The Crucial Role of the Independents
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on April 12th, 2009 4:36 am by HL
The Crucial Role of the Independents
WASHINGTON — It looks like perfect political symmetry — party-line voting in Congress on the first key pieces of Barack Obama’s agenda, matching a deep partisan divide within the electorate in judging his performance as president. But, for reasons that require a little explanation, it may be wrong to conclude from this evidence, as many are doing, that the center has fallen out of American politics and Obama is on a fool’s errand if he continues to pursue bipartisan support.
Racing Past the Constitution
WASHINGTON — Rampant redistribution of wealth by government is now the norm. So is this: It inflames government’s natural rapaciousness and subverts the rule of law. This degeneration of governance is illustrated by the Illinois Legislature’s transfer of income from some disfavored riverboat casinos to racetracks. Illinois has nine licensed riverboat casinos and five horse-racing tracks. In 2006, supposedly to “address the negative impact that riverboat gaming has had” on Illinois horse racing, the Legislature — racing interests made huge contributions to Gov. Rod Blagojevich — mandated a transfer of 3 percent of the gross receipts of the four most profitable casinos, those in the Chicago area, to the state’s horse-racing tracks. This levy, subsequently extended to run until 2011, will confiscate substantially more than $100 million.
