I'll take a tariff over price controls but yeah, both pretty terrible ideas. Economic illiteracy is a requirement for government service.
If you called a tariff what it is, a tax on imported goods, it would probably have less supporters.
I don't think tax free tips is necessarily a bad idea but it is hardly a major policy issue. I don't know why they are stealing a Ron Paul idea from 2012 and pretending it is some major new revelation.