Posturing Or Taking A Stand?

Date Added: May 10, 2025

You decide, but make sure you take a close look before you come to your own conclusion. Here's what is going on; in essence its about yet another so-called line in the sand drawn in the seemingly never ending battle for online casino legalization in the United States.

By now you have to know that the leader of the opposition is none other than the infamous Sheldon Adelson. Yes, the very same Sheldon Adelson who made a public vow last year to spend any amount necessary to not only defeat any new legislation for new online gambling operators but to also prohibit and outlaw any existing online casinos that are currently in business in the U.S. And yes, the very same Sheldon Adelson who is in fact the CEO of a very large land based casino out in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Sands corporation.

All that being said, here is the latest development in this saga. It seems that the issue of online gambling is actually bringing together what would in past times be referred to as party bickering. As you know, even members of the same party oftentimes hold differing opinions on some issues. However with respect to what is sometimes called Internet Gambling, it seems the issue is serving in some sense to unite the party.

Here is what this looks like: on one hand, you can see political groups that label themselves as Conservatives taking a stand against Sheldon and his proposed legislation. These Conservatives are basing their opposition on a combination of libertarian and state's rights grounds.

You will remember that those who support the libertarian viewpoint are all about political freedom and freedom of choice. Remember also that those who support State's rights believe that most of the power within the country should be allocated to the individual states and not some federal bureaucracy.

There's more. A relatively new supporter of the coalition opposing Adelson and his anti-online gambling crusade has shown up. This comes from Grover Norquist of the Americans For Tax Reform. Norquist released a statement that expressed his sentiments quite eloquently: "…states don't need federal government babysitting them."

All of that being said, what does the scorecard look like at the moment? As of now, on the Republican side of the aisle, there are only eleven out of a possible twenty-two backers in the House Judiciary Committee. Caveat: look at the above with a grain of sand. As you know, political positions can and do change seemingly at random.

Bottom line: where is this going? Is it all just posturing to get attention? Perhaps Sheldon knows his crusade is doomed and is using this political fight for an as yet unrevealed grander purpose.