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Tobacco Tax Foes Ramping It Up (Updated!)
As noted by Roby Brock and Jason Tolbert a couple of days back, opponents of the tobacco tax hike are ramping up their efforts to fight the increase with an advertising push. Dick Armey’s Freedom Works organization is behind a bunch of TV ads urging Arkansans to contact their legislators on the issue; a Northwest Arkansas correspondent writes to note that he’s seen two ads this morning alone urging him to call GOP Sen. Bill Pritchard and urge him to vote ‘no.’ (Anybody see any links to these on YouTube?)
Meanwhile, the folks at Altria/Phillip Morris USA are running this radio ad, though I’m not yet sure of how widely it’s airing. Here, have a listen—it’ll only take 60 seconds, and we all know you weren’t going to use that time to do anything productive:
Click here for tobacco tax radio ad
The Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee will consider the bill today at 10 a.m. (UPDATE: Senate committee passed the bill, 5-2)
Via The Tolbert Report, here’s the Freedom Works TV ad:
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3 Responses to “Tobacco Tax Foes Ramping It Up (Updated!)”
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February 11th, 2009 at 10:05 am
I think it will pass committee but it will be an interesting vote. The two things to watch are
1. Will Sen. Terry Smith get the amendment to the bill that he is push for (meaning it would have to go through the House again) and
2. How will Sens. Trusty, Teague, and Smith vote? Knowing these undecided votes will help know the bill chances on the Senate Floor.
February 11th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
The sad thing is that THIS is what you Repubs are hanging your hats on? Is this all you have left? To fight for the right to get lung cancer and heart disease?
According to you guys its a tax on the poor, a tax on the weak, a tax on the simple folk. Bull Hockey. I quit over 10 years ago after a 15 year habit. Two packs a day. Man up you Nancies and quit smoking. Millions of people have done it and so can you.
You repubs want a fighting angle- then start asking where the $ for their precious trauma centers is gonna come from after everybody quits. But don’t give me this “poor persecuted smoker” crapola.
February 12th, 2009 at 12:09 am
Actually, Frontier, I don’t say it is a tax on the poor, as many rich folks smoke and dip. Win Paul Rockefeller smoked. Terry Smith dips. I don’t think of either of them as poor.
No, I say it is a chicken shit way to approach an activity these some people disapprove of. Grow some testicles and outlaw tobacco if it is so evil. Either it is a problem that needs to be prohibited totally and completely or it isn’t. If it is, as you believe, an evil that causes harm, then the money collected from its sale is evil, no? I mean, we confiscate drug money and property bought with it is forfeited after adjudication. So, if that money is dirty, why isn’t this money?
Why didn’t we just tax LSD use out of existence? Or any other illegal drug that can’t be grown in Kinkade’s closet with grow lights? How many people get cancer from pot? Cocaine causes heart attacks, just like tobacco. Shouldn’t we tax the sale of cocaine to fund this miracle of modern medicine known as a trauma center?
No, I say that these people that believe this is so bad need to nut up and outlaw it. I hang my hat on their lack of spinal rigidity, which, as you can imagine, is not an easy task.