The 2012 Standing Platform of the Republican Party of Minnesota includes language that discourages the expansion of the gambling industry:
Limit the Influence of Gambling in our State We seek to eliminate all state-sponsored gambling and oppose any expansion of gambling in Minnesota. In regards to casinos already in place, current gambling laws should be changed so that Minnesota is allowed to tax profits and revenue of tribal casino gambling in the state. (page 10)
That might give pause to public sector members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in the Minnesota state legislature, if a proposal to recruit new private sector membership in the gambling and gaming industry.
The Guardian's Ed Pilkington and Suzanne Goldenberg report in ALEC facing funding crisis from donor exodus in wake of Trayvon Martin row:
Alec also considered extending its remit to include the gambling industry, particularly online gambling, as a possible source of new members and revenue.
Alec reconvenes for its next nationwide meeting, described as a "states and nation policy summit", on Wednesday in Washington. The three-day event will be attended by hundreds of state legislators and corporate representatives.
According to ALEC Exposed and other sources, representative Pat Garfalo (R-Farmington) and senator Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake) share duties as American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) state public sector chairs for Minnesota. ALEC is meeting this week in Washington DC for the corporate bill factory's "States and Nation Policy Summit.
Kiffmeyer is in Washington DC today, as a photo (above) tweeted by Congresswoman Betty McCollum illustrates:
Rep. Peterson and I met with this great group of bipartisan MN state legislators in D.C. today. #mnleg pic.twitter.com/jvp2XBIxSz
— Betty McCollum (@BettyMcCollum04) December 4, 2013
Kiffmeyer is the blond woman in the back row standing next to state senator Scott Dibble (DFL, Minneapolis); the other two women are state senator Melissa Wicklund (DFL-Bloomington) and state representative Sandy Masin (DFL-Eagan). We've cropped the photo, which is posted at the top of this entry.
What's Kiffie doing in a crowd like that? The National Conference of State Legislatures is holding its Fall Forum in DC this week as well. It's not known whether Kiffmeyer is in Washington for the ALEC meeting as well. In 2011, PR Watch outlined A Comparison of ALEC and NCSL:
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) may appear on the surface to mimic the bipartisan educational archetype of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), but ALEC's corporate governance structure, near total reliance on corporate funding, and strong ties to legislators from predominantly one political party make it distinctly different. To learn more about ALEC overall, go to ALEC Exposed.
Quarrels over the role and scope of gambling in Minnesota within the Republican Party of Minnesota have gone public in this decade, although the platform language has remained fairly consistent. Former state auditor Pat Anderson registration as a lobbyist for Canterbury Park in 2011 generated headlines like The Republican Party's Gambling Problem (John Gilmore, Minnesota Conservative) and GOP family feud erupts over racino proposal (Cyndy Brucato, MinnPost).
There's some historical evidence that suggests that MNGOP legislators aren't as loyal to an anti-gambling plank as the activist base. While in the majority in 2011-2012, some Republican lawmakers maintained open minds about the industry.
In February 2012, PIM's Briana Bierschbach reported that Tribal gaming dollars go bipartisan, so Republican electeds did not remain fixed to the platform plank. CBS Minnesota reported in New Minnesota Vikings stadium law heads to governor amid questions over state's financing that concern was bipartisan about potential expansion of gambling to pay for the stadium should electronic pulltabs not work out.
UPDATE: A sharp-eyed reader notes that Kiffmeyer's co-chair state representative Pat Garofalo issued the press release, GAROFALO TO STATE: STAY OUT OF PEOPLE'S PERSONAL COMPUTERS: Bill introduced to stop state agencies from blocking access to internet gaming websites. The Farmington Republican stated:
“I’m certainly not condoning online gambling,” said Garofalo. “But I have serious concerns about government banning access to web sites. This is the kind of thing they do in communist China, not the United States of America. Besides, how about we focus on balancing the state’s $6.4 billion budget deficit and not harassing Minnesotans anymore than Democrat legislative leaders are already trying to do.”
Our source also noted that a "google for 'pat garofalo online poker' will bring up a bunch of stuff from 2009-ish." Indeed.
Kiffmeyer, on the other hand, was an honorary chair of Citizens Against Gambling Expansion [CAGE], according to ECM Publishers' 2005 article, Coalition aims to stop the expansion of gambling. Bluestem shakes our head at the end of that archived URL. [end update].
Here's a pdf of the proposal clipped from the Guardian's documents, embedded in ALEC facing funding crisis from donor exodus in wake of Trayvon Martin row. Bluestem suspects that Minnesota's ALEC members may discourage the group's courtship of this highly regulated industry.
ALEC Gaming and Gambling industry recruitment prospectus
Photo: A cropped version of the photo that United States Representative Betty McCollum (DFL--CD4) tweeted today.
If you enjoyed reading this post, consider giving a donation via mail (P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or paypal:
Comments