Reason Magazine
- reason.com
- reason.tv
- reason.org
- Donate
- Site Search:
Reason on Facebook
Reason on Twitter
Reason on YouTube
Reason RSSGet Reason E-mail Updates!
Manage your Reason e-mail list subscriptionsadvertisements
Coke CEO Calls Obama a Commie
Things are getting rough out there. President Barack
Obama called
Kanye West a "jackass" yesterday, the same day that the CEO of
Coca-Cola basically
called the president a commie:
Coca-Cola Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent said the idea of a federal tax on soft drinks, under consideration by the U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama, is “outrageous.”
“I have never seen it work where a government tells people what to eat and what to drink,” Kent said today, responding to an audience question at the Rotary Club of Atlanta. “If it worked, the Soviet Union would still be around.”
The Coke CEO was responding to a quote from Obama in the October issue of Men's Health, about the president's openness to anti-obesity soda taxes.
‘‘I actually think it’s an idea that we should be exploring. There’s no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda.”
In fact, this seems to be a bit of a nothing-burger (which has no calories!), since Obama follows up on the quote with this:
"Obviously there is resistance on Capitol Hill to those kinds of sin taxes....Legislators from certain states that produce sugar or corn syrup are sensitive to anything that might reduce demand for those products. And look, people's attitude is that they don't necessarily want Big Brother telling them what to eat or drink, and I understand that."
In his heart of hearts, Obama would clearly love to tax soda. And he may yet get his wish. But for the moment he is worn down, beaten by uppity legislators and people who like fizzy, corn syrupy* drinks. Having the CEO of an all-American/massive multi-national company compare his administration's policies to those of the Soviet Union should be good for another few weeks of presidential despair.
Keep it up, Mr. Kent, and you too might earn the coveted Presidential Jackass Medal.
Via CCF
UPDATE: No namecalling on the floor of the House, though:
[Under section 370 of the House Rules and Manual it has been held that] a member could not:
• call the President a “liar.”
• call the President a “hypocrite.”
• describe the President’s veto of a bill as “cowardly.”
• charge that the President has been “intellectually dishonest.”
• refer to the President as “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.”
• refer to alleged “sexual misconduct on the President’s part.”
* Apologies to readers who get upset about a mention of corn syrup without the mandatory we-must-end-corn-subsidies disclaimer. You are very right, my brothers. We must end corn subsidies. They make no sense and cause an impressive array of negative unintended consequences. Down with corn subsidies!
I will be more vigilant in the future. But just in case: Henceforth, please read every instance of the words "corn syrup" within the reason.com domain as "corn syrup, which should really, really not be subsidized by the federal government." Thanks.
Hugh Akston|9.15.09 @ 5:32PM|#
''I actually think it's an idea that we should be exploring.
There's no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda."
I don't actually have kids, Mr. President. So your fears about them
drinking too much soda are somewhat unfounded.
Gilbert Martin|9.15.09 @ 5:32PM|#
''I actually think it's an idea that we should be exploring.
There's no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda"
Wow - I didn't realize all the kids in the country earned over $250
K a year.
|9.15.09 @ 5:33PM|#
Wait a sec...do I detect a note of sympathy for Barry? Isn't what the CEO said actually a GOOD thing? Hyperbole, yes, but at this point, our side needs all the (highly-placed) allies and ammunition it can get.
Gilbert Martin|9.15.09 @ 5:34PM|#
Also, where can I get one of those Obama commie hats?
That is cool.
tekende|9.15.09 @ 5:34PM|#
While giving baby goats soda is a questionable practice, I highly doubt it's reached a point at which it needs to be taxed.
Medic001|9.15.09 @ 5:34PM|#
Maybe the kids wouldn't drink all that SODA if it wasn't in the
SCHOOLS!!
Or maybe if Mom and dad Or Mom and Mom, Dad And Dad..who ever..set
a good example!
Educate your kids!
