Two weeks ago, former Representative Jim Leach, Republican of Iowa and long-standing opponent of Internet gambling, came out in support of Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate.
"We will have more of the same," Mr. Leach, as quoted by the Associated Press, said unfavorably of Mr. Obama's electoral opponent, John McCain.
Lest we forget that Mr. Leach was the driving force behind the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. And while Mr. Obama has not declared a position on the subject of Internet gambling, the irony of an endorsement from the man who tried to defeat Internet gambling in the United Stated for nearly 10 years can hardly go unnoticed.
The day after Mr. Leach publicly endorsed Mr. Obama, the Poker Players Alliance -- or P.P.A. -- which lobbies on behalf of United States poker players, said that more than 160 of its members had solicited the Republican Party to remove language in the Republican platform calling for Internet gambling prohibition.
"Millions of Americans suffer from problem or pathological gambling that can destroy families," a portion of the platform read. "We support legislation prohibiting gambling over the Internet or in student athletics by student athletes who are participating in competitive sports."
The Republican Platform Committee today announced that it has removed the prohibition language from its draft platform, which it will present to the Republican National Committee next week in Minneapolis, Minn.
"I think we're hopeful that that (the language's removal) will remain," John Pappas, executive director of the P.P.A., told IGamingNews by telephone today. "There's still opportunity for the committee to amend it, but we think it would be an error in judgment if they were to reverse what seems to be a pretty sound decision to maintain people's personal freedoms on the Internet."
The prohibition language -- a contentious issue among poker players -- had been included in the platforms of 2000 and 2004. And while dissent from poker players certainly seems to have caught the attention of the G.O.P., party members have taken the news philosophically.
"We can use this to make the tent bigger," Senator Richard M. Burr, Republican of North Carolina and co-chairman of the platform committee, told Congressional Quarterly.
The platform committee is expected to finish with its amendments tomorrow, in order to have the platform ready for adoption at the Republican National Convention on Sept. 1.