Raymer Makes Poker's Case to Republicans at CPAC2004 WSOP Champ Presents the Conservative Case |
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Last week, Greg Raymer and the Poker Players Alliance went into the lion’s den and came out alive.
At the 36th-annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., some of the Republican party’s staunchest conservatives came together to reflect on the status of their party and discuss the direction it should be heading.
Raymer and the PPA wanted to make it clear that protecting the rights of poker players should be on their agenda.
“I think a true conservative is someone who wants little or no government in his life,” said Raymer, the 2004 World Series of Poker main event champ. “He doesn’t want the government to tell him what to do.”
While support for online poker has by no means been one that has been strictly separated by party allegiances, some of poker’s harshest critics have indeed been Republican activists who argue that any kind of gambling defrays the moral fabric of the country and that online poker specifically presents a hazard to children.
Indeed, it was two top Republicans — former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and current Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl — who were the forces behind the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act, which hampered the poker industry by making it illegal for banks to transfer funds to illegal gaming sites.
But Raymer and the PPA wanted to let Republicans know it’s not only OK to be amenable toward online poker, but that it directly fits into the essence of conservatism.
“A lot of people, when they think of conservatives, they think of conservative Christians…who are obviously against gambling in all forms and would not be in favor of the PPA and what we’re trying to accomplish,” said Raymer. “But I think the true Republican, and certainly someone who’s a good conservative, is going to say that if it’s an activity that is engaged by an adult who is mentally competent, if they’re not hurting other people, I’m just going to have to…let them do it.”
Raymer warned against the mindset that government should protect people from themselves, saying that’s what our family and our communities are for. He also didn’t have kind words for Frist and Kyl, the legislators behind the UIGEA.
“I don’t think those guys are really conservative. They may or may not be good Republicans, but they’re not good conservatives,” said Raymer. “They don’t want the government telling them what to do, but they feel it’s their place to tell us what to do. Basically, they’re being paternalistic, and, to be honest, they’re being idiots.”
The PPA asked Raymer to come to the conference. The 2004 WSOP champ signed autographs and did both radio and TV interviews while in D.C., even making some time with fellow poker pro Annie Duke to host a charity poker tournament for under-privileged children in the D.C. area.
Raymer said he received a very positive reception at the conference, and was optimistic that the UIGEA would be reversed.
“I’m always optimistic, because I like to think, as a group, we’re smart enough to do the right thing,” said Raymer.
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