« Senator Larry Craig - WTF? | Main | Frau Clinton: Favorite Candidate of Non-Americans »
Huckabee Will Ban Public Smoking; Hillary Would Love To, But Promises She Won’t.
By Bill | August 30, 2007 | Email This Post
In an interview with Chris Matthews, Mike Huckabee voiced his support for a ban on smoking in public places. At least, that was Chris’ original question, which Huckabee jumped all over and then tried to turn into a “no smoking in workplaces” conversation - presumably because he was more familiar with the issue on those terms, having passed a bill to just that as Governor of Arkansas. (A smoking ban? In Arkansas? Wow.)
Huckabee’s forthright statement is grabbing headlines. However, most of the other candidates have weighed in on the issue in one form or another. So, what do they think?
(Note: strangely silent on the issue are Duncan Hunter, Mike Gravel, and Dennis Kucinich, but expect them to come out with an answer soon. Okay, so it’s not suprising Duncan is silent; he’s so invisible, it’s as if the stamp accidentally fell off his withdrawal letter.)
The Democrats:
Hillary Clinton: says she thinks smoking should be banned from public places, calling the day that happens “a good day for America.” At the same time, if President says she would not enact legislation to that effect, instead leaving the matter to state and local governments (queue music: Hillary Clinton, champion of States’ Rights!)
Barack Obama: hasn’t said, but for a candidate who has such a public history of smoking and trying to quit, one would think he would avoid hypocrisy on this issue for the time being.
John Edwards: favors a ban “in principle,” but is not convinced of its legality.
Joe Biden: hasn’t clearly defined his position, but my guess is that he would come down on the side of more regulation. After all, he even had a hand in making smoking a factor in movie ratings.
Bill Richardson: Signed a statewide public smoking ban as Governor, and “would do that as President.” Clear enough.
Chris Dodd: no definite position, but has supported tougher smoking regulation in the past.
The Republicans:
Fred Thompson: Since Fred’s still not officially running, there isn’t much in the way of real position papers. However, it’s probably worth noting that his campaign is stuffed to the gills with former tobacco industry people.
John McCain: has historically been a legislative opponent of smoking, and his home state recently enacted a smoking ban.
Mike Huckabee: Made his position clear in the debate, he would sign a bill to ban all public smoking. (Note he didn’t say indoor public smoking; he said public smoking. As in, damn near everywhere.)
Mitt Romney: has not indicated where he stands. However, one might assume (and here we tread on very dangerous, and perhaps unfair ground) that his Mormon roots would predispose him to being anti-smoking.
Ron Paul: No official position. However, while Paul has expressed his distaste for smoking from a physician’s point of view, he has also spoken out against legislation regulating tobacco. Still, knowing Dr. Paul’s philosophy, we might presume that states’ rights would prevail here.
Rudy Giuliani: Again, no official statement. However, during the debate over smoking when he was mayor of New York, Rudy indicated that while he was “sympathetic” to counter arguments, he “generally supports smoking restrictions.”
Sam Brownback: would leave anti-smoking efforts to state and local communities.
Tom Tancredo: And then there’s Tom. No official position has been expressed, but since a fellow Congressman had to call the Capitol Hill Police to get Tancredo to put out his cigar, it’s probably safe to assume Tancredo is at least a little sympathetic to the smokers on this issue.
So, what does this all mean? Surveying the field, there seems to be a very good likelihood that the next President of the United States will favor a ban on smoking; whether such legislation will be passed is another matter. My money is on yes, it will be.
Is there a civil liberty issue here? I say there is not, and I usually fall squarely on the side of individual liberty. Perhaps you would like to disagree? A convenient comment form is below.
Topics: Democrats, Healthcare, Issues, Mitt Romney, Republicans |
September 3rd, 2007 at 11:16 am
Good for Mike Huckabee… let’s get these human smokestacks the hell away from entry and exit doors, too.
September 3rd, 2007 at 10:57 pm
Big Brother has already segued to going after the obese with higher health-care costs. So all you peeps applauding Hillary & Co. had better think hard about how much personal freedom you’re willing to give up. (NOTE: The Clintons only started this whole let’s-demonize-smokers thing after the Republicans took over both houses of Congress in ‘94 and the news mags started asking whether Bill was “irrelevent.” Dick Morris then did a poll to find some issue they could use to get back in the game, and. . .voila! Suddenly the Clintons were all about “protecting our children.”)
September 4th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Let’s get moving with the war on cancer, and heart disease and stroke and COPD and really put the run on the big Tobacco companies. I’m sick of their big money lobbying protecting their turf and allowing them to keep addicting and killing smokers. Never mind what it does to the health care budget. There’s no single larger preventable cause of death and disability than smoking. Smoking bans reduce the number of smokers and reduce the frequency that others smoke. And restricting where smoking can occur protects non-smokers from the proven ill effects of Second Hand Smoke!
September 7th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Sharon… “personal freedom you’re willing to give up.” There is a personal freedom issue in play here, but its opposite from what I suspect you mean. The personal freedom infringement is currently being performed BY smokers, not TO smokers.