Do Not underestimate Senator Kyl's threat to online poker,

[TruePoker CEO]

If Senator Kyl is re-elected, he will likely be running the Senate Republicans next year. He is already in charge of policy, he is angling for Whip:

"Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., is running for re-election to his Senate seat. If he wins and the GOP retains control of the Senate, Kyl could be in line to become Senate majority whip.

The lawmaker who holds that job is responsible for counting Senate votes, persuading members to vote the Republican position on issues and helping make the case for the party's positions. ...
The job also is a national soapbox from which to amplify the interests of constituents back home and promote one's own political career. In Kyl's case, he has a long history of involvement on national security and border issues important to Arizonans.

His elevation to whip would give him an even more influential voice in Senate dealings on those issues.

But given that he still must win re-election, even discussing the possibility of getting the whip job is politically thorny for Kyl right now. He currently occupies the Senate GOP's No. 4 leadership spot as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee. "

-- from azcentral.com

[Jack Bando]

Good point True. Is the Maj Whip the #2 man in the Senate, or is he behind the Min Leader?

There are two things I'm hoping for that would help poker though.

1)Democrats at least take back one of the two parts of congress. If they get the Senate back, and he's minority leader/whip, which isn't as important.

2)I think with other countries regulating o. poker and legalizing it, plus the WTO's stance, the anti-side is running out of time. Soon there will be too much outside evidence/pressure for them to win.

[DuderinoAB]

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2)I think with other countries regulating o. poker and legalizing it, plus the WTO's stance, the anti-side is running out of time. Soon there will be too much outside evidence/pressure for them to win.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm very optimistic that this will be the case should the bill not pass this congress, but that's still a big if.

[Jack Bando]

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2)I think with other countries regulating o. poker and legalizing it, plus the WTO's stance, the anti-side is running out of time. Soon there will be too much outside evidence/pressure for them to win.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm very optimistic that this will be the case should the bill not pass this congress, but that's still a big if.

[/ QUOTE ]

I hope so too Dude. With everything new (comics, R rated movies, "Evil" 60's Rock music), eventually the people who like it and realizes it isn't as bad as some people think get into power and the dangerous thing is now okay. Let's hope online poker doesn't gets axed by the Congress before this happens.

[Mr.K]

No effing way. Not gonna happen. Look - Kyl is probably going to win his race in AZ, though it may be tighter than he'd prefer. The Republicans, at this point, look to be in position to retain the Senate by one or two seats.

The leadership situation for the Senate GOP next year is going to change, that much I'll give you. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) has the votes locked up right now to be leader, and that won't change no matter what happens in the elections. That means his whip slot will be vacated, and it is more than likely that Santorum's Conference Chair slot will also be vacated by his defeat. Not sure if Dole will stay on as NRSC chair or not. The Republican Policy Committee slot is really a do-nothing post for the most part, aside from directing what the staff lackeys write in the memos to all GOP offices about various bills and amendments.

Here are the considerations that go against Kyl becoming whip: Trent Lott (R-MS) is going to run for some kind of leadership postion, and when he runs, he wins -- plain and simple. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) is going to run for something in leadership, though I am less convinced of his ability to win. I'm sure John Cornyn (R-TX) is harboring ambitions of being in leadership as well -- though he'd have to go through his in-state superior, Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) to get there. She is also currently in leadership and may look to move up.

Long story short: there will be vacancies in GOP leadership in the Senate, and some shuffling about to fill them. Don't be at all surprised if Kyl isn't able to take advantage of this situation to move up. What this means for the Internet gambling bill, however, is nearly nothing. If Kyl is in the Senate, then TruePokerCEO is correct: he will continue to push for passage of the bill, and eventually, he will succeed in getting some form of it passed and signed into law. The charge of poker players is to see to it that whatever bill passes does them the least amount of harm.

[mikeh1975]

so you think that he will eventually get some form of a bill passed and signed into law? lets hope that even that never comes to pass........

[dustyn]

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so you think that he will eventually get some form of a bill passed and signed into law? lets hope that even that never comes to pass........

[/ QUOTE ]

I think it's inevitable, one way or another, that some sort of Internet gambling bill is passed in the future (who knows if it's in a month or five years). Maybe it means regulation, prohibition, etc., but the government will not let a skyrocketing industry that is over 10 billion dollars remain unregulated/untaxed/lawless forever.

[Mr.K]

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so you think that he will eventually get some form of a bill passed and signed into law? lets hope that even that never comes to pass........

[/ QUOTE ]

I think it's inevitable, one way or another, that some sort of Internet gambling bill is passed in the future (who knows if it's in a month or five years). Maybe it means regulation, prohibition, etc., but the government will not let a skyrocketing industry that is over 10 billion dollars remain unregulated/untaxed/lawless forever.

[/ QUOTE ]

Correct. The timing element is really up in the air, but at some point, some kind of regulation is going to be passed, and the impact that regulation has on poker will be in direct proportion to the quality of education PPA is doing on the hill, the dollars the online sites throw behind their efforts, the grassroots actions taken by players, and to a degree the parties that control each of the big three levers of power (WH, House, Senate). The better these efforts are executed, the less the regulation will hurt poker players, and vice versa.

In divided government (e.g. Dem Congress, GOP WH), bills move more slowly and more fringe legislation like the Internet gambling bill does not have as much chance to pass. That said, I think the long-term inertia built this year cannot be stopped (it can be stalled, however), though its course still can be changed, and that is what should probably matter most for poker players.

[stormy455]

[nit]
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That said, I think the long-term momentum built this year cannot be stopped (it can be stalled, however), though its course still can be changed, and that is what should probably matter most for poker players.

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FYP [/Nit]

I'm sure this is correct. I'm beginning to see the light and coming around to Mr. K's position. The government is going to get involved in Internet gambling one way or another. In the short-term the best we can hope for is a delay. It would be my hope that the longer the delay, the less likely an outright ban. I think people voting with their pocket books will lead the government to understand that a ban won't work, and that regulation is better. For now, I'm convinced we should be working towards some sort of carve-out to allow and regulate poker. The case for poker is much stronger than say online slots. I've heard the number 70 million poker players thrown around. Assuming that's true, it's nearly a quarter of the U.S. population. While not all of them play online, it's still a big number that should give us some clout. Congress will always do dumb things, but ignoring that many people probably won't be one of them. We need to mobilize our "army" and let them know that we are a force to be reconned with.

[Lawman007]

[ QUOTE ]
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) has the votes locked up right now to be leader, and that won't change no matter what happens in the elections. That means his whip slot will be vacated, and it is more than likely that Santorum's Conference Chair slot will also be vacated by his defeat. Not sure if Dole will stay on as NRSC chair or not. The Republican Policy Committee slot is really a do-nothing post for the most part, aside from directing what the staff lackeys write in the memos to all GOP offices about various bills and amendments.

Here are the considerations that go against Kyl becoming whip: Trent Lott (R-MS) is going to run for some kind of leadership postion, and when he runs, he wins -- plain and simple. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) is going to run for something in leadership, though I am less convinced of his ability to win. I'm sure John Cornyn (R-TX) is harboring ambitions of being in leadership as well -- though he'd have to go through his in-state superior, Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) to get there. She is also currently in leadership and may look to move up.

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Which state do you represent, Senator?