Tabitha Knerr at Faithfuldemocrats.com just posted a great piece on all the many ties between Republicans and the gambling industry that are starting to pop up in races around the country.  I commented recently on the effect Sheldon Adelson–the GOP operative behind Freedom’s Watch, who made his billions owning Vegas casinos and investing in the Chinese regime–is having on Congressional races. 

Tabitha connected a lot more dots than I did and demonstrated that, despite the fact that Abramoff is still just settling into his cell, Republicans are quickly reestablishing their ties with organized gambling from the McCain camp down to the Republican running to reclaim Mark Foley’s old seat in FL (she included a bunch of links to all the buzz being generated by Christians pushing back against this trend through local blogs and the media).  

But more than just pointing out the political implications, she provided a very good perspective on why this trend is so troubling…and why Christians should be paying attention.  I’ve included an excerpt below (click here to read the entire post):

There are two key issues at stake here: Gambling & Special interest lobbying:

Special Interests 

Not all special interests are bad. The American Cancer Society is a special interest. Mothers Against Drunk Driving is a special interest. Disabled American Veterans is a special interest. I am not opposed to these organizations talking to my Representative and reminding them of the impact that legislation will have the sick, the grieving, and the forgotten. We should not buy into the McCain rhetoric that all special interests are bad.

But some special interests are less beneficial, less concerned with the common good, less concerned about the least of these than they are about protecting their worldly riches. Some special interests are downright dangerous. The difficult part about being a responsible citizen is that you must engage in the complicated task of separating the sheep from the goats. Luckily for us, we were given some instruction in how such decisions are made…it is indeed worth finding out which special interests [candidates] are tied to. Will we support a candidate who has a “special interest” in promoting addiction, greed, and recklessness? Or a candidate who has a “special interest” in caring for the hungry, the sick, and the imprisoned?

Gambling

Ah, gambling. Guaranteed money for those who own the games and racetracks, but a wolf in sheep’s clothing for those who actually play and bet. Its one of the most effective ways ever discovered to make poor people even poorer…Many Christians object to gambling as a personal vice, but as a person who believes in the freedom Christ gives us to choose virtue over vice, I try to avoid legislating morality. The issue, as I see it, is not about moral policing, but about how we treat an industry that is based not on providing goods or services, but on transferring wealth from the poor to the already-rich…