I remember having a soda in the house. We had a Lt of some crappy
grape fizzy thing, that I had one sip of. It was sooo nasty i
rarely drank any soda.
But my parents also taught me the importance of eating right.
Why are we letting the Government take charge of our diets,
bodies,minds and our children?...
-Doc
hmm|9.15.09 @ 5:36PM|#
|9.15.09 @ 5:37PM|#
I'm not saying he's a golddigger.
But he's not hanging with any broke gentlemen.
|9.15.09 @ 5:37PM|#
So Obama thinks government should consider another intrusion to freedom, but it's ok because he knows it is politically untenable?
|9.15.09 @ 5:38PM|#
Buffett just trumped his ass with a "no" vote by $30 billion or
so.
Atlanta is full of Bush rednecks.
mark|9.15.09 @ 5:42PM|#
Uh, Medic:
Bill Clinton Helps End Soda Sales In Schools
And look, people's attitude is that they don't necessarily want
Big Brother telling them what to eat or drink, and I understand
that[, which is why we need to change people's
attitudes.]
I also understand how they feel about Big Brother telling doctors
what to do, but again, they're all just unenlightened proles, so no
big deal.
|9.15.09 @ 5:44PM|#
I bought some Mexican-bottled Coke at Fresh Market the other day. It's made with sugar instead of corn syrup. Me, the wife, and all the kids agreed that it tasted much better than the stuff currently in the U.S. market. If Obama weren't a Communist, he'd have used the bully pulpit to get me some domestic Sugar Coke.
Rimfax|9.15.09 @ 5:45PM|#
Oooooh! Alt-text twice in as many years! I could pee
myself!
(I probably missed other instances, but I never let that get in the
way of snark-praise.)
|9.15.09 @ 5:45PM|#
The real question is - if there were a tax on marijuana would it
be acceptable?
Of course (to me) but not to conservatives.
HFCS is more costly than weed in medical terms.
|9.15.09 @ 5:48PM|#
@Pro Libertate
Exactly, I can't stand the HFCS-conspiracy-moms running around that
don't get that corporations never had the power to subsidize corn
and then price sugar out of the American market.
Sweet Lord let me have cheap sugar.
|9.15.09 @ 5:49PM|#
To be more clear: a nothing-burger would be Obama saying that he doesn't want big brother telling people what to eat or drink. But he didn't say that.
anarch|9.15.09 @ 5:56PM|#
Old Soviet joke:
- And why are you in prison?
- For saying the Party Chief was an idiot.
- Oh, so you were convicted for treason?
- No, for revealing state secrets.
Attorney|9.15.09 @ 5:58PM|#
@Gilbert Martin:
Also, where can I get one of those Obama commie hats?
That is cool.
Click on the pic of the hat. It takes you to a blog entry with a
link to the seller. (The hat looks kinda cheap close up.)
|9.15.09 @ 6:00PM|#
You already pay a soda tax, don't you?
Probably. We pay so many taxes here that I lost track a long time
ago...
You Know Who|9.15.09 @ 6:02PM|#
The real question is - if there were a tax on marijuana
would it be acceptable?
I actually think it's an idea that we should be exploring. There's
no doubt that our kids smoke way too much dope.
nicole|9.15.09 @ 6:06PM|#
Probably. We pay so many taxes here that I lost track a long
time ago...
I'm pretty sure we just pay a bottled/canned drink tax. But then
I've lost track too...blerg.
Kanye West|9.15.09 @ 6:08PM|#
Yo, Katherine, I'm really happy for you, I'll let you finish, but Kerry Howley was one of the hottest reason contributors of all time!
kilroy|9.15.09 @ 6:19PM|#
Why the fuck is there an enumerated list of things you can't say
in the house, even if they are true?
Where has America gone?
|9.15.09 @ 6:21PM|#
I'll see your Coke CEO and raise you congressmen Rep. Henry
Johnson and the KKK riding again if he doesn't reprimand Joe Wilson
for being a retard!!!
I missed the part where Joe Wison shouted out "The lying nigger is
after our women".
