This is a platform to comment on local, state and national politics and political news. A special area of interest is the role of corporate media in politics as we move closer and closer to one huge corporation owning all of the media outlets in the country and stifling all independent and critical voices. It will also focus on the absurd 30-plus year Nixonesque political strategy of the “liberal media” lie. This blog is on temporary hiatus because of my job and thin-skinned Republicans.
Feb 18, 2009
Basham releases the names of the lawmakers who did not sign the Smokefree Pledge
Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor, released the names of the Legislators who signed and who did not sign the Smokefree Pledge to work to pass the workplace smoking ban, including bars and restaurants.
Even though a majority of lawmakers voted for the indoor smoking ban in the last legislative session that ended on Dec. 30, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop sabotaged the Conference Committee process. So far, only 26 of the 148 lawmakers have signed it, but with 46 new Representatives in the House and because session is less than a month old, there is no reason to be disappointed or discouraged.
“Secondhand smoke exposure continues to be a major health risk for patrons and workers alike, and a major strain on state-funded medical care later as people face health issues like asthma, emphysema and cancer,” Basham said. “It’s also good for the economy, as Michigan workers would no longer have to choose between breathing in secondhand smoke and getting a paycheck.”
It was only the public pressure that forced Bishop to allow a vote in the Senate on the ban that passed 25-12 in the Senate last May. It will be that public pressure that gets Senate Bill 114 passed.
“With the overwhelming public support of this issue and the continued findings on the negative impacts of secondhand smoke, we need to make smokefree workplaces a top priority, and I encourage my fellow lawmakers to do so,” Basham said. “People deserve to know why this issue still hasn’t been addressed, and which of their lawmakers are trying to make progress on this.”
Obviously, some lawmakers are on the list simply because of an oversight because many on the list voted for the ban last year.
Those Senators who have not signed the pledge include:
Jason Allen, Bishop, Cameron Brown, Nancy Cassis, Irma Clark-Coleman, Alan Cropsey, Valde Garcia, Tom George, Jud Gilbert, Bill Hardiman, Mark Jansen, Ron Jelinek, Roger Kahn, Wayne Kuipers, Michelle McManus, John Pappageorge, Randy Richardville, Alan Sanborn, Tony Stamas, and Gerald Van Woerkom.
State Representatives who have not signed the pledge include:
Dave Agema, Justin Amash, Kathy Angerer, Vicki Barnett, Doug Bennett, Tim Bledsoe, James Bolger, Darwin Boohee, Lisa Brown, Terry Brown, Pam Byrnes, Dianne Byrum, Brian Calley, Bill Caul, Ed Clemente, Bettie Cook-Scott, Marc Corriveau, Hugh Crawford, George Cushingberry, Kevin Daley, Cindy Denby, Larry DeShazor, Andy Dillon, Marie Donigan, Fred Durhal, Kevin Elsenheimer, John Espinoza, Doug Geiss, Bob Genetski, Lee Gonzales, Kevin Green, Vincent Gregory, Martin Griffin, Jennifer Haase, Gail Haines, Richard Hammel, Geoff Hansen, Harold Haugh, Joseph Haveman, Dave Hildenbrand, Kenneth Horn, Mike Huckleberry, Shanelle Jackson, Bert Johnson, Rick Jones, Robert Jones, Andy Kandrevas, Deb Kennedy, Marty Knollenberg, Eileen Kowall, Kenneth Kurtz, Mike Lahti, Richard LeBlanc, Gabe Leland, LaMar Lemmons, Pete Lund, James Marleau, Jeff Mayes, Gary McDowell, Tom McMillin, Mark Meadows, Arlan Meekhof, Kim Meltzer, Tim Moore, Chuck Moss, David Nathan, Judy Nerat, Paul Opsommer, Phil Pavlov, Tom Pearce, Gino Polidori, John Proos, Sarah Roberts, Tory Rocca, Bill Rogers, Roy Schmidt, Wayne Schmidt, Tonya Schuitmaker, Dan Scripps, Joel Sheltrown, Mike Simpson, Jim Slezak, Dudley Spade, Jim Stamas, Woodrow Stanley, Jon Switalski, Rashida Tlaib, Sharon Tyler, John Walsh, Jimmy Womack, and Coleman Young.
Contact your Senator and Representative and gently ask then to sign the pledge and become a member of the bicameral, bipartisan anti-smoking caucus.
Here’s the simply and short pledge just in case they don’t have it:
I , __________________________________, pledge to support a
comprehensive smoke-free workplace law to protect all Michigan workers.
