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.

Comments

[Nonnie]

Obama wouldn't have to tax sodas if he'd just cut the corn subsidy.

Mackey/Kent in 2012!

[Hugh Akston]

''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.

[ngw]

Do you think obama wont drink a soft drink or the rest of his family.That right he likes beer

[Gilbert Martin]

''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.

[Mari Dupont]

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]

Also, where can I get one of those Obama commie hats?

That is cool.

[tekende]

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]

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

[Mike M.]

And another virulent racist rears his ugly head. 🙂

[hmm]

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!!!

[Jaybird]

I'm not saying he's a golddigger.

But he's not hanging with any broke gentlemen.

[James Ard]

So Obama thinks government should consider another intrusion to freedom, but it's ok because he knows it is politically untenable?

[shrike]

Buffett just trumped his ass with a "no" vote by $30 billion or so.

Atlanta is full of Bush rednecks.

[mark]

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.

[Pro Libertate]

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]

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.)

[shrike]

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.

[Morgan]

@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.

[James Ard]

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.

[Joe Wilson]

You Lie!

[ClubMedSux]

If they pass a "soda" tax, are we pop drinkers here in Chicago exempt?

[Joe Bauer]

Is yelling "You talk like a fag!" still all right?

[Pro Libertate]

You already pay a soda tax, don't you?

[Janeane Garofalo]

You Lie!

That's racism, straight up.

[anarch]

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.

[Rimfax]

Sista Soulja moment? Prolly not.

[Attorney]

@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.)

[ClubMedSux]

You already pay a soda tax, don't you?

Probably. We pay so many taxes here that I lost track a long time ago...

[edna]

Is yelling "You talk like a fag!" still all right?

go 'way, 'batin'!

[You Know Who]

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]

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]

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]

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?

[J sub D]

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]

There should be a sin tax on soda, but only to counteract all the bs corn subsidies.

[db]

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]

"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.

[anarch]

Where has America gone?

You can't say that here.

Kanye West | September 15, 2009, 6:08pm |

Jackass.

You Lie!

[The Ghost of George Carlin]

Why the fuck is there an enumerated list of things you can't say in the house, even if they are true?

Assholes. 😉

[GILMORE]

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.

[P Brooks]

? 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.

[SugarFree]

Maybe we should just use the soda tax to subsidize the corn syrup producers.

"It's the circle, the CIRCLE OF LIFE!"

[B]

"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]

"...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."

[Brian]

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.

[Hazel Meade]

? 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]

"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]

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]

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]

"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.

[libertymike]

J sub D is right-Obama has not asked, "where are all the white women at?"

[libertymike]

You know who-

You know nothing about smokin' dope.

[libertymike]

anarch-

Nothing like black russian humor.

[libertymike]

There's nothing like Tom Brady in the 4th quarter!

Joe would agree.

[Joe M]

I found audio of Obama calling Kanye West a jackass.

[Colin]

Countdown to the boycott of coca-cola . . . 10 . . . 9 . . .

[Anonymous]

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!

[The Apologist]

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]

If congress reps are forbidden from insulting the president, what are the odds of us being able to keep our free speech?

[MJ]

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.

[Joe Wilson]

Corn syrup LIES!!!

[JB]

"...and I understand that."

Lying cunt.

[Tulpa]

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.

[Joe M]

Constitution wins again.

[obamahater]

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!

[Suki]

Kent must be a racist.

[Hacha Cha]

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.

[Art-P.O.G.]

"obamahater" meet hysteria. Hysteria, "obamahater."

[The Apologist]

Thanks for the answers MJ and Tulpa. I get it now. I learn something new on the internets every day.

[Ratdog]

''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.

[History101]

It's not soviet in the least. We've had sin taxes in this country since we were a british colony.

[Smellerbee]

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.

[plutosdad]

"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]

In the Glorious Future Coca-Cola will be made with The People's beet-syrup! Beet subsidies now, for the people!

[Captain Barbossa]

They're more what you'd call GUIDELINES, than actual rules...WELCOME TO THE BLACK PEARL !!!"

[J.]

"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]

Whoa Nelly. Look out, Coke CEO - you're about to be punked the way Whole Foods has been.

[Karl]

Thanks for using a picture of our hat!!

We'll post a link back to this at our blog - Ushanka.us.

Karl
CommieObama.com

[Lynn]

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!!

[doodad]

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!

[Billsocal]

They are not only coming after sodas. They are going to be coming after vending machines also. A company in MA. is testing a biometric vending machines. You would use your thumb print, which is tied in with your credit card. To buy the offered snacks in the machine. Sounds great doesn't. Except for the little problem. The government and the food police can now track what you eating and buying. They can also track you're location just like they do with your cell phone. They start with little things and proceed to bigger things. Here is the link to the article http://myfoxny.com/dpp/your_mo.....00807-lgf. Think of this if the food police think you eating too much of what the consider junk food they can cut off from it. How's that for control.

[Billsocal]

the link will give you a not found. on the myfoxny website. go to your money then consumer news and page down until you found the story.

[Bruce]

Lets cut mush of the power in congrees in three weeks.But beware his election# were 666. On Nov. 6 a day after he won in illios.

[Bruce]

Oh by the way might you have a job?

[deniro1111223]

guess what OBOZO is acommie and a no good socialist

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