NEWS RELEASE
For More Information Contact: Gary Ruskin (202) 387-8030
For Immediate Release: August 2nd, 1999
Nader, Dobson Ask Whether Democrats “Want to Be the Party of the Gambling Industry”
Ralph Nader and Dr. James Dobson, President of Focus on the Family, sent a letter today to Joe Andrew, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, inquiring about the Democratic Party’s stands on gambling. The letter follows:
Dear Mr. Andrew:
We write to inquire about a news article in the Las Vegas Sun, on June 3, 1999, regarding the National Gambling Impact Study Commission. The article reports that “Two weeks ago, President Bill Clinton raised $400,000 for the Democratic National Committee in Las Vegas. During that visit, DNC Chairman Joe Andrew told the Sun that Democrats in Washington want to be the party of the gaming industry.”
We have two questions for you:
Do “Democrats in Washington” or the Democratic Party “want to be the party of the gaming industry”? If so, what policies will the Democratic Party advance in support of the gambling industry? We are concerned when any political party is reported to boast that it wishes to be “the party of the gaming industry.” The gambling industry is the bane of millions of Americans, and a proximate cause in countless divorces, cases of domestic violence, bankruptcies, suicides, and homelessness, as well as despondency, ruination, impoverishment, despair and many other social ills and familial pain.* We want to know where you and the Democratic Party stand on gambling.
Sincerely,
Ralph Nader
James. C. Dobson, President, Focus on the Family
* See attached for details.
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