who needs Republicans?...I voted against this ban because I do not think it is government’s responsibility to police the relationship between a business that offers a product (a smoke filled restaurant) and a person who might want a product (a smoke free restaurant).
Oh, Albert, Albert, Albert...is this REALLY so difficult to understand? It is? OK, then, let me spell it out for you: this is about protecting restaurant EMPLOYEES from a powerful carcinogen, like asbestos or radon or whatever. Why is the government not "the only effective means to mediate such externalities" in this circumstance, just as in the case of the environment (where you believe, correctly, that the government SHOULD be involved)? Short answer: there's no significant difference; same reasoning, same conclusion.
