Three key republicans who can halt RAWA
News on 22 Aug 2015
News on 22 Aug 2015
With an oblique reference to US land gambling tycoon Sheldon Adelson’s activity in funding anti-online gambling activities, the president of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, Andrew Quinlan attacked the proposed Restoration of America’s Wire Act Friday, describing it as an assault on the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution, which guards states’ rights, and criticising the involvement of Nevada Senator Harry Reid as “…a brazen example of crony capitalism in Congress.”
Writing in an op-ed piece for The Hill, a Washington DC publication, Quinlan observed:
“Some casino owners worry that the growth, legalization and regulation of online gambling is a threat to future profits. They have instituted a massively funded campaign to overturn the actions of states like New Jersey that allow only gambling for their residents.
“Adding insult to injury, RAWA also bans states from allowing the sale of lottery tickets on the Internet, likely to assist convenience store owners for whom the sales constitute the bulk of their profits. More than a dozen states have some kind of online lottery services and would have their preferences overridden by Washington if this law passed.”
Pointing to the RAWA supporters’ claim that individual states could ask for exemptions from Congress, Quinland notes: “That’s certainly not what the Framers of the Constitution had in mind when they wrote the Bill of Rights.”
He goes on to observe that RAWA wouldn’t simply roll back the online poker and casino industries in Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey, it would also roll back online lottery sales in a number of states, including Illinois, Minnesota, Georgia and Michigan – and pre-emptively prohibit them across the U.S.
“Interestingly, some Democrats including Sen. Minority Leader Harry Reid are supportive of the effort. He is more than willing to shield Las Vegas from the threat of online competition. This is a brazen example of crony capitalism in Congress,” Quinlan claims.
Quinlan opines that three Republicans can halt the progress of RAWA: Senator Chuck Grassley, the gatekeeper for the Senate Judiciary Committee; Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the House Judiciary Committee chairman; and Rep. Mick Mulvaney, a conservative who could generate an uprising in the Republican Caucus that would make it impossible to pass the controversial measure.
Noting that Goodlatte has a record of opposing gambling, Quinlan says that he is also a stalwart supporter of states’ rights, and that so far he has always placed the Constitution ahead of his personal opinions.
And he says Senator Grassley has an understanding of the consequences of federal government interference in states’ rights, whilst Rep. Mulvaney is a high profile member of the new House Freedom Caucus, and is expected to defeat ideas that restrict freedom.
“The lobbying vice on the House and Senate will begin to close in the next few months,” Quinlan predicts. “One can only hope that the key players can listen to the anger and frustration of voters who are tired of losing their rights to political donors whose interests have become more important than the populace and the Constitution itself.”
