Doyle Brunson is backing Obama

baltimoresun.com

On Presidential Endorsements

Deal me in

The sports vote isn't silent this year

Bill Ordine
March 7, 2008

We've been hearing a little about how some pro athletes are jumping on the endorsement bandwagon of one presidential candidate or another.

The fact that top NBA draft pick Greg Oden's endorsement of Barack Obama created so much stir is really indicative of how glaringly inactive athletes have generally been in the political arena.

Oden's support of Obama was accompanied by a similar endorsement by Charles Barkley, but with Sir Charles, the message is sometimes obscured by the delivery (i.e. Barkley following up his backing of Obama by mentioning to CNN's Wolf Blitzer that conservatives are just "fake Christians").

If you haven't been reading Curt Schilling's blog, you may not know that the Boston Red Sox pitcher has made it clear his rooting interest is with John McCain. And former Los Angeles Laker Magic Johnson is a staunch Hillary Clinton booster.

I thought one of the most interesting endorsements came from the grand old man of poker, Doyle Brunson, who is backing Obama. Actually, this broke a few weeks ago when Doyle, known as "Texas Dolly," wrote on his blog Feb. 16:

"I am on this race for president like stupid is on Britney Spears. I have come to the conclusion that poker players have to support Obama. We can't possibly let McCain be our president because he supports most of George W. Bush's views. Hillary has lots of experience but I don't think she is ready to lead our nation."

About a week later, when Obama was picking up momentum, Brunson wrote:

"It looks like it is going to be Obama vs. McCain for president. I think Obama is a cinch to beat McCain where if Hillary was the candidate, it would have been a coin flip. Obama's base is too strong for McCain, which is a good thing. God help the Internet gambling business if McCain does happen to win."

As you can read, what's at the heart of all this is that some poker players are steamed at the GOP because they blame Republicans for pushing through legislation in 2006 that tightened the screws on Internet gambling, including poker. Online card playing was helping drive the poker explosion and providing lucrative revenue streams to the greater poker community (and still does to a lesser extent).

Brunson himself has an online poker room, so his political cheerleading obviously involves a little more personal motivation beyond just handicapping who has the best national health care policy.

bill.ordine@baltsun.com

Gotta love Doyle.

f**k doyle....lets just worry about whats good for poker players but don't worry what this ass will do to the country.

lapdance said:

f**k doyle....lets just worry about whats good for poker players but don't worry what this ass will do to the country.

Click to expand...

jealous..... doyle is smarter than you:tongue2:

tartar, where in minnesota do you live? im also from minny

gtc08 said:

tartar, where in minnesota do you live? im also from minny

Click to expand...

havent lived there since childhood.......i was from upper NW corner hallock area

bulletproof, i dont think mccain is a racist. he has a black child.

people actually care who poker players are backing for president.

and we wonder why the country is in the shitter.

Kind of suprising. I always figured Doyle to be one of those old school guys who would be duped into thinking the republican party is for small government.

doubleduece22 said:

people actually care who poker players are backing for president.

and we wonder why the country is in the shitter.

Click to expand...

my point exactly.

well I dont really read it as a poker player backing so and so, I look it as someone who is looking out for our rights. I HATE being told what I can and can not do by the government. You cant play cards, you cant bet, you can't smoke, and so on and so on.

Just for the record I didn't vote for Obama, I plan on voting for whomever is representing the Dems though. I am as independent of a voter as they come and bounce from party to party but after Bush it would be almost impossible for me to vote anyone sharing the same beliefs or policies

RobFunk said:

Kind of suprising. I always figured Doyle to be one of those old school guys who would be duped into thinking the republican party is for small government.

Click to expand...

he was. after the ugeia passed he said he would never vote for a republican again

RobFunk said:

Kind of suprising. I always figured Doyle to be one of those old school guys who would be duped into thinking the republican party is for small government.

Click to expand...

Nah, Doyle is an old school guy who still believes that the Democrats care about the middle class and unions.

doubleduece22 said:

people actually care who poker players are backing for president.

and we wonder why the country is in the shitter.

Click to expand...

Why the hell would i vote for a candidate that would take away one of my great pleasures in life?? If i believe that Obama is less likely to end online gambling, you bet i would vote for him.

I should care what a president has to say about abortion or illegal aliens? Talk about non-issues.People love to throw those issues out. Meanwhile, they are totally meaningless to my life. Do i care if some white trash 17 year old gets an abortion in georgia or not?

As for the war on terror or the economy, i am not sure which one of these candidates will do best on this issue. And i don't think anyone can say that they know for sure that either candidate is the better choice. If you ask me, Obama was probably right that we should not have gone into Iraq and Mccain was right for his opinion on the surge.

Since Doyle probably has more insight into which candidate is best for online gaming, i will definitely listen to what he has to say on the issue. For those that don't care about online gambling, they can feel free to vote for McCain.

gtc08 said:

bulletproof, i dont think mccain is a racist. he has a black child.

Click to expand...

Little more info on this child.....

Anyone know "Obama" Middle name?

skoda said:

Anyone know "Obama" Middle name?

Click to expand...

Hussein? Reminds me of Hussein of Jordan who was probably the greatest leader of our life time.

"I am on this race for president like stupid is on Britney Spears. I have come to the conclusion that poker players have to support Obama. "I am on this race for president like stupid is on Britney Spears. I have come to the conclusion that poker players have to support Obama. We can't possibly let McCain be our president because he supports most of George W. Bush's views. Hillary has lots of experience but I don't think she is ready to lead our nation."

Hillary has lots of experience but I don't think she is ready to lead our nation."

Lets define stupid here .......

