The answer, really, is very simple. Do not vote for Rendell, he has been neck deep in gambling money for more than a decade. Do not vote for Swann, he has taken gambling donations to his campaign and is now obligated to support gambling in Pennsylvania.
Vote for Russ Diamond. Russ wants to repeal Act 71, the Pennsylvania Gambling Bill tied by your politicians to the property tax relief bill.
The recent failure of the proposed property tax bill highlights (in part) the problems with hanging property tax relief on the gambling industry. As we demonstrated in THE CENTRIST # 60: “Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts” the promised gambling money simply will not be there in the hefty amounts your political leaders (from both parties) have been promising all along.
Who is going to spend $3-4/gallon of gas to drive into Pennsylvania to lose money on our slot machines?
Even if they do so in record numbers, the money promised by the politicians has been spent several times over in promises to local governments, school districts, and various other governmental and non governmental entities (such as the Horse Racing Industry).
Do the math. If you bake a pie and cut it into eight slices, and promise out 24 slices, you are going to have to go back to your dough board and roll out pie crust for two more pies.
The politicians have baked one pie, Act 71, the Pennsylvania Gambling Bill. It provides governance for 14 slots parlors around the state. To fulfill all their promises they will have to enlarge Act 71 to include table games.
Suddenly we will have 14 Las Vegas style casinos in Pennsylvania. That’s more than any other state except Nevada. They are currently building casino number 13 in Atlantic City. We’ll have more.
Is this the Pennsylvania in which you want your children and grandchildren to grow up?
The answer is in Independent gubernatorial candidate Russ Diamond, Pennsylvania Senate candidate Heidi Wheaton, and in Representative Paul Clymer of Bucks County.
Russ Diamond states clearly he is NOT against gambling. He is against laws that have been passed illegitimately and unconstitutionally. This includes Act 71, passed in the same illegitimate and unconstitutional fashion in 2004 that the Midnight Pay Raise was passed in 2005, and the proposed property tax relief bill was almost passed earlier this week. Russ Diamond would like to give the gambling bill a fresh start, with a new legislature, and an open process that allows public input, but keeps lobbying to a bare minimum and under strict controls.
Clymer and Wheaton favor repealing Act 71. My suspicion is that Clymer feels about the same way Diamond does, while Wheaton is clearly opposed to gambling in Pennsylvania.
As an Independent, Russ Diamond will not have many friends in the General Assembly, unless you voters get busy and elect a whole bunch of Operation Clean Sweep and other non-incumbent candidates to office starting eleven days with the Primary Election, and culminating in November with the Regular Election.
· That entails signing Russ Diamond’s campaign petition.
· That entails, in as many cases as possible, not voting for any incumbents.
· That entails keeping your hands off the party buttons and not voting straight party tickets.
· That entails knowing who you will vote for before you go into that voting booth.
· That entails knowing how to cast a vote for a write-in candidate.
· That entails instructing your families and friends on these issues.
· That entails taking those family members and friends to the polls (and home again after they vote.)
· That entails making sure your family members and friends who are eligible to vote are registered to do so. (Though it is too late to register to vote in the primary, it should be noted that if you register as an Independent, there is no primary election for Independents. You will not be eligible to vote in either the Republican or the Democratic primaries.)
· That entails a commitment from you to get actively involved in the political process and stay actively involved. Regularly check in here for updates on the campaigns, and of course, check other places too, like
o Operation Clean Sweep
o Democracy Rising PA
o Common Cause of Pennsylvania
o Rock the Capital
o Pennsylvania Club for Growth
o Pennsylvania League of Women Voters
o Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania
o And others that appear along the way.
Finally, if you are really serious, and really committed, get out and campaign for a candidate. Guarantee: you will meet a lot of very nice people, and more than a few duds, too. And when the campaign is over you will be the richer for it. So will Pennsylvania, no matter what the outcome.
THE CENTRIST
“Kick the hubris out of Harrisburg!” -- THE CENTRIST
"It is the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs." -- Albert Einstein
Remember in May! Before you vote, GettysBLOG!
Copyright © 2006: “THE CENTRIST”. All Rights Reserved.
2 comments:
Another thing you can do, contribute if you can.
Because of Russ Diamond's stance on gambling and other issues, it's not hard to deduce that he won't be getting the huge contributions that Swann and Rendell have. Let's give the guy some grassroots monetary support as well. Even little contributions can add up.
Absolutely correct.
We need to startt pumping signatures and dollars into the Diamond Campaign fund.
My feeling is that if he can get some exposure to the voters he'll get his message across and the voters will respond positively to that message.
Post a Comment