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Weekly Update from Rich Muny, VP of Player Relations
Last week, I shared with you the terrific news that we successfully rebuffed the backroom efforts of Las Vegas Sands Corp. and its CEO, billionaire Sheldon Adelson, to get their so-called “Restoration of America’s Wire Act” (RAWA) attached to must pass legislation during the lame duck session of Congress. This week, I am pleased to share that we can now claim victory in the lame duck!
This is terrific and is worthy of celebration. That being said, we have another tough fight that starts the moment the new Congress is seated on January 20th. Be assured PPA is already waging the 2015 fight against RAWA on Capitol Hill and for authorization of online poker at the state level.
We at PPA wish to thank you and everyone who stood strong and refused to allow Sheldon Adelson and his cronies to usurp our rights. We also wish you and yours a merry Christmas, a happy New Year, and a wonderful holiday season!
Q&A with PPA Executive Director John Pappas
I had a chance to sit down with PPA Executive Director John Pappas for a Q&A on some of the questions we have received from the poker community.
Q) Much of PPA’s Capitol Hill lobbying work tends to be behind the scenes, where the poker community doesn’t get to see it in action. Can you share your thoughts on the lobbying efforts by PPA and other anti-RAWA groups and some specific lobbying actions?
Yes, PPA’s lobbying strategies tend to be less visible to the general public (as do nearly all successful lobbying campaigns) in comparison to our very visible grassroots activism. Nevertheless, our Capitol Hill team has considerable impact on the lawmaking process. The recent “lame duck” is a perfect example of our lobbying team building alliances to defeat the effort to include RAWA in a must pass bill.
Our team was preparing well before the November elections for a post- election showdown. As part of that, we canvassed Capitol Hill, meeting with lawmakers and staff from relevant committees like Judiciary and Appropriations, as well as with Senate and House Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle. We discussed the political and policy shortcomings of RAWA and put lawmakers on notice that pushing this bill in the lame duck would trample on the notion of good governance and would be forever be seen as an example of crony capitalism. Even before the election, we were muddying the waters for RAWA and exposing its many deficiencies.
After the election, our team was laser focused on getting as many lawmakers to express their concern with RAWA to their respective Leaders. We also worked with members and staff to alert us should RAWA come up in legislative discussions. This proved to be invaluable intel throughout the process, and we were able to combat RAWA each time it was considered.
The best part is that we didn’t have to do it alone. Aside from the poker community’s impressive grassroots, numerous independent groups and associations weighed in with strong opposition to RAWA. In some cases, we were walking out of a Congressional meeting and representatives from one of these groups were in the lobby waiting to speak with the office next. It was a powerful combination that was impossible for Congress to ignore.
Q) PPA cosponsored Campaign for Liberty’s (C4L) Liberty Political Action Conference in Washington D.C. three months ago, where we had a terrific opportunity to meet with C4L president former Congressman Ron Paul, liberty-minded politicians, and C4L leadership on the issue of online poker. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Paul appeared on my webcast (listen here) and authored a terrific piece strongly arguing against RAWA. This was followed by action alerts from Dr. Paul and C4L asking their membership to tell Congress to oppose RAWA.
Do you think the PPA outreach helped to put this on C4L’s front burner? And, what effect do you think Ron Paul’s very vocal support had on generating media coverage and public attention on the behind-closed-doors RAWA push?
Absolutely. While Dr. Paul has long been an opponent of Internet gaming restrictions, it is probably not something he thinks about when he wakes up every morning. Getting in front of him and C4L at their September conference gave us the opportunity to present the potential lame-duck threat and underscore how RAWA ran counter to the organization’s core principles. It helped a great deal that our booth created the most buzz at the conference and hundreds of participants signed our petition in opposition to Internet poker prohibition.
As the lame duck drew near, they knew they could not sit idly by. In fact, they came out with great force. Dr. Paul’s op-ed lambasting RAWA as a crony capitalism give-away to Sheldon Adelson really put a spotlight on the issue. As many in the media reported, his scathing criticism of the bill likely led to the abrupt cancellation of a planned hearing on RAWA in the House Judiciary Committee.
Q) Several groups, including Americans for Tax Reform, Competitive Enterprise Institute, the American Conservative Union, Digital Liberty, and the Fraternal Order of Police, were also vocal in their opposition to RAWA. Please share your thoughts on the importance of developing and maintaining relationships and communication channels with these groups and with other potentially supportive organizations.
We need all the allies we can get when you consider that Sheldon Adelson and his billions are on the other side of the issue. There are great avenues to reach out to these groups like the popular “Wednesday Group” meeting sponsored by ATR were conservative groups and activists meet each week in Washington to discuss issues. The PPA has made a point of being at these meetings and interfacing with attendees so we could keep Internet poker relevant and top-of-mind. When the lame duck arrived, these groups jumped at the chance to decry RAWA as an affront to states’ rights and individual liberty.
We also do the same with liberal organizations who had no problem decrying crony capitalism for the benefit of Sheldon Adelson, who is one of the largest Republican political funders.
Q) The poker community was very active on social media. What are you hearing from lawmakers’ offices and from lawmakers themselves on the effectiveness of this type of outreach? And, do you think this helped PPA succeed in the lame duck where many other causes did not?
Our lobbying activity cannot and will not succeed on its own. Lobbying is about education, relationships, and sharing and gathering intelligence. It is an inside game. Grassroots is all about opinions and votes, and it is has the keen attention of every lawmaker. All year round (not just during the lame-duck), multiple times a week, a lawmaker or staffer tells me, or someone from our team, “I am always hearing from your poker players.” That alone proves our grassroots is effective. It is the air cover to our lobbying ground attack. Without it, we are just a bunch of suits in a meeting.
The poker community’s activism, especially on social media, raises the awareness and makes my job so much easier. Not once have I gone into a meeting and had a staffer or lawmaker say, “I have never heard about this issue.” Our grassroots forces them to research it and respond to the constituents who contact them. So, anyone who doesn’t think an email, a tweet or a phone call matters should join me in my next Congressional meeting and hear the feedback I get every time.
Q) What’s the outlook for 2015?
This issue is not going away. At the federal level, we have to go undefeated. Opponents of Internet poker only have to win once with a federal prohibition. So we are already working on our 2015 strategy and our team will be working as soon as Congress returns in January. We also have to be proactive in the states. Our best federal defense is progress in the states. It will make it much harder to pass a national prohibition on Internet poker as more and more states embrace regulation. The PPA, our state directors, and poker players across the country need to be pushing their state lawmakers to action. We look forward to the challenges next year will bring. I think the lame-duck fight proved how effective our coalition (grassroots and direct advocacy) can be.
Webcast: Poker Advocacy with Rich Muny
On this week’s Poker Advocacy with Rich Muny webcast, PPA MN State Director Mike Qualley and terrific poker activists Lori Davenport and Gail Schiffli joined me for a great poker panel chat. We discussed the successful pushback to keep RAWA out of lame duck legislation, the importance of grassroots advocacy, and the fight in 2015. You won’t want to miss this podcast!
- Directly downloadable MP3 file (right click to save, left click to listen)
- Free iTunes download
Poker Advocacy with Rich Muny airs live Monday at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on OnTilt Radio. Each show features great guests and the best discussion on poker legislation. Please be sure to tune in every Monday at www.ontiltradio.com.
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Thank you for your continued support!
The PPA wishes to keep active members like yourself updated on the latest poker advocacy news by periodically sending out select events and headlines. We hope you find it informative and thank you for your continuing support.
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