Liberal Puritans

Interesting Cardplayer article on statistical manipulations in the anti-gambling movement. The author, I. Nelson Rose, pretty neatly summarized the conditions under which I would vote for a Republican:

In the November 2002 election, the Democratic candidate, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, came out against gambling. Most people think of antis as religious conservatives, like Focus on the Family's Dr. James Dobson. But there is a smaller faction composed of liberals, such as Townsend and Ralph Nader. They oppose gambling on paternalistic, not religious, grounds, thinking poor people should not be spending their money this way.

But Townsend was trounced by Rep. Robert Erlich Jr. (R.), who came out strongly in favor of putting hundreds, or even thousands, of VLTs at the state's three existing, and one planned, racetracks. He said Maryland needs racinos [racetracks + casinos] to compete with nearby Delaware's and to lessen the budget deficit.

Nader's a real prick, isn't he?