I'm all for the "Hey, we're the voters, and oh, about a million of us are active players, and a lot more don't see a problem with poker (including the pres)...so knock it off, ok? You work for us."
We, as voters sometimes forget where the power is. It's us.
RF
I like you, RF.
The problem is the field is too . . . anti . . . poker. Where I am (somewhere in Iraq), some kid lost $900 in one day playing poker - presumably online. He went to his chain of command, and now they're coming down hard on people who are playing poker (It's against general order #1, which isn't so much about guarding your post so much as it is conducting yourself overseas. Also against GO #1: Pornography. Just saying.)
If a kid plays against his limits and loses $900 playing poker and goes and complains about it, it's obviously not the kid's fault, it's poker's fault. This is the mindset that plagues our country, and it's just an example from a group of warriors overseas with too much free time on our
hands.
The real problem is, in my opinion, people who poker doesn't effect getting to vote on the matter. It's a fact that
casinos make money and provide jobs, whether online or off, provided they have a successful business model and are reputable - Commerce Casino in LA, or
pokerstars, for instance. While yes - people with addictive personalities who aren't responsible with their money might spend their month's rent at the tables on payday, they could do the same with firearms, alchohol, drugs, or softball gear.
My father was not a gambler, but he was by no means responsible with his money. As such when I expressed interest in poker, all I got from my mother were words of caution. It wasn't until I started showing positive income (one that when I was running good rivaled her own college education's income) that I got her off my case.
She to this day warns me to take it easy, and not get in to deep in poker, when she has no reason to fear I will. She gets a vote, and she thinks it's bad. All her friends get votes, and they probably think it's bad.
The problem isn't that poker is dangerous, because alchohol and fire arms are dangerous. Poker, either recreationally or proffessionally, is merely a set of rules to which those who are lucky or good at math or good at reading people have an advantage at. The person themself is dangerous that lets themselves get thrown into a situation where they need to win back everything they lost with this last $100 or they're not going to be able to pay for their car. Poker is merely a means to get there.
My bottom line is: People need to take responsibility for their actions. And the only way this is going to happen is if people are held accountable. It's too easy to blame somebody else when you're on the TV and then let the minds of the people be shaped by your silver tongue rather than logical thought.