In many ways there is no single better litmus test for “Do you get America?” than to find out one’s views on smoking bans. Private property, free enterprise, limited government, individual responsibility — all are completely pissed on by the smoking nazi’s among us.
I don’t care what you have to say about anything else, if you tell me you think smoking bans in private businesses are a good thing, then I think less of you as a person and, all emotion and opinion aside, I can objectively discern that you hate America.
To that end, I actually welcome discussion around me about the bans. Any other policy topics, esoteric or practical, are no longer needed. When you want to see if some one loves or hates America, just ask them how they feel about smoking bans.
Very well said. Global warming and smoker bans are litmus test issues.
If a candidate buys into it there can only be two reasons:
A. He/she is too stupid to recognize bogus studies and junk science when they see it(which makes him too dumb to have power) or
B. They know that it is BS but they go along anyway for the greater good, which makes them more dangerous than A.
PS: Huckabee is clearly a B.
He may be a lot of things but he is certainly not stupid.
He got religion on health and bought into the idea that tobacco/sheeple control with smoker bans and high cig taxes will coerce the sheeple to quit for their own good.
That's a bit harsh, don't you think? I think the majority of people who support smoking bans do so out of ignorance or mistaken reasoning, not out of a disregard for the fundamental principles of our country.
The state of political education in this country is so bad, and the influence of collectivist propaganda is so strong, that most people can't process the issue properly. I know it sounds incredible, but I honestly believe most people don't immediately comprehend the conflict between smoking bans and private property rights. For the typical smoking ban voter, it's not a matter of consciously deciding to subordinate the business owner's liberty for their own convenience. They don't even realize that someone else's liberty is at stake.
Many people who think they support a smoking ban will change their mind, once they are challenged to think through the implications of what a smoking ban means. No need to condemn them as America haters on the basis of their often-curable misconceptions.
Now, when we are talking about the dedicated, well-informed anti-smoking zealots...that's a different matter.
Your post 25 is right on the mark!
Your thoughts on this subject mirror my own. Whenever a candidate for anything, be it local legislator, state senator, or dog catcher rings my doorbell looking for a vote, I always ask him his opinion on smoking bans.
His answer will give me an idea as to his beliefs on a number of subjects. A wrong answer is a death knell for him as far as my vote is concerned. A correct answer will let him continue trying to convince me to vote for him.
Regards,