Should Know Better
In Washington, D.C., bad ideas never die – they just get new Congressional bill numbers.
There is no notion so dreadful nor roundly rejected – that an additional dash of crony campaign cash can’t resuscitate it. In DC, the Walking Dead don’t eat long pig – they eat pork.
So it is with Crony Republicans’ serial efforts to try to ban online gambling. Billions of pennies have been thrown at very many GOP members – to ensure that this particular bad penny keeps re-turning up.
The Chief Crony in question – is Sheldon Adelson. A $35-billion-net-worth brick-and-mortar casino magnate – who doesn’t like seeing his gambling house profits undercut by the Internet revolution.
So he bribes various and sundry Republican officials – to the tune of about $200 million in just the last few years – to again and again propose legislation that would kill United States-based gambling websites.
Because a disappointingly large swath of the Elite apparently doesn’t understand that the first “W” in the Internet address prefix “WWW” – is short for “World.”
This America Last approach is titanically stupid for a wide variety of reasons – not the least of which is that it will only continue to make foreign corporate havens like Costa Rica – even more attractive, popular and populated.
In April of 2014, bi-cameral Crony Republicans answered Adelson’s siren song:
“The bill to ban most online gambling for money was introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) earlier this year.”
That was House Resolution (H.R.) 4301 – The Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA). Thankfully, it went nowhere.
Since then, Crony Congressman Chaffetz has gone somewhere – he’s left government for the more-direct-payment greener pastures of Fox News Contributing.
But Adelson’s crony wallet lives on – so of course so too does his bad idea. There are always more Cronies to be had in the halls of Congress. They’re perpetually lined up like Captain Quint’s shark barrels – anxiously awaiting their opportunity to cash Crony checks.
And these Cronies – are resorting to ever more stealthy means to get to Adelson’s desired end. This go-round’s new Crony Republican – is Pennsylvania Congressman Charlie Dent:
“In the years since its inception, RAWA has never advanced any further than receiving a few hearings. Currently, RAWA is stopped in Congress, but some fear that an amendment will be offered to the State Justice Commerce Appropriations bill in committee as soon as next week.”
Get that? Since the Crony Republicans can’t get RAWA passed on its own – they are now trying to affix it like a barnacle to other legislation.
Anti-Online Gambling Legislation May Get Sneaked Into Appropriations for FY 2018
Trying to force less-Crony legislators to choose between swallowing the online gambling ban – and blocking government operational spending.
So if the less-Crony Republicans do block the Cronyism – the Crony Republicans can join with the inane Democrats in inanely screeching “Government Shutdown!!!!!”™.
All of which is certainly very conservative, less government governance.
Oh: And Congressman Dent is so proud of his Cronyism, a search on his official website for “Restoration of America’s Wire Act,” “online gambling” and “Internet gambling” – all net zero results.
In the interest of not driving even more gigs beyond our shores – and reasoned and reasonable legislative and governing practice – Dent’s amendment should die a rapid death.
Un-affixed to the Appropriations bill – or any other piece of Congressionally-extruded legislation.
This first appeared in Red State.