A Rand Paul Win a Win for Online Gambling

While it is not exactly known what if any stance Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul might have in regard to online gambling, one can only speculate he is not against such activity.  Paul's views are believed to be in line with his dad, Texas Congressman Ron Paul.  The elder Paul has been an ally for online gambling, even co-sponsoring a bill with Democrat Barney Frank to legalize Web betting.

A Rand Paul win would also prove symbolic for a multi-billion industry that often finds itself under attack.  Nowhere is this greater illustrated than in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 

For the last one-and-a-half years, the Internet gambling sector has been fighting in Kentucky courts to prevent Governor Steven Beshear from seizing 141 online gambling related domain names.  Beshear claims these Web businesses are "leaches" to the Commonwealth. 

Rand Paul is a uniter of the libertarian/Tea Party right, Ben Van Heuven wrote in his piece that appeared on last week's Salon.com:

"The political genius of Paul is his ability to cultivate a narrative that speaks to all strains of the Tea Party movement at once. After all, the libertarian purists who loved Ron Paul's dissident truth-telling are not natural allies of the Limbaugh Dittoheads who dismissed him as an eccentric. He sings his libertarianism in the key of Glenn Beck - and he is writing a Republican playbook for the tea party era, turning grassroots energy into electoral power. Now, less than a week before the primary, polls show Paul's lead over Trey Grayson approaching 20 points. He also leads both of his potential Democratic challengers in the general election polling."

And my how things have changed since Rand's dad ran for President of the United States two years ago.  It was at that time Ron Paul supporters lashed out at Fox News for not providing the Texas Congressman with enough airtime and refusing to allow his participation in a Republican debate they were airing up in New Hampshire. 

Now Grayson is claiming that Rand Paul has become the darling of Fox News.

"I've been on Fox News once, on a live feed on one of the shows, and I was told I was to expect a certain line of questioning, and I was given a different line of questioning," Grayson said. Referring to Rand Paul, Grayson said, "He's on all of the time."

"His dad had these phenomenal contacts, so ... he's on Fox News every couple of weeks with softballs," said Grayson. Imitating an anchor's voice, Grayson said the questions are softballs such as, "Rand, tell us about health care, you're a doctor. Rand, tell us about the tea party."

Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher