State Senator Sue Madison is at it again.  After news broke yesterday that Fayetteville’s Target store was applying for a license to sell retail beer, Madison was quick to signal that she would oppose it.  The Fayetteville Flyer posted the following statement by Madison:

“I want to make it clear that I am not opposed to someone having a beer or a glass of wine or even a cocktail,” Madison said. “My concern with this is that it’s another outlet for minors to buy alcohol. It just makes it harder on law enforcement to police it and ultimately, it’s our children who could be harmed by this.”

Madison’s latest reasoning is only slightly less ridiculous than her recent opposition to Macadoodles‘ application to open up a liquor store in Springdale. Back in May she argued that because the Macadoodles in Missouri had “lured people across the state line to purchase alcohol,” they should be denied a license “until they have repaid Arkansas all the tax dollars we’ve lost.”

Even if serious people could somehow get behind such reasoning (and let’s face it, they can’t), it would be more appropriate to hold Benton County responsible.  Macadoodles can’t be blamed for selling people a legal product.  But Benton County should consider how being dry is forcing tax dollars across the state line.  If Madison really wants those dollars to stay in Arkansas she should go after Benton County and convince them to allow retail liquor sales.  And she shouldn’t stop there.  Until the laws are changed, Macadoodles will continue to enjoy our tax dollars on Sundays.

Fortunately the Springdale Macadoodles was approved by the Alcoholic Beverage Commission and construction is underway.  This is good news for residents of Springdale who have long been held hostage by the Springdale Liquor Association.  Up until now they have held a monopoly of Springdale’s liquor outlets.

While not as crazy as the Macadoodles scenario, Madison’s opposition to Target on the grounds that more minors will have access to alcohol is still wrong.  Large chains like Target and Sam’s Club (whose license Madison also opposed) are in a much better position to keep alcohol out of the hands of minors than smaller liquor stores.  These large chains have more professionalized procedures for training their employees, there is always a manager on duty, and there are always security cameras recording the check-out lines.  In the long run, allowing larger, more professionalized stores to sell alcohol could actually reduce the amount of alcohol that gets into the hands of minors.

Still, given Madison’s constant opposition to all things related to alcohol, and her erratic reasoning, one has to wonder if something else is driving her decisions.  Maybe she just hates fun.  Reading that quote at the top of the post again, I get the sense that she’s really not too fond of those cocktails she grudgingly says she is not opposed to.  Maybe she isn’t so worried about minors, but actually wants to tell us grownups what we ought to be drinking.

Gee, thanks mom.