GOP OVERPLAYED HAND WITH GAMBLING BILL

[RobDoral]

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It's not just republicans you need to vote against. Here's a list of all Members of the House and how they voted on this bill when it was up by itself.

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll363.xml

90% of Republicans and 60% of Democrats voted for it. Find out where your representative stands on the issue and vote accordingly. It's not a R vs D issue, please get educated.

Josh

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None of the people who introduced the bill were Democrats if I'm not mistaken (though there's a fair chance that I AM mistaken).

Good bills generally get some sort of bipartisan support BEFORE the final vote so the two parties can slap each other on the back and get lots of photo ops.

I'm a little suprised at the proportion of Democrats who voted for it though (thanks for the link). But I also think a lot less than 90% of the Republicans who voted for it really cared that much about the issue. But just before an election when ALL of the House members need votes, who's going to defend online gambling when it's already not legal? Won't someone think of the children?!!! (channeling Mrs. Lovejoy of the Simpsons there)

Really it's Frist and the others who used a procedural trick to get this thing passed in an unrelated bill without any real debate on its merits that we should be pissed at (and mildly irritated that the rules make this sort of thing possible in the first place). It's frankly a blatantly UNdemocratic move. What are we a bunch of godless commies that we pull the same crap the People's Republic of China did? (little John Wayne there)

Now I would argue that Republican politicians are a lot more likely to pass this sort of social regulation than Democratic politicians (also gay marriage bans, that sort of thing) but yes, the Democrats didn't really fight for it did they? I think it's a difference of opinion about the fundamental role of the federal government. I don't believe the government should be in the business of legislating morality at all, but that opens a huge can of worms there.

But there are a hell of a lot more important things than online gambling that should sway our votes. I suspect there are other things these disgruntled voters have on their minds than poker and the bill was just the last straw for them.