Re: Congress now making MAJOR push to ban Internet Gambling :-(


boston_guy_992@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
Anyone have any idea whether they will try and force ISP's to block
access to Pinnacle, Party Poker, Neteller, etc?

=================================================================
The 'American Values Agenda'

Posted By Carpetbagger On 28th June 2006 @ 11:13 In General | 17
Comments

Congressional Republicans gave up, quite literally, on passing a
substantive policy agenda several weeks ago, choosing instead to focus
on divisive bills, which they didn't expect to pass, in the hopes of
rallying the base in advance of the midterm elections.

The result has been as annoying as it is futile. The better part of
June has been spent on an anti-gay amendment, a permanent repeal of the
estate tax, and a flag-burning measure, none of which were expected, or
even designed, to pass.

Of course, it's only June. Have congressional Republicans run out of
divisive, culture-war votes? Not even close.

House Republicans intend to hold votes this summer and fall touching on
abortion, guns, religion and other priority issues for social
conservatives, part of an attempt to improve the party's prospects in
the midterm elections.

The "American Values Agenda" also includes a proposed constitutional
amendment to ban gay marriage which already has failed in the Senate a
prohibition on human cloning and possibly votes on several popular tax
cuts.

"Radical courts have attempted to gut our religious freedom and
redefine the value system on which America was built. We hope to
restore some of those basic values through passing this legislative
agenda and renewing our country's commitment to faith, freedom and
life," Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said Tuesday.

The "American Values Agenda" is basically James Dobson's playbook.

Among the ideas:

* Strip federal courts of jurisdiction on cases involving the
separation of church and state.

* Require that some women seeking to end their pregnancies be informed
the procedure "will cause the unborn child pain."

* A ban on human cloning.

* Prohibit the confiscation of legal firearms during national
emergencies.

* Apply anti-gambling laws to the Internet.

The next question, of course, is whether any of this will work. For the
far-right GOP base, who feel as if they've been largely ignored for the
last two years, this might be too-little, too-late. The religious right
movement is crazy, but it's not stupid. If these 11th hour votes are
just being thrown in to placate Dobson's followers, and none of them
actually become law, the scheme may not do much to rally support for
November.

As for regular ol' voters, one also has to wonder if picking a
culture-war fight might backfire. It's not a great pitch to the
electorate: "We gave up on trying to pass substantive legislation, but
look at all these right-wing ideas we voted on (but failed to pass)!"

It's been painfully obvious for a while now, but it's almost comical
how unserious congressional Republicans are about matters of state.
This is what the "party of ideas" has come to? It's kind of
embarrassing.

Tags: Congress, Republicans, midterm, elections, amendment, estate tax,
flag-burning, culture-war, American Values Agenda, James Dobson,
jurisdiction, separation of church and state, unborn child, pain,
cloning, gambling, GOP, base, party of ideas


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Article printed from The Carpetbagger Report:
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com

URL to article: http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/7797.html

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