There are currently 0 users and 164 guests online.
Conservative Rep Needs to Sharpen Up On Basic Principles
Submitted by S Carpenter on Fri, 2007/04/06 - 4:01pm.
As if it wasn't big enough contradiction for a big "C" Conservative to propose a tax initiative, Rep. Campfield wants to put the squeeze on erotic speech and press with his Adult Materials Tax. ;)
Rep. Campfield doesn't have any idea that his tax initiative infringes the Constitutional protections of speech & press. IMO the ARKANSAS WRITERS' PROJECT v. RAGLAND case reads that way, but please read it and decide for yourself. (481 U.S. 221 (1987)).
This week, Rep. Campfield made several posts about his tax initiative including the one that finally got me commenting at his blog. The last was one of those roundup entries. It was just too much ...
and I'm home with a little seasonal sinus problem, so following a week of his proclaiming the movement of his Porn Not Corn tax, hand in hand with Terry Frank's blog, I took my turn. The exchange from Campfield's site is here or here
Rep. Campfield, in our exchange, explains to me that a tax on speech is constitutional if it doesn't kill it completely. In other words, Campfield believes the government can tax your speech and press, decrease sales of your newspaper, drive up the price of your magazine, and depress your livelihood just because of the type of speech you make.
What kind of conservative can agree to limitations on freedom for the benefit of a tax initiative? And yet, that is exactly the bill that Campfield is set on passing. I don't think he's ever passed one of his ideas into legislation but perhaps the tax on speech will be his first. In any event, I've come to a conclusion.
Some Conservatives should sharpen up on the basic principles.
Submitted by redmondkr on Fri, 2007/04/06 - 4:42pm.
Try as we might to have kind thoughts about public servants who seem to have a little water in their lube oil, we must also remember the words of the poet John Mellencamp who once said,
Submitted by StaceyDiamond on Sat, 2007/04/07 - 2:03pm.
This escapade from Campfield is not much worse than the Ragsdale admin. trying to make "adult businesses" close on government holidays. I think the suit against the county is still pending. If you don't want to buy porn on Christmas, just don't. Between the porn and the smoking I feel the government is getting too big.
There is no reason to engage in discourse with Stacey Campfield. He's an utterly worthless politician, a demagogue, a poor man's Jesse Helms. Why oh why do people in Knox County vote for him? Can't he get a challenger - even in the primary?
Campfield had solid, credible challengers in both the primary and the general last time. Either Gary Drinnen or Schree Pettigrew would have been 10x as good a Rep as Campfield. I truly cannot figure out why folks in his district keep voting for him. I'm told he's good door to door, but my God, he's such a moran (spelling intentional).
Submitted by S Carpenter on Sat, 2007/04/07 - 10:27am.
If we're going to have better representation then we need to engage him because he will shoot himself in the foot. Not only has he proposed a tax initiative but he wants a tax that will infringe free speech.
On his blog, he has informed me that the U.S. Supreme Court case I cite above doesn't mean the tax is an infringement of free speech. He says:
That is Arkansas law but it still backs up what I said. That case was also about a small type (one or two papers) of publication. This type of tax has also been done and held up in court in Utah. Check with a real lawyer or at least read completely what you send.
The Rep | Homepage | 04.06.07 - 9:50 pm | #
How laughable is that? The U.S. Supreme Court rules in the Arkansas Writers Projec that:
Indeed, this case involves a more disturbing use of selective taxation than Minneapolis Star, because the basis on which Arkansas differentiates between magazines is particularly repugnant to First Amendment principles: a magazine's tax status depends entirely on its content. "[A]bove all else, the First Amendment means that government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content." Police Dept. of Chicago v. [481 U.S. 221, 230] Mosley, 408 U.S., at 95 . See also Carey v. Brown, 447 U.S., at 462 -463. "Regulations which permit the Government to discriminate on the basis of the content of the message cannot be tolerated under the First Amendment." Regan v. Time, Inc., 468 U.S. 641, 648 -649 (1984).
No one, conservative or liberal, wants tax initiatives against free speech. Let's challenge Campfield's ideas head on and he can be beaten.
Campfield doesn't run and hide. If you'll notice he has public meetings on the weekends in his district. One is next Saturday. Details in today's News Sentinel.
Campfield wins because he personally talks to each likely voter in his district 3-4 times during the campaign. Like him or not, you won't outwork him. Also remember, Campfield beat his last primary and general election opponents by substantial margins.
Try as we might to have kind thoughts about public servants who seem to have a little water in their lube oil, we must also remember the words of the poet John Mellencamp who once said,
"Some people ain't no damned good."
Come See Us at
The Hill Online
This escapade from Campfield is not much worse than the Ragsdale admin. trying to make "adult businesses" close on government holidays. I think the suit against the county is still pending. If you don't want to buy porn on Christmas, just don't. Between the porn and the smoking I feel the government is getting too big.
There is no reason to engage in discourse with Stacey Campfield. He's an utterly worthless politician, a demagogue, a poor man's Jesse Helms. Why oh why do people in Knox County vote for him? Can't he get a challenger - even in the primary?
Campfield had solid, credible challengers in both the primary and the general last time. Either Gary Drinnen or Schree Pettigrew would have been 10x as good a Rep as Campfield. I truly cannot figure out why folks in his district keep voting for him. I'm told he's good door to door, but my God, he's such a moran (spelling intentional).
If we're going to have better representation then we need to engage him because he will shoot himself in the foot. Not only has he proposed a tax initiative but he wants a tax that will infringe free speech.
On his blog, he has informed me that the U.S. Supreme Court case I cite above doesn't mean the tax is an infringement of free speech. He says:
That is Arkansas law but it still backs up what I said. That case was also about a small type (one or two papers) of publication. This type of tax has also been done and held up in court in Utah. Check with a real lawyer or at least read completely what you send.
The Rep | Homepage | 04.06.07 - 9:50 pm | #
How laughable is that? The U.S. Supreme Court rules in the Arkansas Writers Projec that:
Indeed, this case involves a more disturbing use of selective taxation than Minneapolis Star, because the basis on which Arkansas differentiates between magazines is particularly repugnant to First Amendment principles: a magazine's tax status depends entirely on its content. "[A]bove all else, the First Amendment means that government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content." Police Dept. of Chicago v. [481 U.S. 221, 230] Mosley, 408 U.S., at 95 . See also Carey v. Brown, 447 U.S., at 462 -463. "Regulations which permit the Government to discriminate on the basis of the content of the message cannot be tolerated under the First Amendment." Regan v. Time, Inc., 468 U.S. 641, 648 -649 (1984).
No one, conservative or liberal, wants tax initiatives against free speech. Let's challenge Campfield's ideas head on and he can be beaten.
Campfield doesn't run and hide. If you'll notice he has public meetings on the weekends in his district. One is next Saturday. Details in today's News Sentinel.
Campfield wins because he personally talks to each likely voter in his district 3-4 times during the campaign. Like him or not, you won't outwork him. Also remember, Campfield beat his last primary and general election opponents by substantial margins.
Post new comment