There was a time when West Virginia Republicans were generally opposed to gambling. Many GOP legislators and public officials often spoke of the evils of running a government based on gambling revenue from horse and dog tracks as well as the lottery.
A number of Republicans would still insist wagering is evil and is a Democrat invention to enrich friends and families.
For years, Republicans capitalized on the image of a deadbeat dad losing all the family’s monthly government check down at the casino. Gambling simply devastated many families, we were told. Children went without milk because daddy was losing at the casino.
Lots of Republicans were strongly critical of former Democrat Governor Earl Ray Tomblin and his family connections to the dog racing industry. They talked of the state’s tracks as if they were the sole connection to underworld crime and criminals.
But no more.
The current state GOP leadership apparently has warmer feelings for gambling and gamblers. Based on recent developments, we might expect state Chair Mark Harris to nominate Tomblin for Republican of the Year. (Never mind that Tomblin isn’t a Republican; Harris operates on the “open tent” principle as he proved in Mingo County).
How do we know that Reverend Harris and his fundamental GOP followers now think gambling is okay?
Why by looking at the revenue side of recent committee reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, of course. From the looks of that, Harris, the medical doctor/preacher, is relying on gambling interests to fund his party’s operations. Add to that the obvious observation that it is dog track gambling that loves the Harris-run GOP and the switch from gambling opponents to cheerleaders is even more apparent.
Only four years ago, Republican leaders were leading the fight to remove the state “subsidy” from dog breeders for carrying on their occupation. Never mind that the money provided to breeders was part of wagering funds. When GOP candidates portrayed it, fathers were taking food from their babys’ mouths to “subsidize” greyhound owners.
Often Republicans told horror stories of families broken and ruined by gambling addiction. No doubt some were true.
Now, evidently, West Virginia Republicans hunger for more tales of mistreated greyhounds that are “put to sleep” when they quit winning races.
West Virginia Kennel Owners Association President Steve Sarras of Wheeling is the largest individual contributor to the state GOP this year.
The obvious question is: did the allegedly pious, self-righteous Bible thumpers who once dominated the state party on gambling issues have an epiphany? Did a spirit — Holy or otherwise — appear to let Harris and his hymnal-sharing quartets know that on any given Saturday night the 12 Apostles could be found down at the Rome Dog Race Track and Casino spending their babys’ clothing money on wine and betting the dogs?
What happened to effect this clear and meaningful change?
Why would the Kennel Owners President feel inspired to drop $10,000 at a time in the party offering plate? Did the choir sing, “Just as I Am” as he converted goodwill to cash? Was there a dry eye in the house? I doubt it.
Now in the interest of fair disclosure, I have always been a greyhound racing advocate. I think the economic benefits outweigh the negative consequences. And I understand that the Breeders Fund is not a taxpayer subsidy for breeders. Not one thin dime of taxpayer change goes into this incentive and it has probably kept the industry alive in the Mountain State.
But, as I said, Republicans traditionally call taking a small portion of betting money and giving it to breeders “a taxpayer subsidy.” While that’s simply not true, it’s been the GOP line. My casino support has been one of the “proofs” the sanctified offer that I am not a “real Republican.” What about them, I now must ask.
Harris has ordered that media inquiries be directed to his hand-picked executive director or I might ask him what his position on gambling is.
I might ask anyway.
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I’ve only met Sarras once, so really have had little chance to form an opinion of him. On first glance, he seems nice enough.
But he was involved in a bit of controversy four years ago that temporarily made him the butt of some track and casino jokes.
In fact, that 2017 controversy highlights Republican posturing on dog racing at that time. Suffice it to say that Sarras was linked to what the West Virginia Record termed “a doping scandal” in Florida.
Then-Republican State Senate President Mitch Carmichael of Jackson County is quoted in a 2017 Record story by Rusty Marks:
“’West Virginia’s possible ties to alleged drug abuse in the greyhound racing industry is obviously very troublesome,’ Carmichael said in an Aug. 1 (2017) letter to the state Racing Commission. The letter asks West Virginia Racing Commission Executive Director Joe Moore to look into whether positive cocaine tests for racing dogs at a Florida kennel owned by West Virginia Kennel Owners Association President Steve Sarras should raise concerns about dogs at Sarras’ kennel in Wheeling.”
In his letter, Carmichael sums up the then-Republican view of greyhound racing. “As you know, the reputation of the greyhound racing industry is lackluster to say the least,” Carmichael wrote in the letter. “Forty states now outlaw greyhound racing, and ours is one of only a handful that still have live events.
“There has been much debate in recent years as to whether the state should continue to subsidize greyhound racing, and this year the Legislature affirmatively voted to end such a practice,” the letter went on. “Our appearance in national news reports regarding the potential doping of greyhounds runs counter to the governor’s intent for greyhound racing to serve as a much-needed tourist attraction for our state.”
That sure doesn’t sound like the party of, by and for greyhound racing.
