With so much money involved on all sides, I'm not sure who is to blame for this latest intrusion on our lifestyle. For those involved in making premium cigars a pariah on our society, I'm shocked they haven't gone after alcohol with the same SJW vigor being that it kills so many more people.
![Wink ;) ;)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
I guess the alcohol lobby is much stronger than the cigar industry's lobbying power ($$$). I had a feeling something was up when Rocky Patel was on FOX's Hannity show the other night...it had a 'last ditch effort' feel to it. Looks like the black market for premium cigars in America just got a shot of B12 in the arm.
On that note, I'm still perplexed as to what difference the CRA has made in preserving our rights as cigar smokers in America since it's inception. What 'Rights' have they helped to uphold? Other than showing up for photo ops with a few politicians, golf outings, and grand cigar events...what have they done with all that membership money? Where have they made a difference? When questioned on this topic, all I've heard is how they work so diligently behind the scenes to preserve our cigar smoking rights...but all I see is failure after failure on every front...be it at the city, state, and now, the Federal level. When I've asked for some success stories or an update on their progress at a cigar event where they're soliciting people to join, I catch an attitude just for asking and not accepting their 'working the backrooms of Washington DC' as an answer....while they add, 'you just don't know how politics works'. Well, based on their results, I don't think they do either. Just something to think about before any CP members renew their membership in this organization. Ask questions before mailing a check, I'm curious as to their answers because I've never received a satisfactory one in the last 3-4 years of me asking.