Our Dumb Goober-natorial Race and Getting Snitty with the Tribes

Out of State Business Interest Can't Fauxtoshop For Shit

The Republican Governors Association, a gargantuan of a 527, is pumping in money to air ads blasting the incumbent Governor in WA, Chris Gregoire, for not taking tribal money. It seems the GOP challenger, Dino Rossi, is outraged that the Governor didn't extort money from the Spokane Tribe to operate casinos on their land. The website, Casino Chris, offers a horrendous parody of Seinfeld implying the Governor as an incompetent yokel who gets swindled by the tribes because she wouldn't skim off $140M from their profit margin. One would assume that Rossi was some sort of culture warrior decrying the societal breakdown of the family unit due to casinos, but the 527 is partly funded by Nevada gaming interests! So much for the free market. The Tacoma News Tribune reports:

The latest in their summer-long assault is an ad campaign blasting Gregoire for not cutting the state in on the tribes’ gaming action. It comes courtesy of the Republican Governors Association, an organization that happens to get big donations from non-Indian gaming interests that would no doubt like to see the tribes take it in the shorts.

I actually thought Governor Gregoire did something right for a change by respecting tribal sovereignty, but a look at what she had to say a few months ago seems to suggest that she is giving off the illusion as culture warrior as well. From Seattle P-I:

Gregoire saw that as a problem and called for a renegotiation of the 2005 compact with the Spokane Tribe after receiving input from interested parties, including other tribes and local law enforcement officials, Edwards said.

"It was almost like triggering a gambling arms race in the state," he said. "What would occur under the revenue sharing is that it would have led to an almost unlimited expansion of gambling -- unlimited tables, unlimited betting -- and that is something that the governor wanted to avoid."

C'mon, a gambling arms race? Somehow I'm not seeing the connection between tribes building more craps tables with the Soviets and Americans stockpiling ICBMs.

Both Democrats and Republicans seek to limit tribal gaming in the state, but can't give up the sweet source of revenue for their crooked programs. It's pathetic that politicians only think of the multitude of tribes in WA as a constant revenue streams instead of respecting their sovereign land. When Chief Seattle said in 1854 "Your time of decay (the white man) may be distant, but it will surely come", he was obviously onto something. I bet he didn't predict it would be a bunch of suits in Olympia squabbling about how to extract more and more money from a recreational activity.

Money-Hungry Politicians Looking for More Cash