Republican Scorecard: Big Business Beats Small Government Every Time

June 23, 2005

20 June 2005

From the Sublette Examiner in Pinedale, WY:

In 1779, Thomas Jefferson wrote that " to compel a man to furnish

contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he

disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical. "

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the mandatory $1 per head

fee imposed on the cattle industry, calling it valid government speech

on a 6-3 vote. The nation's highest court rejected arguments by

members of the beef industry that the program violates

constitutionally protected speech rights.

Lest you think these were just some deadbeat cattle ranchers who

wanted to get out of funding advertising that benefits them in order

to have more bucks to blow in Vegas, it's worth mentioning that the

ranchers who brought this lawsuit in the first place (and prevailed at

every step along the way to the Supremes) believe that all beef is not

equal and that to lump it all together in an ad campaign actually

hurts them in the marketplace.

From dissenting Justice Souter:

This message, the ranchers say, ignores the fact that not all beef

is the same; the ads fail to distinguish, for example, the American

ranchers' grain-fed beef from the grass-fed beef predominant in the

imports, which the Americans consider inferior.

As someone who believes that grain-fed beef really is inferior to

grass-fed beef, I have to go along with the deadbeats on this one. Why

should I have to pay more for the beef I buy because the government is

forcing the rancher to subsidize an ad campaign they don't believe in

and that actually weakens their market position?

Now, I wouldn't really care about this at all if it weren't for the

fact that these small government guys are all too ready to cut day

care subsidies, ratchet back coverage for veterans' health care,

reduce funding for school lunch programs, and in general cut all kinds

of social programs that I'm very happy to fund with my tax dollars

and my consumer choices, but never seem to want to do anything that

would make big business feel the pain, too.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The only thing the

Republicans like more than small government is big business.

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