The Shields Effect

A quick update from IPCPR:

Attention all pipe tobacco merchants, manufacturers, and consumers! House Resolution (HR) 4439, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, proposes an egregious increase to the pipe tobacco tax! HR4439 proposes an increase from the current tax rate of $2.83 per pound to $24.78 per pound–the same rate as RYO tobacco! 

We cannot stand by while the Congress attempts another tobacco tax increase on the heels of the SCHIP tax! Contact your representatives NOW! and tell them NO to the NEW PIPE TOBACCO TAX! 

 Latest Major Action: 1/13/2010 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

 You will recall that the latest from the House Committee on Ways and Means is that the longtime chair of that august committee (which decides your taxes for you) is U.S. Rep. Charles Rangle of New York. He’s been around for 20 elections.

Here is what McClatchy Newspapers reporter William Douglas wrote on March 4 of Rangle’s recent ethics problem:

WASHINGTON – Rep. Charles B. Rangel’s decision to step aside as the chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee not only could be the beginning of the end of his storied career, but also gives Republicans fresh ammunition to use against Democrats in November elections.

Rangel, D-N.Y., said yesterday that he was stepping aside so his ethics troubles wouldn’t hurt Democrats in the midterm elections.

“In order to avoid my colleagues having to defend me during their elections, I have this morning sent a letter to Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi asking her to grant me a leave of absence until such time as the ethics committee completes its work,” he said.

With the House ethics committee’s admonishment of Rangel for taking corporate-paid trips to the Caribbean, and with investigations open into other alleged violations, the 20-term Democrat has become a symbol of ethical lapses at a time when Democrats are running scared for re-election.”

The ethics committee publicly admonished Rangel, 79, last week for taking two corporate-sponsored trips to the Caribbean in 2007 and 2008, though it said it had no proof he knew about the corporate funding.

This is the guy in charge of writing your tax code. You got to wonder how much of the code he is putting into his own pockets.

So, we got a call for a 775 percent increase on pipe tobacco  from a lawyer in Memphis, TN., who is not exactly what I would call a shining example a good public servant, and the head of the House of Representatives power tax writing committee maybe heading to a court at some future date, or at least some sort of congressional action, maybe even expulsion, censure, reprimand or some sort of fine. Don’t hold your breath, however. Congress, which means both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, are loathe to actually meet out some kind of punishment to one of its own.

Remember what Mark Twain said:

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. . . But I repeat myself.

I hope pipesmokers will get on board against this egregious bill hoked up by Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat from Memphis, who won a split decision in a ovewhelming black congressional district. Cohen has spent 98 percent of his adult life on the taxpayer doll. After graduating from Memphis University Law School, he immediately swam into the public pool, and entered politics. He has been a Shelby County Commissioner, a state legislator, and now resides in the U.S. House, sitting on a powerful committee where he can make dangerous laws, such as H.R. 4439.

I just discovered the  Southern Appeal blog, which calls the Cohen bill the “Hobbit Tax.” Take a look at the SA blog for yourself.

It is also noteworthy that the Memphis Tea Party is considering helping an opponent of its choice against Cohen in November’s election. We can only hope that Cohen is defeated by a politician with more brains and less of the sleaze factor than Cohen.

And finally, I would like for you to remember that it was Brooke Shields, the so-called actress,  who once said: Smoking kills. If you’re killed, you’ve lost a very important part of your life. She said this during an interview to become a spokesperson for a federal anti-smoking campaign.

That should give you some idea of the brains behind the antis and the entire Cohen campaign.

Tags: Antis, Charles Rangle, federal excise taxes, H.R.4439, House Committee on Weighs and Means, House of Representatives, IPCPR, Lloyd Doggett, Shields, Southern Appeal, Steve Cohen, Tobacco