Luiz Simmons Breathes Fire, Burns Bridges on Slots

Kathleen Miller of the Examiner picked up some nice quotes from flame-throwing Delegate Luiz Simmons (D-17) blasting his colleagues for not supporting the anti-slots campaign. Here's a sample:

“Slots are the easy road for politicians to travel down; it holds the promise of a free lunch, all net-net and no cost,” the Montgomery Democrat said. “Overwhelmingly, those who lose money are the poor, the old, the vulnerable and racial minorities, the very same people we’re always saying we are trying to help...”

Simmons said, “The Montgomery County political establishment has caved in here.” What bugs him the most, he added, is that Montgomery’s state legislators, who largely fought together against slots proposals from former Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich, were vital to passing this year’s referendum.

“I thought when many people spoke out against Ehrlich’s slots, that they spoke on principle,” Simmons said. “It turns out they spoke on politics. Here’s a group that said rhetorically, we’re against slots, but when push came to shove, the referendum couldn’t have passed without them.”

Well now! We ran a complete list of the elected leaders who joined the anti-slots campaign back in May, along with those who voted against the referendum but did not sign on with Marylanders United to Stop Slots. Delegate Simmons is a longtime opponent of slots, but one wonders whether statements such as these are the best way to persuade his fellow politicians to join his cause.

Would you care for some saltpeter to go with that nitroglycerin you've been drinking, Delegate?