Poker players HAVE to support Obama,,,,,,,,WHY? because he says he plays poker??? Could you point me out 1 bill , 1 vote, 1 motion he has ever made in support of poker players???? He's been around around awhile. state, now congress. 6 yrs maybe? Well name what he's done....
We have a new Govenor here been in less than 90 days..said he cared about corruption and within weeks he called a session and the laws are already on our books today.....THATS doing something NOT TALKING BULLSHIT.....6 FRICKIN years your guy has had and whats he done???????????????????????????

We can't possibly let McCain be our president because he supports most of George W. Bush's views.

SO lets instead elect the most leftist unknown commodity we can find..........Lets bankrupt our country while we are being attacked by every minority in the world and start imprisoning people in the name of political correction like our constitution demands !!!!!!!!!!!!



Hillary has lots of experience but I don't think she is ready to lead our nation."

This is the definition of stupidity here....he dont THINK shes ready to lead so lets elect somebody WE KNOW DAMN GOOD AND WELL cant lead, hasnt lead, shows no potential whatsoever to lead........cant make up his mind on over 120 CRUCIAL votes as a state legislator and wants to slap the face of the Pakastani leader in broad daylight knowing their are nuclear weapons at risk............This leader??????

You know what i dont know a lot about very many poker players but let me tell you 2 things i have now found out beyond any doubt....BOTH David Skylansky and now Doyle Brunson are CONFIRMED IDIOTS............

ProPokerPlayer said:

"I am on this race for president like stupid is on Britney Spears. I have come to the conclusion that poker players have to support Obama. "I am on this race for president like stupid is on Britney Spears. I have come to the conclusion that poker players have to support Obama. We can't possibly let McCain be our president because he supports most of George W. Bush's views. Hillary has lots of experience but I don't think she is ready to lead our nation."

Hillary has lots of experience but I don't think she is ready to lead our nation."

Lets define stupid here .......

Poker players HAVE to support Obama,,,,,,,,WHY? because he says he plays poker??? Could you point me out 1 bill , 1 vote, 1 motion he has ever made in support of poker players???? He's been around around awhile. state, now congress. 6 yrs maybe? Well name what he's done....
We have a new Govenor here been in less than 90 days..said he cared about corruption and within weeks he called a session and the laws are already on our books today.....THATS doing something NOT TALKING BULLSHIT.....6 FRICKIN years your guy has had and whats he done???????????????????????????

We can't possibly let McCain be our president because he supports most of George W. Bush's views.

SO lets instead elect the most leftist unknown commodity we can find..........Lets bankrupt our country while we are being attacked by every minority in the world and start imprisoning people in the name of political correction like our constitution demands !!!!!!!!!!!!



Hillary has lots of experience but I don't think she is ready to lead our nation."

This is the definition of stupidity here....he dont THINK shes ready to lead so lets elect somebody WE KNOW DAMN GOOD AND WELL cant lead, hasnt lead, shows no potential whatsoever to lead........cant make up his mind on over 120 CRUCIAL votes as a state legislator and wants to slap the face of the Pakastani leader in broad daylight knowing their are nuclear weapons at risk............This leader??????

You know what i dont know a lot about very many poker players but let me tell you 2 things i have now found out beyond any doubt....BOTH David Skylansky and now Doyle Brunson are CONFIRMED IDIOTS............

Click to expand...

I don't really want to get into it and only read about half of that, but as far as passing bills relating to poker, the ones that he hasn't voted for should be more important than him not making up bills himself. There isn't a ton that he should be doing in the poker realm right now. Leave it alone... it's good enough right now. I don't want my politician even dealing with that stuff with all the other problems out there.

I have found that those people that don't care if online gambling is banned are those that suck at it.

Last year I wrote to Obama about the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act and here was his response. He basically didn't give me an answer if he is for it or against it. What a prick. By the way he ended up voting for the Port Security Act.

Dear xxxx:

Thank you for contacting me regarding gambling on the Internet. I take seriously the thousands of letters, e-mails, and calls I receive daily from Illinois constituents like you, and I value your ideas and opinions. Please accept my apology for the delayed response. You raise some important concerns.

Internet gambling is a growing industry. According to a study by the federal Government Accountability Office (GAO), since the mid-1990s Internet gambling operators have established approximately 1,800 e-gaming Web sites in locations outside the United States, and global revenues from Internet gaming in 2003 were over $5 billion dollars.

Both states and the federal government have laws and regulations addressing Internet gambling. At the federal level, the Wire Act prohibits gambling businesses from using interstate or international telecommunications wires to knowingly transmit or receive bets. Furthermore, private companies, including many in the credit card industry, have taken steps to restrict Internet gambling, primarily by prohibiting cardholders from using the cards to gamble online. However, Internet gambling continues to thrive.

In 1996, Congress created the National Gambling Impact Study Commission to examine the social and economic impacts of gambling, including Internet gambling. In its 1999 report, the Commission recommended (1) that the federal government prohibit any Internet gambling not already authorized and encourage foreign governments not to harbor Internet gambling organizations, and (2) that Congress pass legislation prohibiting the collection of credit card debt for Internet gambling.

Following up on the Commission’s recommendations, the House of Representatives recently approved HR 4411, the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act, by a 317-93 vote. This bill would amend the 1961 Wire Act to include Internet gambling as a prohibited activity.

The Senate must now considered HR 4411, and the tight legislative calendar preceding the November elections makes such consideration a difficult prospect. However, should the Senate address this issue, I will certainly keep your concerns in mind. I recognize both the need to comply with existing laws and the desire of many Illinoisans to not have the federal government over-regulate their behavior. I will keep both sets of concerns in mind should HR 4411 come to the Senate floor for a vote.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Please stay in touch.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama
United States Senator