I think you are being unfair to the author and also not thinking your own ideas through. You are implying that there is a fundamental difference between making something illegal and taxing it. I disagree. What if the tax on a small bag of potato chips is $5 per bag?
Nanny staters always say that their nanny state is reasonable and reflects the will of the people. No tax on apples but tax potato chips. Well, what about Fritos? Doritos? Tortilla chips? Tortillas? Corn meal? Fresh corn?
How many people are you going to hire at what salary to sit around and decide where along the spectrum between fresh corn and potato chips the tax kicks in? And how will you assure that this decision and millions of others like it are reasonable and reflect the will of the people?
There are fundamental issues at play here. I don't think Mike Huckabee understands them the same way I do. I think that maybe you don't either.
“I think you are being unfair to the author and also not thinking your own ideas through. You are implying that there is a fundamental difference between making something illegal and taxing it. I disagree. What if the tax on a small bag of potato chips is $5 per bag?”
If you don’t see that there IS a fundamental difference, then I guess the author made perfect sense to you. You are making the logical leap to the argument “the power to tax is the power to destroy,” but that is not the issue. (I agree with you on taxation, incidentally.)
For example, just thirty or so years ago it would have been difficult to pass a law establishing a right to work in a smoke-free environment, but now? All Huckabee was saying is that you don’t pass the laws establishing my right to work in a smoke-free environment until most people want that right established. If you can’t get to that point with reasoned leadership, then you don’t just impose your will by edict.
Taking your tax example, taxing cigarettes out of use is actually being tried. I think this is an unreasonable approach. If someone wants to kill themselves smoking, and they’re an adult, so be it. I’m just glad we got to the point where laws have been passed that keep them from taking me along for the ride. See the difference? Because this is what Huckabee appears to be getting at.
Look, it’s easy to twist anything someone says if you try hard enough. Clearly, that’s what the author was doing, and so I quit reading. If you can’t see the difference, possibly it’s because you’ve made up your mind that anyone badmouthing Huckabee has to be listened to, regardless of the merits of their argument. Or possibly, I’m just twisting what you’re saying....