Williams to Kentucky race industry: "Drop dead."

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by Riot

That's not true here in central Kentucky, in Paris, Georgetown, Cynthiana (although the lines at the lottery are long enough Fridays! <g>) Louisville and Cincinnati are certainly more metropolitan, but churches - and what the pastors preach Sunday morning - has alot of pull around here. We just got liquor sales on Sunday (and remember we just got the ability to sell liquor in restaurants only about 7 years ago) in Georgetown, and religion was the only reason. Plenty of local non-horse people here very against adding more gambling (slots).

Sure, it's a good cover for the pols, but it's real.

There is very little religious opposition for the VLT's. It simply isn't true. I am not saying that there isn't a segment of the population that would vote against it but they won't spend money or go out of their way to try to defeat it. Virtually every dime that was spent in opposition to this measure came from "other" sources. Religion is simply a cover. Hell in the end the Republicans weren't even bothering using the moral high ground anymore.

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

There is very little religious opposition for the VLT's. It simply isn't true. I am not saying that there isn't a segment of the population that would vote against it but they won't spend money or go out of their way to try to defeat it. Virtually every dime that was spent in opposition to this measure came from "other" sources. Religion is simply a cover. Hell in the end the Republicans weren't even bothering using the moral high ground anymore.

Chuck, there's two populations here: the horse people and politicians, and the general public - who really doesn't care all that much, as it doesn't directly affect them.

In the general public spectre, yes, religion against slots is a rallying cry. Yes, I agree, they didn't spend alot of money fighthing it, as they really didn't give a darn one way or the other. That was my point. Kentucky, as a state, the general citizenry, really lets the horse people do their own thing. They don't care.

Edit: that said, I think that if this got on a general population ballot, it would pass (probably our only chance now), but it would degenerate into the religious vs everyone else. I do think the general public in Kentucky, overall, would vote for slots, but with amendments added that they could have "not in MY county!" type of thing (so the local pols would kiss butt to their constituents)

[Riot]

Wow. I just went to kentucky.com (the Lexington Herald-Leader site) and although there's a picture and a comment, the story isn't easy to find at all.

[Left Bank]

When it's all gone,the masses will be bitching.

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Left Bank

When it's all gone,the masses will be bitching.

Or buying up the land to put subdivisions down; or being the ones buying the house in yet another bland suburban box subdivision.

Every time I drive Man O' War's birthplace on Georgetown Road, now filled with small suburban houses, I wanna puke.

Oh - there is a roadside historical marker, though

[phystech]

Reading this thread is like taking an 8 yr stroll down memory lane for me - only insert the name "Busch" instead of "Williams", and the state of "Maryland" instead of "Kentucky".

Exact same game of politics, exact same arguments for and against, but this time the political party is switched. 6 years ago in MD, it was the Repubs backing slots with the Dems firmly propped against. Put a Dem in as Gov, and Dems are for, Reps against.

Get out your belly ache medicine because this will take so many twists in turns as it plays out that it will make you sick - assuming it hasn't already.

Our referendum passed almost 8 months ago and the one slots facility proposal (Cordish) that seemed to have the best chance of being anything is languishing with a local piss-ant County Zoning Hearing Board where those morons keep putting off voting yea or nay to re-zoning the land.