Background Checks Needed with Advent of Casinos

Release:

COLUMBUS—House Republican Leader William G. Batchelder of Medina, today announced his commitment to safeguarding casino licenses and preventing individuals who have committed crimes in the past from obtaining a casino license, if Issue 3 is approved by voters this November.

“If Issue 3 passes, the General Assembly has an obligation to ensure that the Casino Control Commission carefully screens applicants who want to own and run the Ohio casinos and makes sure that licenses are not granted to anyone with serious gambling infractions in their past," Batchelder said. “Many other states ask applicants about past gambling charges, even if they have been later expunged or overturned on appeal. This industry is highly regulated for a reason, and Ohio should not bow to pressure and adopt regulations that are lower than industry standards."

As per Section 3770.051 of the Ohio Revised Code, the director of the State Lottery Commission must request the criminal records of any vendor with whom the commission is considering entering into a contract, to protect the integrity of the state’s online gaming system or instant ticket system. Batchelder seeks to extend a variation of this law to apply to Ohio casinos, should the issue pass a public vote.

“It is prudent that policymakers work together to ensure there are safeguards in place such as background checks, so that anyone with a criminal record cannot apply for a license to operate casino in Ohio,” Batchelder said. “I can remember the Ohio Lottery suffering from scandal in the early 1970s caused by the lack of safeguards. Clearly defined rules and regulations on something as vague as gambling are necessary to prevent the dismal mistakes of the past. I urge my legislative colleagues to come together to proactively work and prevent the potential abuse that could come from Issue 3.”

Assistant Republican Leader Louis Blessing Jr. of Cincinnati, who is an opponent to Issue 3, stated the following: “A review of other state standards suggests that criminals would likely be denied a casino license in other states. The cavalier attitude that individuals with similar pasts, who apply for a license here in Ohio tells me they think previous mistakes are just college pranks. This is another reason why we need to know the identity of all of the investors. If the main financial backer can’t get a license, can their partners? We have no idea because he refuses to list the other investors."

Other states have similar laws that serve to uphold the integrity of the state casino system. According to Blessing’s research, Pennsylvania regulators ask casino applicants to list all ‘offenses or charges,’ even if the charges were later dismissed, or downgraded.

In Indiana, applicants are asked whether they have ever been ‘arrested, detained, charged, indicted, convicted, received pro-trial diversion, pleaded guilty or nolo contendere or forfeited bail concerns any criminal offense, either felony or misdemeanor…’ In Colorado, the first question regulators ask is, “Have you ever been convicted of any gambling-related felony at any time?"

Outlook for Dem Govs Grim....

Wow, T-Shirt Ted is finally being held to account for his actions, and people are waking up to the idea that Ed Rendell is a joke. Shocking, but apparently true...From Michael Barone:

With polls showing a drop in Barack Obama's job rating and sinking support for the Democrats' health care plans, there is evidence of collateral damage where you might not expect to find it, in the standing of Democratic governors. Pennsylvania's Ed Rendell is suddenly getting negative job ratings in both the Quinnipiac and the Franklin and Marshall polls -- his lowest marks in seven years as governor. Ohio's Ted Strickland, who has spent most of his first term working amicably with Republican legislators, scores under 50 percent in the latest Quinnipiac poll and has only tenuous leads over two Republicans, John Kasich and Mike DeWine, who may run against him next year.

Obviously Mr. Barone did not get the memo that Mike DeWine is running for attorney general, which should tell you something. Just think, if the ORP and "leaders" like Jon "hug me teddy" Husted had stood up against T Shirt Ted and Big Government more, maybe, just maybe Ted would be more in the tank. But no, "hug me teddy" Husted convinced reps like Danny Bubp and others to roll over on the governor's budgets, and bango, no more Republican majority in the House. Just think, if the ORP would do more than talk about lowering taxes and balancing budgets (anyone remember the difference between Bobby Taft's rhetoric and his actual performance?), we might be in even better shape.

However, it is not just these old Dem stalwarts who are in trouble:

In the two governor races being contested this year, Republicans seem to have an advantage. Republican Bob McDonnell has led Democrat Creigh Deeds in all but one poll and picked up the support of Black Entertainment Television billionaire Sheila Johnson, one of the biggest contributors to the incumbent, Democratic National Chairman Tim Kaine. New Jersey incumbent Jon Corzine, who spent more than $100 million on narrow wins for senator in 2000 and governor in 2005, is 15 points behind Republican Chris Christie. Corzine will not be helped by the indictment of multiple Jersey pols, most of them Democrats, in a case initiated by Christie when he was U.S. attorney.

There's an argument that these results hold little relevance to the standing of the national parties. Almost every state faces severe fiscal problems, and standoffs between a governor and a legislature can drag the governor's ratings way down, as in the case of California's Arnold Schwarzenegger. Moreover, a governor's personal strengths and weaknesses can override party identification; one of the nation's highest-rated governors is Dave Freudenthal, a Democrat in very Republican Wyoming.

Even so, these numbers should be troubling for Democrats. Rendell and Strickland are attractive personalities with some penchant for centrist policies. Both were suggested as possible running mates for Barack Obama (both sensibly swatted away those suggestions). Corzine is running in a state that, with a rising immigrant population and an outflow of affluent residents, has been solidly Democratic for a dozen years. Altogether these states have 69 electoral votes, and Obama won all four by comfortable margins last November.

