Re: How Many Senators Would Have Voted Otherwise?
[ QUOTE ]
But the reason I said it was important was because a lot of people are implying that most senators didn't even want this prohibition. Whether that is true or not would determine future strategy.
[/ QUOTE ]
I think that most Senators did not know or care enough about the issue to really want the prohibition, but also saw little or no reason to actively oppose it.
The authors cleverly wrote the bill so that it did not sound like big brother trying to legislate what you do in the privacy of your home. They framed it as stopping the international flow of funds used for activities that the average person probably vaguely considers of questionable morality and legality.
The bottom line is that a vocal minority wanted the bill for many different reasons, and few if any Senators saw any political upside to opposing it. Briefly, the tail wagged the dog, and the bill was passed through the inertia of the majority.
Online poker is tarred with the vice brush. Like booze, smoking, B&M gambling, etc., virtually no politician will be actively for it on principle, but will publically posture as tolerating it from the standpoint of personal adult freedom and as a painless source of revenue.
|