Opinion
WSJ: The 'Indian Taker' candidate in New York


"The polls show that today Eliot Spitzer will realize his long ambition of becoming New York's next Governor, meaning that he will soon be able to fulfill his oft-spoken campaign promise "to end the pay-to-play culture in Albany." We can't wait to see how that one plays out, though we certainly hope Mr. Spitzer does better than he's done as a candidate.

Last month in a debate in Buffalo, the nation's most famous Attorney General was asked his position on bringing out-of-state Indian tribes to New York to open casinos. Addressing his Republican opponent, John Faso, Mr. Spitzer remarked, "No, John, I don't believe out-of-state tribes should be here. And they won't be here under my administration."

After the debate, however, someone must have tapped Mr. Spitzer on the shoulder and reminded him that one of his biggest campaign donors is Richard Fields, a casino developer who represents a Wisconsin Indian tribe that claims ancestral roots in the state and is seeking approval to build a casino in New York's Catskills region.

And so a few days later, according to the Albany Times Union, "Darren Dopp, the AG's spokesman, said Spitzer isn't including the Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohicans, the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin or the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma among the out-of-state tribes that won't be allowed to develop here." Which leaves us wondering who is included."

Get the Story:
Indian Taker (The Wall Street Journal 11/7)

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