Democratic governors in other important states also have been getting low marks from voters. North Carolina's freshly elected Bev Perdue has only 26 percent of voters willing to re-elect her. Colorado's Bill Ritter, Washington's Christine Gregoire, Oregon's Ted Kulongoski, Wisconsin's Jim Doyle, Massachusetts' Deval Patrick, and Michigan's Jennifer Granholm have been getting submajority voter approval most of the year.

These governors are mostly able and attractive people, and every one of their states voted for Obama. None of them is tarred by scandal or not up to the job, as seems to be the case with the nation's lowest-rated governors, Nevada Republican Jim Gibbons and New York Democrat David Paterson.

Heh....I guess we gave the libs enough rope to hang themselves, and they are doing it....Michael Barone sees that this might be that Americans don't like big government (gee, didn't a former actor turned political genius say that a couple decades or so ago?):

take all this as evidence -- not conclusive evidence, but significant evidence -- for the proposition that economic distress does not predispose voters to favor bigger government. Not all the reasons for these governors' negative job ratings arise from debates over the size of government, but many do -- and voters are clearly not hankering for more government.

When you put these results together with Obama's slide in the polls, they suggest trouble for big-government Democrats. Pollster Scott Rasmussen now shows Obama with only 49 percent job approval; when he asked voters which party they'd like to represent them in the House, Republicans came out ahead of Democrats.

If the National GOP had any real conservative leadership, we would be so far ahead in the polls by now. No, instead, we are still twiddling our thumbs and trying to stick out olive branches to those who stab us in the back (see DeWine, Mike; Powell, Colin; et. al.). No, what we should be doing is educating the public on what conservative solutions look like. The real problem, I think, is that those in charge of our parties have no idea what such things look like, because they just talk the talk, they don't internalize it and apply it. But boy, if only we had some transformational leadership, imagine where we would be. To think that with the joke of leadership on the national (Lindsey Graham? uh, no. John McCain? Hell no. Mitt Romney? You must be joking. Anyone seen Massachusetts socialized medicine crisis?) or the state level (Hug Me Husted and Mike DeWine? Can anyone tell me what these and earthworms have in common besides eating dirt and slithering? Answer: no spines) that we are doing this well so far from 2012, is both heartening and foreboding. I wonder how the GOP will screw it up.

Voinovich on Specter

Statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich (R-OH) issued the following statement today regarding U.S. Senator Arlen Specter’s (R-PA) decision to switch political parties:



“I know Arlen and I know he loves the Unites States Senate, as evidenced by him coming back twice from fighting a grave illness to continue to serve Pennsylvanians. That being said, I am very disappointed in his decision. I know Arlen will continue to vote his conscience and I will do my best to ensure that all Republican members continue to have a voice in the Senate.”

Black Panthers in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Report

Sarah Palin and Cindy McCain will appear at Road to Victory Rallies this Saturday in the Keystone State.

Road to Victory Rally with Sarah Palin-Lancaster, PA
Clipper Magazine Stadium
650 N Prince St.
Lancaster, PA 17603
Saturday, October 18
Doors Open: 8:30am

If you would like details and information on where you may pick up your free tickets for this event Click here!

Road to Victory Rally with Cindy McCain-Wilkes-Barre, PA
Wilkes University
The Marts Center
274 South Franklin St.
Wilkes-Barre, PA. 18701
Saturday, October 18th
Doors Open: 4pm

If you would like details and information on where you may pick up your free tickets for this event Click here!

Pennsylvania Report

Two items to report and both are McCain-Palin rallies:

Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin will appear at a Road to Victory Rally, Wednesday, October 8th at Lehigh University. Doors open at 10:30am.

Road to Victory Rally-Bethlehem, PA
Lehigh University
Stabler Hall
124 Goodman Drive
Bethlehem, PA 18015
Doors Open: 10:30am

Governor Sarah Palin will appear at a Road to Victory Rally, Saturday, October 11th at Cambria County War Memorial Arena. Doors open at 8:00am.

Road to Victory Rally-Johnstown, PA
Cambria County War Memorial Arena
326 Napoleon St.
Johnstown, PA 15901
Saturday, October 11th
Doors Open: 8:00am

If you would like details and information on where you may pick up your free tickets for this event in Johnstown, PA click here!

Culture of Corruption Update: BonusGate Lawyers Edition

have you heard the latest out of Pennsylvania? You haven't? Well, let's get you all up to speed, shall we? Courtesy of the RSLC and the Herald Standard:

The House Democratic Caucus spent $677,284 on taxpayer-funded lawyers during the course of the attorney general’s investigation of the Bonusgate scandal - but it refuses to release the names of 110 caucus employees who benefited from the free legal advice.

William Chadwick, a consultant hired by House Majority Leader Rep. H. William DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, said attorney-client privilege and a sealed order from the presiding grand jury judge prohibits release of the names.

“It’s the right of a person to seek the advice of council without saying you have sought the advice of council, and without fear that getting help is going to be used against them,” said Chadwick, a former Philadelphia prosecutor whose firm was paid more than $800,000 to aid the caucus during the investigation. As part of that representation, Chadwick oversaw hiring free legal representation for caucus employees.

And I thought Ohio Democrats were bold! This takes the cake, man...

The NRSC hits the nail squarely on the head:

This is the type of behavior that drives taxpayers and voters nuts. Taxpayer funds should not be used to defend people who are being investigated for committing crimes that involved abusing the public trust using taxpayer dollars to fund political activity.

This brand of hubris should be a harbinger for PA Democrats...