______________________________________ ____________________________
signature date
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8 comments:
I think Sen. Basham needs to do a better job of distributing the pledge. Most of these folks would sign it given the opportunity.
They were personally delivered to their offices, so I'm not sure how he could have done a better job. Considering he has been working on this issue for the past 10 years, I'm sure he will personally lobby each member, but that will take some time. This has overwhelming public support, so the whole purpose in identifying who has not signed the pledge is to use public pressure to help lawmakers do the right thing. That is what forced Mike Bishop to allow a vote after he said he wouldn't and tried to kill it in committee. But also looking at that list, I know guys like Bishop, Cropsey and Sanborn will never sign the pledge. I personally wrote my Senator and Representative, Garcia and Denby, asking them to support this public health issue, and I got this song and dance about free market.
I have no idea what public health has to do with the free market.
I'm just not a big fan of throwing your friends under the bus.
At least half of the folks on the list would sign this pledge and many have voted for some form of a smoking ban in the past.
Delivering hard copies to the offices-come on, you know as well as I do that is not really effective considering the mountain of mail they receive. The massive size of the list really speaks to that. 91 of the 110 Reps and 20 out of 38 Senators were on it.
So let's get real, let's get it done and move forward for a a plausible strategy for a Smoke-Free Michigan!
Any tax exempt political action committee (charity) that, instead of educating, their primary function, spends huge sums of money to hire lobbyists to make laws using THREATS, INTIMIDITATION, LAW ENFORCEMENT, and SNITCHING to FORCE people to OBEY their guidelines will get NO DONATIONS from me. Here they are, all fed by big pharma through their Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
www.no-smoke.org/pdf/CIA_Fundamentals.pdf
After over a year of experience here in Chicago, trying to ban smoking in small neighborhood "shot and beer" bars is pretty useless. Many small bars in my area ignore the ban to keep their customers, neighbors, and local police (many are patrons when off duty) satisfied. The problems of undesirables being attracted by groups of people outside the bars far outweighs the issue of people peacefully smoking inside a bar, bothering absolutly no one.
I don't see how holding people accountable is throwing your friends under the bus. As I pointed out, I understand there many people on the list who voted for it. What is it going to hurt to get a request from a constituent to sign the pledge? It gets people thinking and talking about this, and as we saw from Senate Majority Mike Bishop's actions, it was only the public pressure that forced him to allow a vote. What's the holdup? Why is this not in Committee right now?
I am well aware the amount of mail both a House and Senate office receives. Then why did 18 Senators manage to find the time to sign it? They have almost three times as many constituents as Reps, and they found the time to sign it.
I also understand that the deadline for returning these pledges was rather long and passed some time ago. We need to start holding people accountable. Signing the pledge also makes you a part of the bicameral, bipartisan anti-smoking caucus. This is a plausible strategy for a Smoke-Free Michigan, and let's put some pressure on our lawmakers to get it done.
Your Chicago analogy makes no sense. The state with the highest rate of smoking, Kentucky, has a rate of only 25 percent. There is no way that less than a quarter of the population have that much power that they can ignore the law. You are incorrect when you say by smoking inside they are "bothering absolutly (sic) no one." Secondhand smoke is deadly, and it contributes to numerous diseases. That's the only reason Illinois and 32 other states and entire countries have enacted the ban, so they are more than bothering someone, they are endangering their health.
Are you seriously trying to claim the American Cancer Society is a PAC? You are even more wrong on this ridiculous claim, Bob. They are not contributing to a candidate, nor are they contributing to a ballot proposal. Nor do I see any intimidation, snitching or force. "Here they are, all fed by big "pharma" through their Robert Wood Johnson Foundation?" What the hell are you talking about?
What stake does " big pharma" have in an indoor smoking ban? They profit more from the diseases secondhand smoke causes. If you want to see big money, take a look at the money tobacco companies are spreading around to stop this.
Switching to electronic cigarettes will allow people to smoke anywhere they want, because there's no tobacco, or ignition of tobacco, and no second-hand smoke. You get the nicotine, but without the 4000+ harmful chemicals that are in regular cigarettes! I can actually breathe now. e-Cigarettes have helped save my money and my health (not to mention the health of those around me!)
I found this blog that helped me figure out which brand of e-cigarette I should buy. If you're considering switching over, I hope this page helps you like it helped me:
http://greensmokes.blogspot.com
And here are some videos with information about how e-cigs work:
http://www.youtube.com/healthysmokes
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