That the latest Republican Party Platform lacks an anti-gambling stance underscores an interesting schism in GOP ideology. Namely, a conflict between the Christian-right/family-values camp and the small-government/libertarian camp. Given how this schism is being largely ignored, moreover, it seems that former Senator (R) Alfonse D’Amato’s assertion that the UIGEA was the result of nothing more than Bill Frist’s unrestrained political opportunism isn’t so far off the mark.
Now, the Christian right is known for being anti-gambling (online or off). It’s also know for using family values to attack just about anything it opposes. So at first glance, the UIGEA doesn’t seem so controversial from a Republican point of view. As former Republican Senator, Alfonse D’Amato noted, the UIGEA was the result of Bill Frisk trying to win over the Christian right.
However, Republicans are also know for being more libertarian and pro-small-government. So the UIGEA doesn’t add on that level. As Alfonse D’Amato also pointed out, the problem with the UIGEA (from a Republican point of view) is that it’s intrusive.
Well, given how the latest Republican Party Platform skipped over online gambling, it seems all that more certain that the UIGEA was (as D’Amato contends), the result of a misguided political opportunist (Bill Frist).
When the UIGEA was attached to the Port Securities Act, the Republicans still enjoyed the comfortable margin that any right-of-center party would enjoy in the wake of something like 9/11. Since then, however, two consecutive Republican administrations have failed to capture Osama Bin Laden, and while pursuing him, have led the US into a disastrous war. The result: the Democrats aren’t looking like that bad of an option for many centrist republicans.
Add to that the overwhelming support that Democrats are giving to Obama, and the GOP has one hell of a race for the White House ahead of it. If they don’t rope in every potential Republican out there, their chances of keeping the Presidency are pretty grim.
Overlooking the UIGEA in their current platform, then, makes perfect political sense. While the Christian right has much larger concerns than online gambling, online poker players could easily be lost to abstinence, a libertarian candidate, or even an Obama who’s likely to tackle legislation such as the Port Securities Act.
Of course, the upcoming presidential race will prove to be historical import for reasons that are well beyond online gaming. However, the GOP’s decision to leave the issue alone this time around underscores how online gambling it’s not important enough of an issue to risk losing any votes in the upcoming election.
Generally, when an heated issues gets pushed aside while it’s still a relatively new one (like online gambling is), that’s usually an indication that it won’t remain a heated one for too long. And when issue that’s lukewarm can be settled in a way that generates wealth, jobs, and adds to the GDP, or not, it’s usually resolved to the benefit of entrepreneurs. So perhaps the future on US-facing online gaming operations is looking to be on the up after all.
I hope you’re right on the future, although I used to think the UIGEA would not pass for the same reason. Unfortunately, there are also some big-money interests working against us, e.g. the horse racing lobby, which managed to get a specific carve-out exempting horse racing from the UIGEA (oh the galling hypocrisy). They are of the opinion that banning online poker brings them more business, Although your thesis that UIGEA was primarily the result of political opportunism from Mr. Frist makes sense to me, the cynic in me wonders how much palm-greasing might have occurred as well. I wonder how serious an obstacle that might prove to be.
About greasing palms: I wouldn’t be surprised, Daniel, if someone put Jim Leach up to putting Bill Frist up to tabling the UIGEA. While you bring up the horse racing lobby, D’Amato’s points to the NFL. Between the two of those, there’s a lot of money to go around.
I think, however, what’s going on with opponents of the UIGEA is analogous to what’s already happened with the mainstream media (MSM) coping with the internet. Basically, incumbent players are facing a new technology that they don’t understand. They are unable to impose and old business model on the new technology, so they’re trying to outlaw its use.
But just as the MSM is finally coming around to how the internet isn’t going away and trying to now leverage the same online channels that have hitherto cut into it’s profits, I think the brick & mortar lobbies can be made to come around too.
I think what the online gaming industry needs to be doing is engaging its brick & mortar counterparts in an non-adversarial way, and educate them on how they can use the net to reach more players. Once the brick & mortars see that there’s a way for them to make money too, I think they’ll come around.
Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened yet. No one has taken the initiative to educate the brick & mortar lobbies.
Of course, even if they did, that wouldn’t get the NFL off our backs, but it could bring the horse racing lobby over to our side.
BTW, speaking of Jim Leach, his motives remain unclear to me. For example, he apparently doesn’t have any problem with bashing his own party and the Democratic National Convention: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6981BGSPnNU