Hugh Hewitt: California recall: One issue, and one issue only

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Wednesday, September 24, 2003 | Hugh Hewitt

[strela]

Wonder what Mr. Ahmanson thinks the penalty should be for theft?

If you're "doing it for God," probably a good swift kick upstairs.

[calcowgirl]

I find it even funnier that you attack Arnold

Attack? I posted a single paragraph from an Article. No Attack.

Re: the remainder of your post, all I can suggest is that you find some mainstream media or visit your local library. You really read that trash? anglicanonline.com/letters? Is that authoritative? I don't... so I didn't visit your links.

Please don't respond with any more garbage, unless of course you'd like to explain the relationship with Schwarzenegger, Michael Milken, and Ken Lay.

[strela]

You really read that trash? anglicanonline.com/letters? Is that authoritative? I don't... so I didn't visit your links.

(LA LA LA LAAAA - (fingers in ears) ... I CAN'T HEAR YOU ...)

Please don't respond with any more garbage, unless of course you'd like to explain the relationship with Schwarzenegger, Michael Milken, and Ken Lay.

I'll "respond" to whom I like when I like. Don't like it? Then get off FreeRepublic.

How is attending a meeting with somebody equivalent to receiving money from them?

[Poohbah]

Are you stating that Ahmanson is not associated with the Chalcedon Foundation, or that the Chalcedon Foundation does not advocate a theocratic republic?

Beware: I have more than a little familiarity with Christian Dominionism, thanks to Doctor Gary North (aka "Scary Gary") sticking his nose into my business during Y2K. He is a disciple and son-in-law of Rushdoony.

[maica]

Thanks for the clarification.


This is from today's opinionjournal and gives a lot of detail about the Indian influence in Sacramento.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/forms/printThis.html?id=110004055

JOHN FUND'S POLITICAL DIARY
Indian Givers--II
Tribes that run California casinos aim to run the whole state.
Wednesday, September 24, 2003 12:01 a.m.
California state judge Loren McMaster ruled this week that Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante violated campaign laws by paying for a TV ad campaign with more than $3 million from Indian casinos and unions, donated in violation of state contribution limits. Richie Ross, Mr. Bustamante's campaign manager, says the campaign has already spent the money and thus can't comply with the judge's order to return it to the donors. The controversy will dog Mr. Bustamante's campaign as well as raise questions about the disproportionate influence that Indian casinos now exercise in California government.

When Californians voted in 2000 to give Indian tribes a monopoly on casino-style gambling in the state it was in part out of guilt for the exploitation and poverty that are part of the tragic history of indigenous Americans. But now the tables have turned, and massive political contributions from Indian tribes may determine who the state's governor will be and give the Indians unassailable political clout. Mr. Bustamante, the Democrat who is leading in the polls for the Oct. 7 recall election, is totally supportive of tribal interests. His own brother manages an Indian casino.




Key Indian tribes aren't satisfied with pumping more than $5 million into Mr. Bustamante's campaign. Polls suggest that Mr. Bustamante has stalled, so the only way to prevent a surge from Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger may be to shift some of his conservative support to maverick State Sen. Tom McClintock, who is running between 14% and 18% in the latest surveys. Last Friday the Morongo Band of Mission Indians began airing independent-expenditure ads in support of Mr. McClintock. The Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation has also ponied up a large sum for a similar independent expenditure.

John Stoos, Mr. McClintock's campaign manager, told me that his boss has nothing to do with the ad campaigns but welcomes them as appropriate support given the senator's longtime backing of tribal sovereignty. Jon Fleischman, a former president of the conservative California Republican Assembly, says "it makes sense that Bustamante would have his Indian tribe allies 'use' McClintock's candidacy to plow into Schwarzenegger from the right, and pull down his numbers."

The Indians apparently agree. The Morongo TV ad touts the news that "independent polls show that McClintock has the momentum to win." Sources tell me they have seen a memo from David Quintana, the legal counsel for the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, that was sent to tribal leaders. In it Mr. Quintana raised a warning flag about Mr. Schwarzenegger's positions and his reliance on several aides to former governor Pete Wilson, a skeptic on the expansion of Indian gambling. "This is war, we're going after Arnold Schwarzenegger," the memo concluded. The decision to invest in an effort to stop Mr. Schwarzenegger was made at a private strategy meeting last month, from which several more-moderate tribes were excluded. Participants discussed the need to keep Mr. McClintock in the race on "life support."

