Political Extra Blog Index
State Referenda
October 29, 2008
Obama = gambling foe?

As the election season winds up, observers have seen U.S. Rep. Tom Allen attempting to hitch his wagon to presidential nominee Barack Obama.

And CasinosNo! is apparently taking a page from that same playbook. Gambling nemesis Dennis Bailey, executive director of CasinosNo!, put out a release last night headlined BARACK OBAMA: GAMBLING FOE"

The release said that as far back as 2001, Obama described himself as "generally skeptical" of gambling as an economic development tool and likened the expansion of slot machines to the state lottery, in which he said, "You'll have a whole bunch of people who can't afford it gambling their money away, yet they're going to do it."

Two polls released this week put Question 2 on the Nov. 4 ballot as too close to call. That question would legalize a casino in Oxford County, and that's been Bailey's big fight this year. Is Bailey worried about those numbers?

In his release, Bailey noted:
"Supporters of casino gambling like to paint the opposition as moral enforcers or religious zealots. But Obama's opposition - like the opposition of another presidential candidate, Ralph Nader - show that you can be a liberal Democrat and still oppose the spread of casino gambling."

Yes, you read that right. Bailey is tying himself to not one, but two presidential candidates: Obama and Nader.

Posted by Matt Wickenheiser at 09:40 AM
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The Bloggers

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Dieter Bradbury is the Press Herald's political correspondent. His career at the newspaper started in 1980, and includes 21 years as a reporter and seven as an editor. Bradbury is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine.


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