Thursday, September 20, 2007

Update: There’s another heavy-hitter in Potawatomi’s D.C. lobbying lineup (you remember, the folks who lobbied the Executive Office of the President)

The media are starting to catch on to the Potawatomi lobbying story we told you about last week. Check out this item from today’s WisPolitics.com “DC Wrap,” which points out that the Forest County Potawatomi spent more to lobby federal officials than any other Wisconsin tribe during the first six months of 2007.

WisPolitics reports that Wisconsin tribes spent a total of $480,000 lobbying the federal government between Jan. 1 and June 30 of this year. The Potawatomi were responsible for 63 percent of that – a whopping $300,000!

We’ve already told you about the $200,000 the Potawatomi paid D.C. powerbroker Ed Gillespie and others to carry the tribe’s pro-monopoly message in the Nation’s Capital. Additional documents now disclose a third-heavy hitting firm (and another $100K payment) on the Potawatomi’s D.C. lobbying roster.

The reports, filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate, reveal that the Potawatomi paid for the services of two lobbyists from the big-namee firm of Barbour Griffith & Rogers.

Those lobbyists include the firm’s president, a well-known Republican operative who served as chief of staff for a former Wisconsin Governor and Cabinet member. (Ironically, his former boss signed the Menominee Tribe’s 2000 Compact with the State of Wisconsin – the document authorizing the establishment of a Menominee casino in Kenosha in the first place.) The other is the firm’s vice president, another Republican insider who has served in several high-level White House positions and as chief of staff to a former Cabinet member.

While Potawatomi’s other hired guns went so far as to reach into the Executive Office of the President (!), the new reports show BGR’s lobbyists focused their attention on the U.S. House of Representatives and the Department of the Interior (the agency currently reviewing the Kenosha casino proposal). Their subject matter is listed only as “Tribal Interests.” Of course, we all know that Potawatomi’s biggest interest is in sidestepping competition and preserving the monopoly of their off-reservation Milwaukee casino – even if they have to change the law or curry favor among federal officials to do so.

BGR’s folks are no amateurs. Other BGR clients include international (and deep-pocketed) giants like IBM, Lockheed Martin, Louis Vuitton – Moët Hennesy, Pfizer…even the Republic of India and the State of Qatar. Their Web site touts the firm’s expertise at “stopping or changing harmful policy before it can take effect,” and Potawatomi’s leaders seem to be pulling out all the stops when it comes to thwarting what they see as a harmful threat to their monopoly.

We’re sure there’s more to come – and you can be sure we’ll bring it to you.

Send a real message to officials in Madison and Washington by signing the online petition for casino competition in Southeast Wisconsin.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Potawatomi’s fight for monopoly goes all the way to the Executive Office of the President of the United States

They haven’t been able to get Kenosha voters, the Wisconsin Legislature or Congress to clamp a government lock on their monopoly, and now it looks like Potawatomi leaders may be eyeing a more powerful ally in their fight against competition. Newly uncovered documents show that Potawatomi’s federal lobbying team had a pretty lofty target during the first half of 2007 – the folks at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

According to reports (look here and here) filed with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Forest County Potawatomi Community is lobbying the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). Reports show the Potawatomi had 20 high-priced lobbyists on the ground in Washington during the first six months of 2007. The group – which included one of D.C.’s best-known power brokers and former, high-level Congressional staffers – lobbied on Land Into Trust, Gaming Reform, Tribal Economic Development and other issues before the EOP, House, Senate and U.S. Department of the Interior.

While the reports are deliberately vague about exactly what Potawatomi’s lobbyists talked about with the President’s closest advisers (though we doubt they were trying to arrange a special White House tour), they do show that the tribe plunked down at least $200,000 for D.C. lobbying from Jan. 1 to June 30 of this year. That’s right – nearly a quarter of a million dollars to help carry Potawatomi’s anti-competition message to the highest offices in the land. No one ever said hanging on to a monopoly was cheap.

