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According a story at The Hill, Mike Huckabee has switched his position on smoking rules from Federal to State control.  Interestingly enough, Jeffrey Young at The Hill states that this is not only a change in position, but inconsistent with his record as Governor of Arkansas where he signed such legislation into law… I don’t see how that’s inconsistent with his record since he signed it into state law and that’s the level of control he’s now supporting.

The kind of law he signed in Arkansas seems like reasonable law since it is intended to protect the rights of others in enclosed areas.  In thinking about smoking bans (I am a former smoker)  I think we have to be careful not to try take the rights of the smoker away, even if we know what they’re doing is bad for themselves.  There should be a way to provide adequate opportunity to socialize with fellow smoker, smoking clubs are about the best I can come up with.   Some think bars should be allowed to have smoking as well, and maybe that’s reasonable, but people who want to go out for a drink should have the ability to do so without being inundated by smoke.

Anyhow, it’s hard to say if Huck really has changed his opinion, or just his stated position after seeing how unpopular it was with conservative voters.  Hard to say.  If he morphs into a real conservative (in appearance), I’ll have even more trouble trusting his character.  I don’t think he’s adequately knowledgeable or able to support the Constitution as it was intended, and I suspect that if elected will still try to push get around states’ rights to achieve his agenda.

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