Gambler's Fallacy and Government Spending

by: Dean Barker

Tue Jun 03, 2008 at 06:32:59 AM EDT

Be it Texas Hold 'Em, Razz, Omaha or one of poker's many other variations, more than a few members of Congress are players. Some other rounders are Democratic Reps. Linda T. Sanchez of California, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Ed Perlmutter of Colorado and Republican Sens. John Ensign of Nevada and John Sununu of New Hampshire.

While it would be fun to imagine any number of scenarios of John E. gambling his TV ad buys away against the NRSC chair Ensign, I think it might be more useful to point out here that poker playing Sununu is opposed to Native American casinos.

I really hope John E. is a better card player than a money manager.  From a must-read UL editorial op-ed from Kathy Sullivan on Sununu's supposed fiscal conservatism:

Sununu claims to be a fiscal conservative because he voted against the farm bill, yet he has voted six times to lift the debt ceiling, voted for budgets that have exploded the deficit, and supports spending $343 million a day in Iraq.

The two biggest drivers of the exploding national debt are the Bush tax cuts for multimillionaires and the war in Iraq -- both of which Sununu supports. Voting against one bill that would have helped New Hampshire's families, but continuing to support George W. Bush's economic irresponsibility, is not fiscal conservatism.

The reckless fiscal policies that John E. Sununu has supported have put our country on the brink of recession and mortgaged our children's future to China.