I've been thinking about the key ideas that the Republican party needs to embrace to set themselves up for a recovery in 2010. It's clear that the party has a crisis of faith right now - what,exactly, does it stand for?
On a side note, the Washington Post has been putting together a series of stories on online betting - the story yesterday was about whether or not offshore wagering is even legal.
Barney Frank was quoted in the piece, trying to compare online gambling to horse racing:
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the sponsor of a bill to legalize online gambling, said that even today, "you can't get a straight answer if horse racing is illegal. It's total hypocrisy and mishmash." He calls the ban on Internet betting "an outrageous interference in Americans' personal freedoms."
I completely agree with Rep. Frank.
Step 1 in a Republican recovery: draft an issue statement that covers wagering and Ameicans' choices - and that is completely consistent across all forms. You want to take a stand against on-line wagering? Well, ok - but then the party needs to make sure we outline state keno, OTB, and other forms.
My advice to the party: be consistent and remove any whiff of hypocrisy. I'm in favor of legalizing all of it, but I can understand if others don't want to support it at all. If they go halfway - horse racing is ok, on line is not - then it shwos the party is out of touch with today's voters - especially the younger (people in their 20s and 30s) vote. If they support some gambling but not others, they give the impression that teh party believes people still go to Horse races in their Sunday best (complete with fedoras) and poker rooms are still run by the mobs.
Please, get into the 21st century.
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