In an interview, Mr. Quintana complained that Mr. Schwarzenegger has directly attacked Indian tribes as "a special interest" but added that "any internal memo written by me about him should not be viewed as representative of the position of the tribes." But since that memo was written, millions in Indian casino money has flowed to promote Mr. Bustamante and Mr. McClintock at the expense of the Republican front-runner--at least until Judge McMaster's order halted some of the most brazen expenditures.

The irony is that Mr. Quintana is a Republican who previously served as tribal liaison for Senate Republican leader Jim Brulte. Worried that Indian tribes were giving exclusively to Democrats, Mr. Brulte had Mr. Quintana organize a summit with Indian leaders in 2001 to make a pitch for them to back Republicans also. Mr. Brulte remains a strong supporter of tribal sovereignty but admits he now has concerns about Indian interference in politics.

Indeed, Republicans are in danger of becoming as addicted as Democrats to Indian money. This summer, GOP state Sen. Jim Battin sent sales pitches to three Indian tribes offering them the services of his consulting firm in public relations and advertising. Mr. Battin sits on a committee that oversees gambling issues and represents a San Diego district with several Indian casinos. At first he defended his solicitations and noted that California law permits lawmakers to have outside business interests. Then mounting criticism from fellow senators, including Mr. Brulte, prompted him to drop his effort at rustling up business from the tribes.

But savvy Republicans say they can never compete with Democrats in pandering for Indian support. Last year Indian tribes made a large independent expenditure on behalf of the Libertarian candidate in a key state Senate race in an unsuccessful effort to steer votes away from the Republican nominee. That political play resembles the one the Indians are now making to keep Mr. McClintock in the race for governor.




The Indians' tactics are reminiscent of Gov. Gray Davis's intervention in the GOP primary for governor last year, when he spent some $10 million on TV ads attacking former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan in a successful effort to derail his candidacy and in favor of conservative Bill Simon. Mr. Davis went on to defeat Mr. Simon narrowly, only to face a recall effort this year after he was accused of covering up the severity of the state's fiscal crisis.

The Indians have also used their clout to punish Democrats. In 2001, Antonio Villaraigosa was on the verge of becoming the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles. But the Indian tribes recalled that in 1998, when Mr. Villaraigosa was Assembly speaker, he backed a bill to force the tribes to grant collective-bargaining rights to their employees, most of whom are non-Indian. The tribes plowed $350,000 into an effort to defeat Mr. Villaraigosa, who narrowly lost. This year they also contributed heavily to an effort to deny him a seat on the Los Angeles City Council. He won nonetheless. "Even the dimmest politicians in this state are fully aware of the Indians' ability to put them out of a job," concluded the Los Angeles Times.

So too are regulators. John Hensley had a long career in law enforcement and retired in 2000 as the No. 2 man at the U.S. Customs Service, where he had specialized in money-laundering investigations. A member of the Comanche tribe of Oklahoma, he was tapped in 2000 by Gov. Davis to chair the state's new five-member Gambling Control Commission, which theoretically has oversight responsibilities over Indian casinos. He told me the state body is especially needed because the National Indian Gaming Commission has a grand total of only 65 employees, including only two investigators and one auditor for the entire West Coast. But Mr. Hensley's commission was starved of both funds and cooperation. It never had more than four members, and the office of Attorney General Bill Lockyer said that enforcement of Indian gambling was the responsibility of local sheriffs rather than the AG's office.

After two years of unrelenting attacks, a frustrated Mr. Hensley announced he was leaving last year. He reluctantly stayed on until May of this year in hopes that Mr. Davis would name a suitable replacement. When he didn't, Mr. Hensley left. He is appalled that the governor has now promised the tribes that if he isn't recalled from office he would allow them to name two of the members on the Gambling Control Commission.

Gov. Davis has gone further and also promised to sign a bill that would give Indian tribes the power to stop development on private land within five miles of a sacred tribal site. The Indians would themselves be allowed to select the sacred sites and then keep their location secret. The potential for abusive shakedowns of developers is obvious to anyone. The bill failed at the 11th hour in the state Legislature this month, but even its opponents say it will likely pass and become law if either Mr. Davis or Mr. Bustamante is the governor.




