WASHINGTON - Could a cornerstone of Republicans' American Values Agenda - the just passed law to ban Internet gambling - come back to bite the party on Nov. 7? (Lord I hope so - Ian)
That's the prognosis of poker-playing scholar Charles Murray, who warned in a recent newspaper opinion piece of the political damage Republicans may face from the nation's poker-playing masses this fall. An estimated 8 million Americans gamble online.
"We are talking about a lot of people ... who are angry enough to vote on the basis of this one issue, and they blame Republicans," said Murray, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, writing in The New York Times.
The Poker Players Alliance, which fought the bill on Capitol Hill, says Murray is spot on.
The group's president, Michael Bolcerek, said that in catering to the religious right, which pushed Congress for the ban, Republicans have antagonized the party's rank and file who just want to play a few hands online.
Bolcerek said he has been getting a continuous flow of e-mails from Republicans "who say they're going to vote straight Democrat." The group is urging its 120,000 members to vote - and posted congressional voting records at its Web site.
"We believe it was a miscalculation by the Republican Party to assume these people won't go to the polls and vote on this issue," Bolcerek said in an interview.
Online gambling has grown into a massive...
That's the prognosis of poker-playing scholar Charles Murray, who warned in a recent newspaper opinion piece of the political damage Republicans may face from the nation's poker-playing masses this fall. An estimated 8 million Americans gamble online.
"We are talking about a lot of people ... who are angry enough to vote on the basis of this one issue, and they blame Republicans," said Murray, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, writing in The New York Times.
The Poker Players Alliance, which fought the bill on Capitol Hill, says Murray is spot on.
The group's president, Michael Bolcerek, said that in catering to the religious right, which pushed Congress for the ban, Republicans have antagonized the party's rank and file who just want to play a few hands online.
Bolcerek said he has been getting a continuous flow of e-mails from Republicans "who say they're going to vote straight Democrat." The group is urging its 120,000 members to vote - and posted congressional voting records at its Web site.
"We believe it was a miscalculation by the Republican Party to assume these people won't go to the polls and vote on this issue," Bolcerek said in an interview.
Online gambling has grown into a massive...
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