As Mitt Romney’s campaign for the big seat officially passed President Obama in terms of funding for a third straight month, thanks in no small part to casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, the Republican candidate confirmed that congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) would be his vice presidential running mate. The staunch Catholic is known for being relatively right wing and analyzing his voting patterns in the past show this to be the case. He has voted down a number of measures against same-sex marriage and at the same time supported liberalization of gun laws. It’s where he stands on Internet freedoms and gambling that will be a boon to you guys though.
With the help of OnTheIssues.org’s extensive database on political voting habits we found out…not a huge amount. First things first, anyone searching the list for gambling issues will realize there is the obvious absence of any stance on the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006. Looking further into the voting patterns show that he did vote in favor of a ban on Internet Gambling by Credit Card way back in June 2003.
A lot has happened in the past ten years and the fact he’s a Catholic could be something to inspire optimism due to the fact that some in the faith generally accept the vice – as long as it’s done in moderation and doesn’t do harm.
Even more encouraging than anything else is that he has come out against one of this year’s most contentious technology bills. Tech Crunch reports that Ryan was opposed to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), something that has been held up by some as signaling the demise of the Internet.
The bill, which met its maker in January this year, would have seized domains that companies claimed were infringing copyright and have been so broad that it threatened the Internet’s very existence. In that sense Ryan could be a good thing for gambling and he’s never knowingly opposed any significant technology measures that we could see.
Those pinning their hopes on Romney won’t get a huge amount from Ryan being confirmed as the Mormon’s new running mate. Anything to do with Internet gambling could depend on how serious Adelson feels about the issue. We know that he is personally strongly against it and there’s nothing suggest his position has or will change anytime soon.
A lot could hinge on how much affinity Romney will feel towards Adelson should he be elected. There’s also the small matter of Mr Obama who won’t be giving up without a fight and remember – a week is a long time in politics.