It's painfully obvious that criticism of Obama will be seen as
racism from many hypersensitive mind reading people.
Fuck 'em.
adina|9.15.09 @ 6:24PM|#
There should be a sin tax on soda, but only to counteract all the bs corn subsidies.
db|9.15.09 @ 6:25PM|#
At least in the case of the First Amendment, the Congress is abridging its members' rights right along with the Citizens'. That ought to count as a good faith effort.
ed|9.15.09 @ 6:28PM|#
"I have never seen it work where a government tells people
what to eat and what to drink."
But if it did work, Mr. Kent, you'd be in favor of it?
Slippery pragmatism: destroyer of liberties.
The Ghost of George Carlin|9.15.09 @ 6:40PM|#
Why the fuck is there an enumerated list of things you can't
say in the house, even if they are true?
Assholes. ;-)
GILMORE|9.15.09 @ 6:47PM|#
shrike | September 15, 2009, 5:38pm | #
Buffett just trumped his ass with a "no" vote by $30 billion or
so.
Atlanta is full of Bush rednecks.
Muhtar Kent is a NY-born Turkish guy who went to school in London
and spent most of his life abroad.
Very redneck indeed.
And you're a genius too.
|9.15.09 @ 6:48PM|#
• refer to alleged "sexual misconduct on the President's
part.
We don't need to worry about that; Michelle keeps his dick locked
in a drawer, and only lets him wear it on special occasions.
|9.15.09 @ 7:01PM|#
Maybe we should just use the soda tax to subsidize the corn
syrup producers.
"It's the circle, the CIRCLE OF LIFE!"
B|9.15.09 @ 7:14PM|#
"Buffett just trumped his ass with a "no" vote by $30 billion or
so.
Atlanta is full of Bush rednecks."
As Gilmore so eloquently pointed out, shrike is one of the dumbest
fuckers to ever post on this board.
MJ|9.15.09 @ 7:20PM|#
"...And look, people's attitude is that they don't necessarily
want Big Brother telling them what to eat or drink, and I
understand that."
But taken with the quote about how it's something we should be
exploring, the end of that statement that's left off is:
"I understand that, but I don't fucking care what you miserable
peons want. You'll do as your betters tell you."
|9.15.09 @ 7:22PM|#
Maybe he should stop giving his kids so much soda then.
Though I suppose he could have meant "our kids" as "all the kids in
the country," since he's made it clear on more than one occasion
that he thinks of children as property of the state.
|9.15.09 @ 7:28PM|#
• call the President a "liar."
• call the President a "hypocrite."
• describe the President's veto of a bill as "cowardly."
• charge that the President has been "intellectually
dishonest."
• refer to the President as "giving aid and comfort to the
enemy."
• refer to alleged "sexual misconduct on the President's
part."
If it comes to the point, this would make an awesome basis for a
great civil disobedience filibuster. They can't censure everyone
can they? And you could make them waste time censuring people for
this bullshit.
Paul|9.15.09 @ 7:30PM|#
"I have never seen it work where a government tells people
what to eat and what to drink,"
The CEO of Coke has obviously not been paying attention to the
legislation coming out of states and municipalities. I mean, I
agree, it's outrageous... but man, the government telling us what
we can put into our bodies? That's so 60 years ago.
But I hear tell this drug war is teetering on the brink of being
reversed.
Meter on my bet still running.
Alice Bowie|9.15.09 @ 8:20PM|#
I finally thought up a solution that will work.
It will make libertarians happy and it will make conservatives
happy.
1. Deregulate health insurance...take away all of the
regulations.
2. Create a Socialized PUBLIC PLAN which is completely voluntary
and libertarians/conservatives can stay out of them...if they wish.
This plan will be taxed at a high rate...however, it will cover all
that pay toward the tax. The usual/customary cared covered by
private insurance would be the standard for this public policy. The
government can hire Doctors/Hospitals from the tax revenues and
employee people directly and offer clinics.
