Conservative blog criticizes Republican online gaming stance

[The Buzz]

Andrew Breitbart is one of the most well-known conservative commentators in the blogosphere. His conservative leanings would lead you to think that he (or his contributors) would be against online gambling.

Well, you would be wrong. Rich Muny has published a column on Breitbart's Web site that says the right's position against online gambling might be a costly mistake come election time.

From Breitbart's "Big Government" page:

Going back to the founding of modern conservatism in the 1950s and Senator Barry Goldwater’s 1964 presidential run, true conservatives have always believed in limited government principles – fiscally as well as socially. That is why leading conservatives, including former senator and current Poker Players Alliance Chairman Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY), former House Majority Leader and current FreedomWorks chairman Dick Armey, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) , George Will, Walter Williams, Grover Norquist, and Jacob Sullum publicly oppose efforts to prohibit online poker.

Conservatives have a good deal of momentum right now. If we do nothing from now until Election Day, the GOP could take at least one house of Congress. However, moves against online poker can only bring harm. While such moves may appease a dwindling handful of people who will vote Republican anyway, these moves would not earn the GOP one extra vote. On the other hand, moves against online poker would cost the party the votes of many poker players and enthusiasts, as well as the votes of those who believe in Internet freedom. Additionally, such actions would convince many Americans that the GOP was using limited government promises just to get elected, while planning on immediately reverting back to their pre-2006 ways once regaining control of either house of Congress. We all saw how unpopular that was with the electorate in November 2006 and again in November 2008.

Poker players are organized and energized. The Poker Players Alliance has over one million members, and they will vote for their liberty this November. One wonders how many votes the GOP is willing to give away in efforts to appease the rapidly shrinking big government wing of the party. The bigger question is, of course, how many votes true conservatives are willing to give away?

[praxis]

I have no doubt that online gambling will become legal in the US pretty soon. The question is also which state will be the first one to incorporate this rev model. Here is what I think...

-Nevada? this will be many people's first choice but given how strong offline gambling is here and how much stuff they have to deal with.. it may not happen here first.

-California? With the huge budget deficit and increase demand from online players. This is a state that has a chance to legalize online gambling.. but the Native American communities will need get smart and see this as a great opportunity instead of being so defensive.

-Florida? Another good candidate. This is another state with a hurt budget that needs innovative ways of increasing money streams and also has a huge user demand for online gaming.

I might be completely wrong in all my guesses but I hope this serves as a start point of discussion...