Potawatomi’s leaders have certainly shown a lot of bravado in their campaign against competition, but this one takes the cake. Other companies that lobbied the EOP during the same time frame included heavy hitters like DuPont, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Exxon Mobil, the National Rifle Association, General Motors, Ford Motor Company and General Electric. The Potawatomi are playing in the big leagues, apparently believing that preserving their Southeast Wisconsin monopoly is a matter of such national importance that it belongs on the agenda of the President of the United States and his closest advisers.

Candidly, we think it’s an awfully tall order to expect a Republican administration to stand in the way of free enterprise and open competition. After all, the GOP understands that competition benefits American consumers – it’s the American way. But Potawatomi’s leaders have shown they’ll stop at nothing to sidestep competition, and this is yet another example of how far they’ll go to keep hold of their monopoly.

Speaking of the President’s closest advisers, we’ve also learned that that D.C. power-broker mentioned above is now one of them! That’s right, he’s no longer part of Potawatomi’s lobbying lineup because he took a new job – as special counsel to the President. Yes, all of us who care about fair competition in Southeast Wisconsin should feel real good that Potawatomi’s former lobbyist is now an adviser to the White House.

The plot thickens – and we’ll keep you up to date on the latest developments with Potawatomi’s swanky K Street crew.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

It’s a long road to the Potawatomi reservation…

A favorite refrain in the Potawatomi battle against competition is to cite the distance between the Menominee Reservation and Kenosha. They never miss a chance to trumpet claims of “reservation shopping,” a buzzword coined by pro-monopoly tribes that suggests the Menominee have no tie to the Kenosha area because their reservation is in northern Wisconsin.

That’s just plain false. And it underscores yet another one of those “I can’t believe the Potawatomi are trying to peddle that hypocritical bunk” moments.

First of all, Dr. David R. M. Beck, a professor of Native American studies at the University of Montana, points out that the Menominee Tribe has resided in Wisconsin for thousands of years on lands that include Southeast Wisconsin and Kenosha. In a study for the Menominee Tribe, Beck says:

“The southern region of Old Menominee country was vast – it extended south of the Milwaukee River into northern Illinois, along the shores of Lake Michigan and west to the Mississippi River. This was long a vital place for the Menominee Indians. Kenosha lies at the center of the eastern reaches of this southern region of old Menominee country.”

Perhaps the irony of having their own off-reservation Milwaukee casino located in the middle of a valley named for the Menominee Tribe is lost on the Potawatomi. But we doubt it.

It seems the Potawatomi need lessons in history and geography. It’s especially laughable that in their zeal to keep their monopoly, the Potawatomi are complaining – quite loudly – about the distance between the proposed Kenosha casino site and the Menominee Reservation. It’s 160 miles – we admit it.

But the distance between Potawatomi’s Milwaukee casino and its northern Wisconsin reservation spans 182 miles – even farther than the distance between Menominee and Kenosha. Here’s a map that proves it.

Oops.

Help stamp out Potawatomi’s pro-monopoly hypocritical bunk by signing the online petition.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Potawatomi monopoly still has taxpayers paying some healthcare costs

The Forest County Potawatomi, whose competition-free Milwaukee casino brings in millions and millions of dollars every week and has made them one of the richest tribes in the state, apparently don’t mind letting Wisconsin taxpayers pick up the healthcare tab for some of their casino employees.

Recent figures from the State Department of Health and Family Services place Potawatomi among the top 50 employers with the most participants in BadgerCare, the state’s tax-funded healthcare program for the working poor.

The state anticipates taxpayers will pick up more than $160,000 in BadgerCare costs for Potawatomi employees in 2007. In stark contrast, Potawatomi’s Milwaukee casino currently pulls in about $250 million a year – and anticipates doubling that when its expansion is complete.

The Potawatomi aren’t shy about asking the government for help – first, to preserve their monopoly and also, to have taxpayers pay some of their employees’ doctor bills.

Sign the online petition to bring more good jobs – with real healthcare and other benefits – to Southeast Wisconsin through fair casino competition.