget Office analysis this week that predicted 23 million people would lose insurance over the next decade under the House bill. It also projected higher costs for older and sicker people.

Senate GOP staff will be drafting legislation during the Memorial Day recess, with a discussion draft possibly circulating when senators return.

Theres an added reason for the Senate GOP to move quickly.

It is using the same budget reconciliation rules to avoid a Democratic filibuster on healthcare that it intends to use on tax reform.

But its unclear how long the reconciliation vehicle for the healthcare bill will last.

The reconciliation measure is for fiscal year 2017, and Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget senior advisor Ed Lorenzen noted that the Senate parliamentarian has not yet ruled if reconciliation instructions expire at the end of the fiscal year in September.

If the parliamentarian were to rule the 2017 vehicle expires in September, Republicans would have to either pass the healthcare measure quickly or try to move a bill the old-fashioned way with Democratic votes.

Read more:
Five goals for Republicans this summer - The Hill

The Senate is emerging as a possible hurdle to achieving tax reform this year, as Senate Republicans have failed to say which tax breaks they're willing to take away in order to pay for tax rate reductions, unlike House Republicans who have already offered some ideas.

If Congress doesn't eliminate big tax breaks, it won't be able to lower tax rates without blowing out the federal deficit. Republicans have set ambitious goals for tax rates, with President Trump calling to lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent and House Republicans setting a target of 20 percent.

In their tax reform blueprint, House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Republicans identified three major ways they would raise revenue: One would be eliminating all itemized deductions, except for those for mortgage interest and charitable giving; another would be to prevent businesses from deducting the cost of interest on loans; and last would be the border adjustment.

While border adjustment has stirred the most recent controversy, all three would be difficult to pass. While none has a strong advocate in the Senate, all three have critics.

"That's obviously one of the problems you have with any kind of tax reform, is everybody loves their tax preference," said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch has suggested that all three of the House's major revenue-raisers, or "pay-fors," do not enjoy support in the Senate at the moment.

"I don't think in the final analysis they'll be able to do that," Hatch said of the idea of limiting the ability of businesses to deduct interest payments from taxable income, speaking after a meeting with the White House and House on tax reform this month.

Like every tax break, the deductibility of business interest payments has a dedicated coalition of businesses defending it. Real estate investors, private equity funds, telecommunication companies and other groups that have debt built into their business models will lobby to keep it in the tax code.

In theory, Republicans could be able to overcome industry resistance if they did so together. But one issue is that the White House has shied away from clearly advocating the elimination of many big breaks. "My preference is to maintain interest deductibility," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in congressional testimony on Wednesday, hedging that it was on the table.

As for the border adjustment tax, which would raise about $1 trillion, a number of senators have expressed doubt or outright opposition, and no senator has championed it.

Nor have any senators proposed curbing itemized deductions the way House Republicans have. Those include deductions for medical expenses, state and local taxes and much more.

The Trump administration has placed itself squarely behind ending the state and local tax deduction, a major itemized deduction that is worth well over $1 trillion over a decade. Although less ambitious than the House plan to end all itemized deductions, it is an ambitious proposal.

Yet no senator has committed to it. Asked Thursday if attacking the break is feasible in the Senate, Hatch simply waved the question off.

If Republicans hope to pass meaningful tax reform, though, they will have to get Senate support for limiting some big tax breaks.

Each break makes an enormous difference in terms of the tax rates that can be achieved. In the House blueprint, for instance, the inclusion of the border adjustment tax allows them to lower the corporate tax rate to 20 percent. Without it, they would be able to lower the rate to only 30 percent without adding to the deficit, said Kyle Pomerleau, the head of the tax modeling team at the Tax Foundation. A 30 percent corporate tax rate would still be well above the average for advanced economies and even higher than former President Barack Obama's target of 28 percent.

Another example: Eliminating the state and local tax deduction would raise about $1.8 trillion over 10 years in the Tax Foundation's model, which is based on one of the models used by Congress' own tax experts. That revenue pays for nearly all of the individual tax cuts in the House Republican plan, Pomerleau said, including the reduction in the top tax rate from 39.6 percent to 33 percent, the collapse of seven brackets into three and cuts to capital gains taxes. "Without that," Pomerleau said of eliminating the state and local tax deduction, "it's really hard to get anything on the individual side."

At the same time, curtailing the ability of residents to deduct their state and local taxes would be a declaration of war on high-tax blue states and on the real estate industry, which hates the idea of families losing a break that helps them with property taxes.

The only way to get the public to go along with a tax reform that got rid of that tax break would be to simultaneously promise them that their rates will be lowered dramatically.

So far, unlike the House and White House, the Senate has not proposed a framework for reducing tax rates. That is part of the reason senators have been reluctant to run afoul of special interests by putting their tax breaks on the table, suggested Dean Zerbe, Alliantgroup national managing director and a former staffer on the Finance Committee.

"You always want to kind of have dessert at the same time you're serving the vegetables," he said.

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Senate Republicans have no answer to the trickiest question on tax reform - Washington Examiner