Doyle’s Dilemma

Attorney General Jim Doyle was a staunch supporter of legislative oversight of gaming. All that changed in 2002 when candidate Doyle’s campaign got a boost of over $700,000 from the tribes.

Now Governor Jim Doyle is on the hot seat as he anticipates the arrival of the Gaming Oversight Bill (AB 461), next week. The bill would give the legislature a say in proposals to expand gaming in Wisconsin. Doyle’s spokesman said the Governor is certain to the veto the bill. But Doyle’s action on AB 461 is a real gamble either way.

Wisconsin Tribes have already put over a million dollars into the Governor’s campaign, and it’s no secret that he’s counting on them to spend a whole lot more before November. Doyle’s problem is that the tribes are not united in opposition to AB 461.

The Potawatomi Tribe wants the Governor to sign the bill because they want to stop the Menomonee Tribe from building a new casino in Kenosha. Right now the decision to approve the new casino rests solely with the Governor, and since he’s playing footsy with all the tribes, the Potawatomi don’t like their odds of getting the Governor to do the right thing.

Doyle’s has made millions for his re-election campaign by pitting one special interest over another. Groups on both sides of an issue give until it hurts to get Doyle to do their bidding. Whether it’s trial lawyers versus hospitals and doctors, insurance companies versus paper companies, or taking the rent to own industry for a bundle and then siding with AARP, Doyle has been completely shameless.

Doyle figures that the public will pay little attention to these issues and that the special interests groups who get the shaft won’t dare to take him to task.

But a veto of AB 461 will not only raise the specter of tribal money in Doyle’s campaign, it will hurt him politically in Milwaukee where he is already underperforming.

And Doyle must have been a pretty lousy Attorney General to recommend legislative oversight of gaming when he now says it clearly violates federal law. Perhaps the Governor got his new legal interpretation from a UW Law Professor as he did when he vetoed medical malpractice legislation.

It's a good thing Doyle is no longer Attorney General. God only knows how many other bad legal opinions he issued during his 12 year tenure.