Posted on 10/19/2006 11:53:10 AM PDT by Sabramerican
LAST week President Bush signed a law that will try to impede online gambling by prohibiting American banks from transferring money to gambling sites. Most Americans probably didn’t notice or care, but it may do significant political damage to the Republicans this fall and long-term damage to Americans’ respect for the law.
So, a month before a major election, the Republicans have allied themselves with a scattering of voters who are upset by online gambling and have outraged the millions who love it. Furthermore, judging from many hours of online chat with Internet poker players, I am willing to bet (if you’ll pardon the expression) that the outraged millions are disproportionately electricians, insurance agents, police officers, mid-level managers, truck drivers, small-business owners — that is, disproportionately Republicans and Reagan Democrats.
In the short term, this law all by itself could add a few more Democratic Congressional seats in the fall elections. We are talking about a lot of people (an estimated 23 million Americans gamble online) who are angry enough to vote on the basis of this one issue, and they blame Republicans.
...... If a free society is to work, the vast majority of citizens must reflexively obey the law not because they fear punishment, but because they accept that the rule of law makes society possible. That reflexive law-abidingness is reinforced when the laws are limited to core objectives that enjoy consensus support, .....
The reaction to Prohibition, the 20th century’s stupidest law, is the archetypal case. But the radical expansion of government throughout the last century has created many more.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Couldnt agree with you more this bill pissed me off big time. Everyone I work with plays and they all vote GOP even donate the max. Makes me not want to vote but will just cause cant stand the left.
On about 99 percent of things this guy writes about would agree. Have a bricknmortar casino 5 minutes from my house. See a lot of Bush/Cheney stickers in parking lot also i play online and have a ton of family/friends who do too they all vote GOP. This pissed me off why do this, I have no answer. Playing online poker bothered no one. Millions play and watch it on tv. Still going to be a republican but am really pissed. Dont know many liberals but i do no alot of people gamble.
Actually I moved over to FullTilt... but I don't know how to tell how many are on at any time.
Really - FullTilt is going too? That's good to know. I was playing Party Poker for years - just getting used to PokerStars. Some of the interface is better, some are worse. How do you like FullTilt? Do they have pot-limit/no-limit Omaha-8 there?
I suspect it had far more to do with the govts inability to tax online gambling sonce the entities running the online gambling operations were offshore. It's a certainty the govt doesn't care if individuals gamble since they sanction it by sponsoring the lottery for the specific purpose of collecting revenue from those poor souls who want to spend their income in the astronomically remote hope of getting rich.
For example, say there are 20 million on-line gamblers, and that 40% are not affiliated with either party. That computes to 8 million people. These 8 million understand it was a Republican senator that made this happen. Many of them will be less likely to vote for a Republican candidate now. That could make the difference in many tight races. Now do you understand?
How's the weather up there on that ivory tower? You folks getting enough oxygen up there?
But seriously, moral absolutes may not be negotiable, but they aren't the proper purview of the state either. The role of religion is to lead folks to the light, not beat them onto the path using the government as the stick.
Tell me more about him then?
This author is literally psychotic. Who knows or cares about this issue? This is the first I've heard of it, and I care not. And personally, I HATE gambling. I'd rather take my money and burn it, since at least if I burned it it would provide me some value (warmth) as opposed to gambling it away.
I noticed from your posting history that you have been away from FR for two years and now you are joining this thread. At least you are going to vote Republican, please tell you family and friends to do the same.
See here. He's most famous for writing The Bell Curve, which enraged liberals.
Lots of people.
And personally, I HATE gambling.
That's nice. Millions of Americans enjoy it, and the large majority do so responsibly. Particularly in the case of poker, where skill is more important than luck.
And here I thought this would be about good ol' Linc. Bummer.
This isn't abortion or homosexual marriage.
If someone wants to urinate his money away on Internet poker, what business is it of the government or religious busybodies?
How many people are going to base their vote on a single issue of online gambling? Not many. Pipe dreams for a RAT.
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