Add George Will to the growing list of commentators who are ridiculing the new law passed by the Republican Congress to limit online gambling. Will calls it “Prohibition II” and argues that we need to fight excessive paternalism by the government.
Granted, some people gamble too much. And some people eat too many cheeseburgers. But who wants to live in a society that protects the weak-willed by criminalizing cheeseburgers? Besides, the problems—frequently exaggerated—of criminal involvement in gambling, and of underage and addictive gamblers, can be best dealt with by legalization and regulation utilizing new software solutions. Furthermore, taxation of online poker and other gambling could generate billions for governments.
We need a new movement to keep the government out of our lives. Following the Terry Schiavo fiasco, many liberals have rediscovered the notion that too much intervention by the government can be a very bad thing. Libertarian conservatives like George Will are taking on the cultural conservatives on these issues. Unfortunately, many of our politicians on the right and the left still don’t seem to get it. Perhaps this stupid law can help. By pissing off the legions of poker players and other normal Americans who like to bet online, the politicians who want to control our lives might have finally gone too far.
I’m hoping more politicians on the left and the right pick up on this trend.
