Hi All,
This is my first diary so play nice. I haven't read anything about this on dailykos yet, so I thought I would mention it. It is awesome and surprising that the Kyl vs. Pederson race has closed as much as it has. One small story line I hadn't picked up on before is the support of the online poker community for Pederson.
For those who don't know, online poker in the US has taken a huge hit. In a move so traditionally ridiculous I don't know what to do but laugh, Kyl appended legislation to the port security bill that modified the Wire Act. This change was designed to destroy online gambling in the US. Of course, this hasn't happened. All of the publicly traded online gambling sites, such as party poker, have indicated that they are leaving the US market. However, private sites, such as Full Tilt Poker, are still open for business. In addition, reputable money transfer sites and methods have closed, and newer, less credible, options have replaced them. This legislation will certainly stop a number of people from playing online poker as it is now harder to begin playing. However, this certainly will not stop any gambling addicts. In short, this seems to be mostly a case of Kyl either pursuing a personal agenda or pandering to a values base and accomplishing little of substance but regulating the free time of a large number of people.
For the most part, poker players have just grumbled and bitched. But now they're making a statement. A group has formed on ActBlue,
Poker Players against Kyl, and already in just a few days almost $11,000 has been raised. You can read more about this at the
Two Plus Two Forums. As they mention, it seems that Kyl just doesn't think that online poker players can make a difference, as in the Arizona Daily Star, it was reported that
Kyl PR man Andy Chasin dismissed the industry's flexing.
"They have the same right to vote, but if you look at the demographics ..." he said, drifting into a long pause before changing the subject.
The pause implied that perhaps gamblers aren't the most diligent voters.
Mark Bergman, Pederson's top campaign spinmeister, had an interesting twist on the issue, somehow tying it to Kyl's support of the war in Iraq.
"He spent his time working on online gambling instead of the war in Iraq," he said.
But I'm hoping it does make a difference. In the two plus two forum, one player wrote
Just added $25. And, as a 31 year old, I will vote for the first time in my life.
Every little bit helps. If you maybe play a little poker after reading kos, go donate. Or, if you know someone in Arizona, maybe in college, let them know that Kyl is after their free time. Let's really show Kyl that poker players aren't to be poked in the eye and completely dismissed! I'm really hoping that this could affect the GOTV at the colleges in AZ.