Table 3 Examples of ideological arguments by type

Privatizing: Free enterprise

"Leave the free enterprise system to go on its own. The market'll take care of it. We don't have to legislate. This body doesn't have one cent invested in any of these businesses. The state doesn't have a penny invested in the businesses. Who are we to tell these people how to run their businesses? But we're only telling a certain few how to run their businesses. Let the people run their own businesses."

"Our customers are adults, over twenty-one years old. Legislation should not decide this issue, the market should. Laissez-faire capitalism is the foundation of our market system. People will spend their money at the businesses that treat them right and cater to their needs."

Privatizing: Smoker's rights

"If we're making restaurants, and presently you're all smoking, have a no-smoking section, we ought to make those that are presently non-smoking have at least a small section for smoking. It's fair and equal and fair. And we shouldn't be discriminating against smokers where we are in this bill."

Privatizing: Courtesy (fairness to smokers)

"But, you have to say one thing about smokers as a group, they are paying more than their fair share of taxes. And by god when you're paying more than your fair share and we're already limiting them to where they can sit and everything else in restaurants. I think they have been punished enough."

Socializing: Equal protection (for nonsmokers)

"If you want to smoke it just seems to me as if you should have the right to do so. But if I choose not to smoke I should have the right to not have to. I should have the right to not have to associate with Senator Landry if I don't want to, is the point that I'm making."

Socializing: Public opinion

"Now if I was going to move ahead a little bit farther I might try to make an argument about that maybe we should take into consideration about what Oregonians actually think about this issue. Well, from a relatively recent poll, 82% of Oregonians say that people should be protected from second hand smoke."

Socializing: Protect public health

"It would be our view that business has a responsibility to provide a healthy and safe work environment for employees and customers and that the right to do business in this state comes with responsibilities, responsibilities that this body imposes on business every day after weighing the costs and benefits to the citizens of this state. And I mean all the citizens of this state, not just those lucky enough to be business owners in the State of South Dakota."