By C. Fraser Smith|May 11, 2008
Here's a question related to the never-ending saga of Democrats trying to nominate a candidate for president. It's a question about the never-ending saga of slots:
When Marylanders go to the polls in November to say yes or no to slot machines, will they be as savvy as voters in Indiana and North Carolina, who apparently turned aside the gas tax moratorium proposed by Sen. Hillary Clinton?
Both slots and gasoline prices, of course, are pocketbook issues that have inspired their share of political pandering.
The gas tax issue didn't give Mrs. Clinton the big wins she had to have among Tar Heels and Hoosiers. Of course, there were other reasons for the choices people made, but this one - what Sen. Barack Obama derides as a "gimmick" - is what she stressed in the days leading up to the vote.
Slots advocates in Maryland will, no doubt, have similar labels for the coming referendum on whether to establish slot machine gambling here.
Gov. Martin O'Malley and most of the Democratic establishment are now slots lobbyists. In the past, he has been noticeably conflicted about the issue. He's called slots a poor way to pay for education. At the same time, he's said he could live with the machines at racetracks.
Now the having-it-both-ways moment is over. He has declared unconditional support for the referendum, which will be on the ballot this November in the form of a constitutional amendment.
The governor apparently concluded he had no choice. The General Assembly is unlikely to even consider more tax increases after passing an array of new or increased levies last fall. But the state continues to spend more money - for whatever purpose - than legislators have been willing to pay for.
Nor will it be possible for any of these forces to hide the potential damage slots could do. The governor will face a practiced army of adversaries, both anonymous and well-known, between now and the vote.
Many ministers, for example, oppose more gambling. Families in danger of losing their houses in this season of foreclosure could find that Mom or Dad has gambled away the mortgage money. The clergy know they'll be asked for help.
Aaron Meisner, a veteran slots opponent, says a minister from Montgomery County approached him after one of the successful anti-slots campaigns of recent years to say: "Thanks for your work. You've saved a lot of lives."