The Indians are seeking all these additional advantages at a time when they are already sitting pretty. The Los Angeles Times calls them "California's principal growth industry." Because they enjoy tribal sovereignty and pay no property, sales or corporate taxes, the state's 54 Indian casinos rake in over $5 billion a year, a sum bigger than the take in Atlantic City and more than half that of neighboring Nevada. Indian slot machines can legally offer a payout of only 70 cents on the dollar, compared with 90 cents at Las Vegas casinos. They can allow gamblers under 21, and they also make a pretty penny selling tax-free cigarettes.

To protect all that loot, the tribes have become the biggest political givers in the state by spending $125 million on California politics since 1998. Untold millions that can't be traced have been contributed by individual tribal members who are flush with cash from payouts of casino profits. Indian tribes are also exempt from the contribution and issue-advocacy bans in the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law.

Of course, only a small minority of Indians benefit from any casino bounty. The New Republic reports that of 300,000 Californians who identify themselves as Indians only 32,000 are members of federally recognized tribes who can offer gambling. Less than a third of that number belong to the tribes that now operate casinos. Some of the wealthiest casino tribes have very few members: Rumsey has 42, Cabazon has 25, and the Augustine tribe has only one adult member. The tribes with casinos do contribute to a fund that doles out some money to other tribes, but Indians from unrecognized tribes don't benefit at all.

Opponents say that nationwide gambling has developed problems that call into question its claims as economic self-sufficiency program. Leo McCarthy, a former Democratic lieutenant governor, worries that the Indians are on the verge of winning approval for new gambling palaces that are much closer to cities. He fears that the number of problem gamblers in California could double to 1.4 million, a tremendous social burden the tribes will do little to pay for. "If gambling isn't properly regulated it attracts loan sharking, money laundering, drugs and organized crime," says Mr. Hensley. "Groups of dubious Indian descent often act as front-men for powerful non-Indian investors hoping to reap gambling riches," says journalist Micah Morrison. "They often influence politicians into looking the other way at whatever they do."

Jill Stewart, a syndicated columnist, says that Indians should be concerned that their image is quickly changing from that of people who deserve a helping hand to become self-sufficient to one of "sneaky, backroom players in politics who are increasingly viewed as bad neighbors." Most Indians don't benefit from gambling, but all are tarred by the tactics of the casino owners. Neal McCaleb, the head of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, also is concerned about the hardball tactics he sees in California. "It makes me wonder what's next."

An ever more powerful Indian gambling lobby, it would appear. Just last week the Pauma Indian Band, which has 176 members, announced it had inked a $250 million deal to build a giant Caesar's Palace casino and 500-room hotel on tribal land in San Diego. Should Mr. Davis survive or Mr. Bustamante succeed him, the betting is that the Indian casino owners would become the lobbying kingpins of state government. "In Sacramento, the tribes never lose," says Dan Walters, a columnist for the Sacramento Bee and the dean of the Capitol press corps. "They always get their way. That may be even more true after the election in October."

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Good analysis. Here is another thing that should interest people. Being largely unregulated, tribal gaming does not adhere to the same rules on payouts, odds and oversight as do casinos in Nevada, Atlantic City or on the boats of the Midwest. Accordingly, pro gamblers don't go to Indian casinos and avoid them like the plague - and the people taken are mostly your average "mom and pop" types.

[Publius6961]

Well, the one issue for me has been unwaveringly the recall.
Politics, corruption, whatever you call it, must exact a serious price.
If possible, Davis must answer criminal charges too.

[Rudder]

McClintock won't win the election unless both Arnold and Bustamonte drop out. Arnold can win. Bustamonte can win.

You're supporting a loser.

[PhiKapMom]

Thanks for you post in #91! These McC supporters on FR have their heads so far buried in the sand on who McC really is that they cannot see the sun!

[CheneyChick]

There is only one issue that matters to most voters. It absorbs all other issues in this race: The corruption in Sacramento.

This is something most out-of-staters fail to understand, because they aren't living it every day.

[CheneyChick]

Being largely unregulated, tribal gaming does not adhere to the same rules on payouts, odds and oversight as do casinos in Nevada, Atlantic City or on the boats of the Midwest. Accordingly, pro gamblers don't go to Indian casinos and avoid them like the plague - and the people taken are mostly your average "mom and pop" types.

Oh, the ol' 'Poor Peoples Tax'.... Thanks, CP, I wasn't aware of this...

