Online Gambling Ban Proponent Leach BootedHe Was a Cosponsor of the UIGE Act |
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Fans of online poker and those who have been following the consequence of the recent passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act will recognize Jim Leach as one of the architects of the bill.
Now, thanks to the voters of Iowa, Leach will no longer have a voice in the House of Representatives, a voice he often used to rail against online gambling. Leach was defeated in last night's election in a close race with Democrat Dave Loebsack, 53 percent to 44 percent. An independent candidate won 3 percent of the vote.
The other main proponents of the UIGE Act up for reelection, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Senator John Kyl (R-Ariz.), both won their races. Goodlatte won handily because he faced two independent candidates. Kyl's race was a little closer, but he still kept his seat by more than 100,000 votes.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), who worked hard to get the UIGE Act attached to a must-pass bill to increase port security in September, choose not to run for reelection. He is considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.
Frist first thrust himself into the front lines of the UIGE Act battle when he visited Iowa for a Leach-sponsored "public hearing" on the UIGE Act that featured a panel of bill supporters. Click here to read about the hearing.
He then was the driving force to have the UIGE Act attached as a rider on the Safe Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006, which passed nearly unanimously.
Leach had this to say after the UIGE Act was passed:
"It is extraordinary how many American families have been touched by large losses from Internet gambling," Leach said. "As a professor of business at the University of Illinois has noted, the Internet is 'crack cocaine' for gamblers. 'There are no needle marks,' he says. 'There is no alcohol on the breath. You just click the mouse and lose your house.'"
He, as well as the other three men, also claimed that online gambling weakens national securty by providing terrorists an outlet to launder money.
Leach's defeat means that new people will fill seats on the committees of Financial Services and International Relations. He served the House since he first was elected in 1976.
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