AL Governor Riley Suffers Blow to His Anti-Slots Campaign
Alabama Governor Bob Riley is having a difficult time with the gambling issue. For months now he has campaigned hard to keep illegal slot machines out of the state but he is getting little support from legislators. He has had various rulings against him regarding the issue. A formal ruling came against him when he tried to ban bars and pubs from having slot machines. He created a task force to combat illegal slot machines and put people in line to help enforce new laws. Legislators shot down his decision though and yet another battle was lost. It’s been months since the battle began and both sides have worked tirelessly to state their point of the issue.
One of the main issues he has is now coming down to his own cabinet. Recently, David Barber stepped down as the head of Riley’s anti gambling task force saying that he had done nothing illegal but was aware of the appearance of impropriety. The tough part about this is that Barber was hand picked by Riley for the job. It’s not good news for Riley who is seeing his own reputation sullied at the turn of events leading up to his appointee’s resignation.
The trouble began when Barber was caught playing at a Mississippi casino. Though that isn’t illegal, considering his position with Riley, it was a highly questionable act. He is after all the appointee to help run a task force against gambling and then he is caught gambling. In the end, Barber not only played at the casino, he also won more than $2,300. The issue is not necessarily the fact that he was playing slot machines; it was that the campaign against them had made this a moral issue. If the lead of his anti-slot machine group was playing the games, then obviously he did not truly believe that there was anything wrong with the slot machines. In the world of emotionally-charged debates, actions speak louder than words. And Barber’s small move to play slots was a loud sign for those in support of legalizing gambling and regulating it for the purpose of millions of dollars in tax-revenues.
