Thread: I just spoke with Denise Richardson, protest organizer

OK guys,

I'm certainly not trying to falsely inject any optimism into a dire situation, but I just had a 30-minute telephone conversation with Debbie Richardson, who organized the impromptu Anti-Gambling protest in Washington D.C. this past Monday. Her telephone # and Email address were out on the Net, so I decided to give her a buzz on a whim.

My conversation with her was enlightening. Although Debbie would not admit to me who she is doing this on behalf of, suffice it to say that she is a lobbyist, who has quite a few connections down in Washington (both in the Senate and the House).

Recall, that her name was mentioned in the posts that Cowboy and I put up last night:

http://www.casinogamblingweb.com/gam...law_11394.html

http://www.casinogamblingweb.com/gam...ess_11410.html

After speaking with Debbie, she is totally in tune with the fact that Bush cannot Line-item veto the Anti-Gambling bill on Friday, but she states (according to good sources) that there is a very strong chance that Bush can and will elect to throw this legislation back to Congress, since there are many huge loopholes and parts of the bill that just don't make sense (recall that Prof. Rose made similar assertions). This would not be treated as a line-item veto (which Bush is legally NOT permitted to exercise), but would be an exercise of his rights to be able to straighten legislation out that is legally flawed, due to the fact that it was slapped together at the last minute (apparently, according to Debbie, this is legal for him to do on some basis), AND the fact that the final bill was not even seen by many Congressmen, let alone debated. The flawedness came from it being trimmed and re-written in the last moments of a day, so that it could be appended to the Ports Bill. Again, according to Debbie, Bush can (and will) throw it back into the Senate for a 30-day period, where it will be debated properly, written properly to close the loopholes, etc. I neglected to ask her or to mention that Congress is now on "break" for election campaigns, and if this 30-day period gets extended or what. She was articulate and confident in all that she stated to me, but again, I'm just passing the information on as I heard it, and don't stand behind its accuracy (I'm starting to sound like a lawyer !).

If you buy into the above, this would push the signing of this bill to beyond election day - Tuesday, November 7th. As such, Debbie is targeting another mega-rally before the elections (probably Friday, November 3rd AND Saturday, November 4th), which she believes will have a profound impact on elections. She has been told as much by many Congressmen and aides. This rally would be peaceful in nature (no need to worry about getting arrested), and there would be no need to give anyone your name.

Again, apologies abound, if I am innocently sprinkling salts on everyone's wounds, and that what I am spreading here is nothing but false rumor, but I thought that this conversation would be interesting to share with all of you.

If you are interested in communicating with Debbie by Email, or to get on her "rally" distribution list, her Email Address is:

drichardson@bizec.rr.com

I guess we'll all find out what happens on Friday............

So is she FOR or AGAINST internet gambling?

I was just confused by this:

I'm certainly not trying to falsely inject any optimism into a dire situation, but I just had a 30-minute telephone conversation with Debbie Richardson, who organized the impromptu Anti-Gambling protest in Washington D.C. this past Monday. Her telephone # and Email address were out on the Net, so I decided to give her a buzz on a whim.

Originally Posted by AdioKing

So is she FOR or AGAINST internet gambling?

Pro-gambling, of course.

Not too sure what to think about this.. If he does toss it back, the ? is will they have time to fine tune it before they break for Thanksgiving? If they don't well then the thing will surely die, and it will be back to square 1 with the new Congress, and I'm sure the New Congress is not going to have Anti-Gambling as their #1 priority. This would be a nice opt-out for Chimp and Friends. They cannot pin it all on Bush if Congress gave him Garbage to sign and he refused to do it. Fiest, inc will have already had their fill of what they want out of the legislation long before it gets back to Congress, cause the election will be over (and I'm sure thats the only reason Fiest was in a hurry to ship it out the door).

The real question is do we REALLY want it sent back. I would rather have Chimpy sign a piece of Garbage legislation that is sure to not be inforced and challenged in the Courts, just to be tossed out later. Then to have Congress get The Bill back and find the time to make it more like its predecessor HR 4411 which actually Updates the Wire Act. Then things will get REALLY messy.

Nice work dhayman.

Should have had one of Golden palaces streakers at the Anti-Gambling protest in Washington D.C.
That would have made the news
Brad

Originally Posted by john1124

The real question is do we REALLY want it sent back. I would rather have Chimpy sign a piece of Garbage legislation that is sure to not be inforced and challenged in the Courts, just to be tossed out later. Then to have Congress get The Bill back and find the time to make it more like its predecessor HR 4411 which actually Updates the Wire Act. Then things will get REALLY messy.

Keeping mind that I am the internal pessimist when it comes to what is going on here, if we had a chance to throw it back to Congress, I would take that in a heartbeat. If we could push out past elections, that would give us a fighting chance on several fronts:

1) Chance for a Democratic House or Senate majority to vote differently
(I think there is a good chance that at least the House will swing
Democratic);

2) Pushing this issue out after elections, will make it a non-issue for a lot
of the politicians who will be using a signed version of this bill to their
political and campaigning advantages;

3) It may give more time for the people to rally (aka Denise Richadson
protest rally).

Listen, this may all be a pipe dream at this point, based on a rumor that I am promoting, but let's see what happens come Friday. I was 100 % sure that this would be signed Friday, and now I think it's 90/10 %. Maybe we can draw this Ace on the River, and pull this one out.

Maybe we can draw this Ace on the River, and pull this one out.

I promise I will not B&%@# about it either

Great post and I will share in your restrained optimism.

We can all only hope.

Arrgghhh !!!!!

It's Debbie Richardson, not Denise Richardson. No wonder I heard groans on the other end of the line, when I said "Thanks Denise, for your time...".

P.S. I made the name corrections in the 1st post of this thread.

Who are you guys kidding??

Congressional members were scared ****less to vote against a port security bill, but Bush won't sign one?

The big figurehead will decide not to sign, while all of the small people wouldn't even vote against it for fear of looking weak on security?

Let's be realistic about what's realistic.

I'll happily eat those words. Just don't see it.