The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, was in Las Vegas last week, and was quick and forceful in letting the casino crowd know that Republicans in Congress do not share the views of their Virginia colleague Rep. Frank Wolf.
Wolf, of course, is violently anti-gambling, and it was his efforts primarily that led to the formation of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission.
Hastert told Vegas newsmen that Wolf's views were "his own and certainly not the views of the party leadership", and then repeated that message, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal,in a meeting with Steve Wynn and at a fund raiser with gaming executives, who then donated some $600,000 to the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee.
The newspaper quoted "one House observer" as saying that the consensus in the Republican conference is anti-personal gaming but pro the right to choose." Unless, of course, your choice happens to be the Internet.
While Wolf was singled out in the fund raising efforts, no one should be lulled into thinking he is the only strong gambling opponent in the House. Steve Largent of Oklahoma, Zach Wamp of Tennessee and Christopher Shays of Connecticut all share Wolf's views to one degree or another.
There are Wolfs in sheep's clothing all over the place.