Author: Chris
-
Can Advertising Kill?
The courts, prodded on by libertarians, civil libertarians, and corporate-funded think tanks, have afforded more and more protection for “commercial speech,” expression in the business interest of the speaker. Commercial speech has a lower level of protection than religious and political expression, but still, in order for the government to regulate it, it has to…
-
Harper’s Magazine on Washington Lobbying
Watch your newsstand for the July issue of Harper’s Magazine. Today’s Wall Street Journal reports today that Harper’s Ken Silverstein has written an article describing his experience posing as a businessman with interests in improving the image of Turkmenistan. He approaches lobbying firms, and hints that he represents a front company that can direct oil…
-
Denialists’ Deck of Cards: The Ace of Spades, “We’ll Lose Money!”
And finally, we come to the final card. Perhaps industry’s strongest card–“we’ll lose money”–is not really denialism, but it is what motivates so much of the bad rhetoric in public policy debates. And of course, the truth is more nuanced. Proposals for reform create new opportunities, and many businesses have thrived under the very proposals…
-
Denialists’ Deck of Cards: The Ace of Diamonds, “Communism!”
Suricou Raven guessed it–after calling your opponent “Unamerican,” you call them “Communist.” Here, use loaded phrases, such as “the proposal smacks of the paternalistic ‘command and control’ of Communism.”
-
Denialists’ Deck of Cards: The Ace of Hearts, “Unamerican!”
Almost any proposal can be styled as “Un-American.” Typically this is bundled with wild, inaccurate claims about European regulations (i.e., you can’t do business in Europe at all). You’ll wonder if the denialist has even been to Europe! Update: Mark H provides this article as an example of “Unamerican” in today’s Wall Street Journal. It…
-
Denialists’ Deck of Cards: The Ace of Clubs, “Our Rights”
The denialist can almost always argue that a proposal is unconstitutional. After all, businesses were afforded many civil rights before women achieved suffrage.
-
Denialists’ Deck of Cards: The King of Spades, “Danger!”
This is a very powerful argument in the post-9/11 environment. And if you’re a denialist worth your salt, you can figure out a way to claim that your industry is a potential target for terrorism. Danger! can be used to get things done quickly, as Verisign realized when it wanted to move a “root server”…
-
Denialists’ Deck of Cards: Two Kings, the Proposal “Can’t Be Enforced,” or “Lawsuits (It Can Be Enforced)”
“Can’t be enforced” is a different argument than “it won’t work” (the Jack of Diamonds). Here, the denialist is usually threatening to operate an offending practice overseas, or oddly enough, arguing that because a proposal doesn’t give someone a right to sue, it isn’t worth passing. Of course, if the proposal gives one a right…
-
Denialists’ Deck of Cards: The Red Joker, “Give Money to the Leadership”
Giving money to the leadership of the Senate and House is a great strategy, because no proposals will be considered at all if the leadership blocks them. The leadership is rarefied; one only taps them in desperate situations
-
Denialists’ Deck of Cards: The King of Clubs, “I’ll Sail Away”
Believe it or not, I’ve heard industry lobbyists say that they’d stop doing business in California/America if certain consumer protection regulations passed. It’s totally implausible, but still a high-value card.