Romney to Racetracks: Drop Dead
Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney makes no secret of his political aspirations. He dreams of winning the 2008 Republican presidential nomination and then the presidency, which means his policy positions on everything from birth control to health care to public security are pitched more to the narrow interests of the social conservative wing of his political party than to the desires of Commonwealth citizens. Fortunately, we’re not usually burdened by his politics because the Democrat-controlled legislature does a pretty good job of keeping the governor’s red state leanings in check. Unfortunately for racing fans, that won’t be the case when slots legislation finally comes to Romney for his signature.
A proposal to put 3,500 VLTs in the state’s four racetracks and at one unspecified location in western Massachusetts is likely to be debated in the legislature this month or sometime in October, and it enjoys a narrow majority of support. The prospect of slots legislation passing in Massachusetts hasn’t looked so promising in years, which is good news for the state’s struggling and sole remaining thoroughbred track, Suffolk Downs. But when anti-gambling crusaders in Iowa heard Massachusetts might expand gaming, they pouted and threatened “to hamper ticket sales for a Republican ‘Steak Fry’ fund-raiser in Dallas County, Iowa” (Boston Globe) unless Romney pledged to come out against any such legislation.
And guess what, Romney caved, writing in a letter to the editor published in today’s Globe:
Got that? Romney will veto any slots legislation passed in Massachusetts this year, making it highly unlikely that the state will get slots in time to save Suffolk Downs from development. What remains of the state’s thoroughbred racing industry and the jobs it supports will be sacrificed to one man’s ambition and the prissy priorities of a bunch of bluenose Iowans.
