Pennsylvania has some of the most idiotic and restrictive laws dealing with the sale of beer, wine, and hard liquor of any state in the nation. Unlike most states, you cannot buy beer and wine in grocery stores or convenience stores, for example. But it’s actually worse than that. You can buy wine and hard liquor from state run stores, assuming you can find one if you happen to live in one of the counties in Central Pennsylvania that seem to do their best to make it next to impossible to buy alcohol. However, you can generally only buy beer from a distributor, and when you do you have to purchase it by the case. Some grocery store chains have successfully used an exception in the law to get authorization to sell beer, but many Pennsylvanians find themselves restricted to state run stores and distributors if they want to buy a perfectly legal product.
There have been several attempts over the years to reform the laws in Pennsylvania, and another one of those efforts is happening now. As Jacob Sullum explains, it has led to a union representing the people who work at the state run stores to create what may well be the most absurd political commercial ever:
Here’s the ad:
Sullum also highlights another anti-privatization ad, which is perhaps even more despicable:
