Do Democrats want to be the party of the gambling industry?

[Gary Ruskin <gary@essential.org>]

Commercial Alert					August 2, 1999

	Ralph Nader and Dr. James Dobson, President of Focus on the Family,
sent a letter today to Joe Andrew, Chairman of the Democratic National
Committee, asking whether it is true that "Democrats in Washington want
to be the party of the gaming industry."  The letter follows:

Dear Mr. Andrew:

	We write to inquire about a news article in the Las Vegas Sun, on June
3, 1999, regarding the National Gambling Impact Study Commission.  The
article reports that "Two weeks ago, President Bill Clinton raised
$400,000 for the Democratic National Committee in Las Vegas.  During
that visit, DNC Chairman Joe Andrew told the Sun that "Democrats in
Washington want to be the party of the gaming industry."

	We have two questions for you:

1.	Do "Democrats in Washington" or the Democratic Party "want to be the
party of the gaming industry"?

2.	If so, what policies will the Democratic Party advance in support of
the gambling industry?

	We are concerned when any political party is reported to boast that it
wishes to be "the party of the gaming industry." The gambling industry
is the bane of millions of Americans, and a proximate cause in countless
divorces, cases of domestic violence, bankruptcies, suicides, and
homelessness, as well as despondency, ruination, impoverishment, despair
and many other social ills and familial pain.*

	We want to know where you and the Democratic Party stand on gambling.

Sincerely,				


Ralph Nader				James. C. Dobson
					President
					Focus on the Family

* See attached for details.

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Commercial Alert's web page on gambling is at
<http://www.essential.org/alert/gambling/index.html>  The Las Vegas Sun
article is at
<http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/text/1999/jun/03/508880427.html>

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Gary Ruskin | Commercial Alert 
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Phone: (202) 296-2787 | Fax (202) 833-2406
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