Cheers, CC :)

[onyx]

Thanks for the pings and Poohbah, if you're on line now, listen to Rick Roberts, 760 KFMB. McC's senate colleagues are telling him to drop and their voicing their support for Arnold.

[ST.LOUIE1]

..... that unless Arnold comes up with the California equivalent of President Ford's declaration of a free Poland in 1976,....

LOL! Gotta love Hewitt!

Thanks for the ping, King!

[NYC Republican]

Question for you and all of the rabid McClintock supporters... It may be rhetorical, but I'll ask it anyway...

Do you think that the scorched-earth policy is a good one? Is it OK to criticize and rip apart every Republican that supports Arnold? Rove, Hewitt, Hannity, etc??? How is that productive?

Is it OK to violate RR's 11th amendment (thous shall not attack fellow Republicans)? ***NOTE*** - Arnold has said from day one that he will run a positive campaign, and has refrained from blasting Tom. He has turned his fire towards the true targets, Davis and Bustamante.

Is it really wrong to be pragmatic and believe that California politics won't change overnight? That we need a foothold into the Governorship, which would pave the way for hundreds or thousands of Rep jobs, and grease the skids for challenging Boxer in '06?

Is it wrong to want to expand the Rep base, which Arnold will do, gradually pulling the state away from the far-left grip? Face it, the demographics have changed drastically in Cali - and will continue to become more leftist.

Hewitt, Hannity, me (though I'd never put myself in their category), et al would LOVE to have Tom in there, if he's electable. Comments on FR that Arnold supporters hate Tom and wouldn't vote for him are just ludicrous and divisive. 90% or more of us would vote for Tom if we felt he had a realistic change...

so...

The choice is clear... BustamanteDavis or Arnold.

My vote would have been obvious. Yours?

[NYC Republican]

You didn't answer the question. In your heart of hearts, if Arnold drops out will that be enough to elect Tom?

You're wasting your time with Roscoe. You'll get one line, dismissive answers, refusing to discuss, rather he prefers to shoot off stale views.

[CheneyChick]

Good post.

[NYC Republican]

Thanks... I just don't understand the mis-characterization... No one I've seen on FR prefers Arnold's policies. The support of Arnold is pragmatic. We want to win.

[PhiKapMom]

Don't see how any "principled" conservative can take money from the Indian Gambling interest. If anyone thinks these tribes are doing the gambling on their own without help from organized crime, they had better think again. The Indians first of all did not have the expertise to run these big casinos so someone had to step in and anyone thinks it is legitimate business, think again -- IMHO organized crime is involved in all facets of the gambling industry and have discovered that the Indian Tribes are the pefect patsy with the lack of accountability!

Did some research on gambling by the Indian tribes last Fall and was shocked to learn that the money they take in is only accounted for by the Indian Tribal Gaming folks -- that is like no accountability. They take in billions and yet do not have to answer to the States where they are located. Since the Indian Tribes who have gambling are getting very rich, why is the Federal Government or State Government providing any services to those tribes including reimbursing them for medical expenses like they did in CA -- they can pay for the best care in America with the money they take in from gambling?

If the McC fan club wants to know what a "principled" conservative truly is, come to Oklahoma and meet our State Legislatures who are fighting the lottery because it would then allow the Indian Tribes to have Class I gambling casinos. They don't believe Education should be funded by gambling on the lottery where the money comes in a lot of instances from people who can least afford to lose the money. The Oklahoma "principled" conservatives do not want Class III gambling in the State of Oklahoma either. BTW, those "principled" conservatives are both Republican and DemocRAT here in Oklahoma.

[NYC Republican]

"realistic change" = "realistic chance"

[PhiKapMom]

Just last week the Pauma Indian Band, which has 176 members, announced it had inked a $250 million deal to build a giant Caesar's Palace casino and 500-room hotel on tribal land in San Diego

This is a bunch of crap -- 176 member tribe -- give me a break. These small tribes are showing up in States that allow gambling by the Indians and anyone who doesn't think this smells isn't thinking!

Thanks for posting that about the Tribes in CA! When I looked up political contributions, the Tribes have no limit on how much they can contribute to a candidate. That smells even more. The Indians want their sovereignty over their land, then their political donations should be declared as coming from a foreign entity. You cannot have it both ways IMHO!