Media in Florida reported in June 2017 that 12 dogs had tested positive for a cocaine byproduct at the Orange Park dog track during the first three months of 2017. Some of the dogs were under the care of workers at a kennel owned by Sarras.
“Sarras said in a telephone interview that the doping story is being pushed by anti-racing groups and the minute amounts of the chemical found in the dogs that were tested were not the result of anyone intentionally giving the dogs drugs,” Marks wrote.
“We live in a contaminated world where there’s cocaine on everything,” Sarras told the reporter. “He said the positive tests indicating cocaine in the dogs were the result of environmental contamination, not doping.”
The minute amounts of cocaine found likely did not influence the outcome of any races. Sarras was investigated and remains a kennel operator. Tomblin vetoed the bill eliminating the Breeders Fund.
My point here is not to drag up some old, relatively-benign story about a kennel owner but to emphasize where the GOP has always stood on dog racing.
What changed the equation?
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In addition to asking Republicans why they never tried to pull Republican Governor Jim Justice into a special session on Covid masking, maybe 2022 voters should ask when and why they became dog racing proponents as well.
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Remember the old admonition: “follow the money.”
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Speaking of which, not only does Raleigh County State Senator Rollan Roberts get the award for Highest Self-evaluation (see earlier column) but he even offers his pastoral concern for only those who donate to his re-election campaign.
Roberts, one of few Harris cohorts in Raleigh, did a fund-raising appeal on social media worthy of the independent Baptist minister label he also wears. Or, as a fellow legislator suggested, “Reverend Swaggart.”
Roberts says his October fundraising goal is $30,000. There’s no word on whether that includes dog track donations or if they are counted separately.
“I have been told by several advisors that I must have $100k in campaign funds to compete with the $400k that will be spent against me between now and the primary election on May 10, 2022,” Roberts writes.
Is he joking? Four hundred thousand to beat him in a State Senate campaign? Let’s multiply that by two candidates in each of 17 different districts. Governor Justice will surely be listing the 2022 election as economic development!
“Any amount and every donation will be appreciated,” the preacher/senator writes. Then here’s the kicker: “and I will pray for God’s best blessings to be upon each and every giver. The prospect of serving a second four-year term will yield even greater accomplishments than my first term has.”
Aside for advocating for positions that personally benefit himself, it’s difficult to list the “accomplishments” of his first term.
But can you even fathom the religious leader who asks God to bestow his “best blessings” only on those who donate to his political campaign? Yet that’s what Roberts clearly does.
Mixing religion and politics is always wrong. In this case, the preacher/senator goes past the bounds of decency.
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It won’t take $400,000 for Republicans to beat Roberts.
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But we can guess where he’ll be praying for THOSE contributors to end up.
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Seeing a “tent revival” set up on a parking lot in Madison reminded me of my conversation 30 years ago with a Clay County politician.
“I know one thing. I’ll sure be glad when the election’s over Tuesday,” the county commissioner told me. “I can’t take much more.”
When I asked “much more of what,” he grinned slightly. “Going to revivals and getting saved and baptized,” he said.
“I’ve been saved and baptized 12 times during this campaign. I’m water-logged,” he concluded.
Yes, he did win.
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Redistricting is on the minds of every legislator as we press toward new borders being drawn for 2022.
In addition to losing a House of Representatives seat, all state legislative district lines must be redrawn.
The federal congressional redistricting is shaping up to he a north-south showdown. Neither the Northern Panhandle nor the Southern coalfields want to be in a new district with the growing Eastern Panhandle and Morgantown.
Both the NP and the South fear being gobbled alive by the EP. Many speculate the EP will dominate whichever district they end up in. The days of Charleston and/or Wheeling having hometown House representatives could be over for good.
The redistricting committee will have a whale of a job in making most legislators happy when day is done. I don’t envy the jobs of the committee chairs.
On the House side, preliminary mapping potentially pits as many as five incumbent state legislators against each other.
“We knew that probably would happen,” said House Redistricting Chair Gary Howell. “When we came up with this map, we said, ‘Don’t look at where anybody lives.’ Let’s not do that. You always have a general idea, but let’s not look at that specifically. Let’s draw them according to what the people have told us. And if it works out, we’re probably not going to put that many people together in the same district,” Howell said.
I have news for Howell: House candidates and potential candidates are already looking at who would be pitted against who.
One other noticeable difference in new preliminary House of Delegates mapping is that district numbers begin in the South and run to the North. Currently, numbers run from One in the Northern Panhandle to 67 in the South.
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Regardless of how detailed the committee is in insisting that it’s new districts are fairly drawn, there are sure to be accusations of gerrymandering.
Democrats will certainly accuse the supermajority Republicans of doing that.
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And they may be.
Ron Gregory is a regular political columnist and reporter for lootpress.com. Contact him at 304-533-5185; ronjgregory@gmail.com; or PO Box 20297, Charleston, WV 25362. Confidentiality is assured.