"The story, if you haven't heard it: a while back, the organization Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) gave the Coalition $850,000 to fight gambling in Alabama. Last month the ATR's Grover Norquist admitted to the Boston Globe that the $850,000 had come from a Mississippi Indian tribe seeking to protect its casino interests. The Coalition is, of course, the state's most visible opponent of gambling and its policies expressly forbid accepting gambling donations. Oops.

Giles has repeatedly denied, however, that the Coalition had any idea the money was connected to gambling interests. Editorialists statewide have scoffed at the Coalition's claims, and I too have some trouble believing the Coalition never once got around to sitting down with Norquist for coffee and asking, 'So, uh, you guys find this $850,000 under your doorstep or what?'

But I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, because whether the Coalition knew where the money trail led or not is almost beside the point. Maybe they did. Maybe they didn't."

Get the Story:
Jerry Hinnen: Coalition needs to give gambling money back (The Demopolis Times 6/7)

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