The RSLC pumped more than $1 million to Alabama campaigns in 2010, largely to the Alabama Republican Party and a political action committee aimed at helping Republicans take over the Alabama Legislature. It also gave to a group that opposed legislation aimed at allowing electronic bingo machines at non-Indian casinos.
That last sentence, in bold, might be the most illuminating news in the whole story. It tells us that the Poarch Creeks supported both the GOP and a group that opposed electronic bingo at non-Indian casinos. Curiously, the al.com piece does not name this "anti-gambling" group. Our guess is that it's Citizens for a Better Alabama (CBA), a shadowy outfit that is led by a Birmingham-area lawyer named A. Eric Johnston.
CBA sponsored a "Special Report" that was inserted into some 40 Alabama newspapers at the height of last year's bingo controversy. If our guess is correct about the identity of the unnamed group in the al.com story, we now know for sure that CBA fights certain kinds of gambling by taking money from other kinds of gambling.
Eric Johnston's group was perhaps the most outspoken opponent of Sweet Home Alabama, the plan that would have legalized electronic bingo at VictoryLand, Country Crossing, and other sites in the state. Milton McGregor (VictoryLand) and Ronnie Gilley (Country Crossing) were among those who wound up under federal indictment. Yesterday's report indicates the Poarch Creek Indians played a leading role in bringing that political prosecution to fruition.Let's not forget the testimony of Rep. Barry Mask (R-Wetumpka) during last summer's bingo trial. From an al.com report at the time:
Rep. Barry Mask, R-Wetumpka, testified today that VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor tried to buy his vote for a gambling bill when he promised Mask "significant help" if he voted for the bill.
But Mask conceded on cross-examination that he was the one who first mentioned his upcoming fundraiser during a conversation with McGregor. He also said the Poarch Creek Indian casino in his district likely benefited from the failure of the gambling bill.
Was Barry Mask little more than a paid chump for the Poarch Creeks? Yesterday's report indicates that Alabamians need to be asking that question.
They also need to be asking lots of questions about Mike Hubbard. Get a load of Hubbard's tap dancing when contacted for yesterday's al.com piece:
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