3. The People that don't want healthcare or public healthcare will
NOT BE TAXED. Tax ONLY those people that selected the PUBLIC PLAN.
The Libertarians/conservatives and all those other people on TV
that don't want health insurance and prefer wars can keep their
current insurance or choose not to have insurance at all.
4. Remove ALL restrictions from hospitals/doctors from having to
treat anyone that doesn't have insurance. That is, if you don't
have medicare, medicaid, the public plan, or private
insurance...you cannot get any treatment....including emergency
treatment.
5. Anyone who opted not to take the Socialized PUBLIC PLAN will NOT
be allowed into the plan for LIFE.
Michael Ejercito|9.15.09 @ 8:33PM|#
Does anybody remember how Barack Obama conspired with the Chicago Tribune during his 2004 Senate campaign to unseal the sealed divorce records of his opponent?
Rhywun|9.15.09 @ 8:34PM|#
"Obviously there is resistance on Capitol Hill to those kinds of sin taxes"
That is--ahem--horseshit. The real problem is they haven't figured
out how to whip up enough hysteria against the sin of surgar.
Alcohol? Check. Tobacco? Double check.
Anonymous|9.15.09 @ 9:26PM|#
Hugh Akston: "I don't actually have kids, Mr. President. So
your fears about them drinking too much soda are somewhat
unfounded."
It takes a village!
adina: "There should be a sin tax on soda, but only to
counteract all the bs corn subsidies."
The only reasonable solution to a bad law is more laws!
|9.15.09 @ 9:33PM|#
I don't understand how they can restrain speech on the floor of
the House. Speech by a Congressman on the floor of the House
couldn't be considered anything except political speech. Why isn't
this unconstitutional?
I understand rules and order on the floor, but how can you restrain
content? This is a serious question. Does anyone have a real
answer?
jtuf|9.15.09 @ 9:44PM|#
If congress reps are forbidden from insulting the president, what are the odds of us being able to keep our free speech?
MJ|9.15.09 @ 9:59PM|#
Apologist,
It passes muster because it is not a law, but a matter of
enforcable protocol. As well as the fact that anyone who standing
to bring such a case to court would be loathe to do so. A member of
Congress encouraging judical interference in the Legislative
Branch's internal affairs is not done.
|9.15.09 @ 11:46PM|#
From Article I Section 5 (apologies for the limey
Spelling):
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings,
punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and,
with the Concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member.
and later from Art I Sec 6:
The Senators and Representatives shall ... in all Cases, except
Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest
during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses,
and in going to and returning from the same; and for any
Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be
questioned in any other Place.
So basically they are liable to punishment for speech on the floor
only by their house of Congress, not to any courts. thus the 1st
doesn't apply.
|9.16.09 @ 12:08AM|#
I totally agree with Mr Kent. I call obama more than a commie. He's a downright TERRORIST! We need more people of influence to come out with these statements to run down obama bin laden and his entire commie regime!
Hacha Cha|9.16.09 @ 12:45AM|#
aren't the house's rules just guidelines? they can't do anything about it if someone breaks them that would be a violation of the first amendment.
|9.16.09 @ 1:49AM|#
Thanks for the answers MJ and Tulpa. I get it now. I learn something new on the internets every day.
Ratdog|9.16.09 @ 2:39AM|#
''There's no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda."
A stupid statement, I'm sure there are many in the soda industry
that would certainly "doubt" it.
As for taxing soda, he should just be honest and admit he'll tax
anything he can get away with taxing.
If it was truly an issue of drinking too much soda, there is little
"doubt" most kids would choose beer over soda in New York minute if
they could and that would certainly reduce their soda consumption.
So it's not like there aren't alternatives to tax, tax, and
tax.
|9.16.09 @ 8:38AM|#
It's not soviet in the least. We've had sin taxes in this country since we were a british colony.
|9.16.09 @ 8:44AM|#
Someone should explain to the CEO of Coke the difference between
taxing something and "government tells people what to eat and what
to drink,".
If we were to make sugary drinks illegal then that would be an apt
description but a tax isn't a directive or a prohibition.
|9.16.09 @ 10:47AM|#
"I will be more vigilant in the future"
No need to be vigilant, it requires only two things:
1. a quick search and replace in your database (maybe you have to
print corrections, not sure about your policy on that)
2. you can probably add it to your spell checker, so whenver it
says "corn syrup" it replaces it with "corn syrup, ban subsidies
yada yada" the only problem though is if you run spell check twice
or more. But repeating the message a few times only drives the
point home!
DirtCrashr|9.16.09 @ 12:41PM|#
In the Glorious Future Coca-Cola will be made with The People's beet-syrup! Beet subsidies now, for the people!
|9.16.09 @ 2:22PM|#
They're more what you'd call GUIDELINES, than actual rules...WELCOME TO THE BLACK PEARL !!!"
|9.16.09 @ 2:23PM|#
"Someone should explain to the CEO of Coke the difference
between taxing something and "government tells people what to eat
and what to drink,".
If we were to make sugary drinks illegal then that would be an apt
description but a tax isn't a directive or a
prohibition."
A "sin tax" (Obama's words) has the very purpose of limiting or
discouraging consumption. That in and of itself is a way that the
government is attempting to shape what we eat, drink, smoke, buy,
etc. It might not be as onerous as outright coercion, but it is
still using force in an attempt to influence individual
decisions.
The Libertarian Guy|9.16.09 @ 8:02PM|#
Whoa Nelly. Look out, Coke CEO - you're about to be punked the way Whole Foods has been.
Karl|9.16.09 @ 10:05PM|#
Thanks for using a picture of our hat!!
We'll post a link back to this at our blog - Ushanka.us.
Karl
CommieObama.com
|9.17.09 @ 2:42PM|#
I am SO sick of ppl yelling "racism"..THE MAN DOES LIE..whether he's black white purple or green..HE LIES!.WAKE UP PEOPLE~ THIS IS NOT A RACE THING..IT IS A COMMUNIST/SOCIALIST THING!!!!Remember "High Hitler"?? HIGH OBAMA..THAT is what it's coming to!If "Afro Americans" had NOT been brought to the USA..you'd be in Africa eating rice that we gave you and picking flies out of your baby's eyes!! Wanna go back?? I THINK NOT!!! LIVE IN HARMONY and STOP THIS RACIST CRAP!!! Let's worry about this ONE WORLD mess O'Bama's trying to put us in..and stick TOGETHER..not yell RACIST!!
|11.13.09 @ 12:14PM|#
This country's citizens have been fighting assholes like Obama, Pelosi, and Reid since its inception. The most recent that comes to mind is FDR and his successor, Harry Truman, two of the most radical presidents in our history. Both of them wanted universal health care, FDR brought back the income tax (unconstitutionally I might add), stole gold from Americans and of course FDR sidled us with the burden of Social Security, which has proven from the beginning to be a fucking albatross around the taxpayers' necks. If you read some polls, FDR ranks among the greatest presidents of all time, thanks to our shitty media and education system! How fucking stupid are we as a people?
Now our pinko House of Representin' has passed a fucking "health-care" bill that is the first step for this motherfucker (our Kools smoking Kenyan-in-Chief, Obama) to tax or make illegal everything from industries that don't necessarily give campaign donations to business-unfriendly Democrats. Fighting home-grown communism in the guise of the Democrat party is nothing new, but the American people are getting dumber, so eventually, communist/socialist pieces of shit will succeed. I can't believe the fools of this country elected Obama, AND handed control of congress to the fucking Democrats! Now they are complaining about them doing what they told our asses they were going to do! Hey dummies, stop electing fucking Democrats, or move to Venezuela if you need Big Government to tell you how to fucking live, you assholes!
Site comments/questions:
Media Inquiries and Reprint Permissions:
(310) 367-6109
Editorial & Production Offices:
3415 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 391-2245