Native American tribes have been both courted and vilified by candidates for U.S. Congress , statewide office, the state legislature and the Republican Party in Alabama.
For example, in the July 15 Republican runoff election for Alabama’s 6th Congressional District, one of the nation’s major GOP strongholds, Paul DeMarco, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and a House member since 2005, faces Gary Palmer, founder of the conservative leaning research group Alabama Policy Institute. In 1999, Palmer was involved in an effort to defeat the state lottery proposed by then-Governor Don Siegelman. He said he did not discover until many years later that the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, which operates casinos at the Pearl River Resort in Philadelphia, Mississippi, had funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to groups opposed to the lottery and video poker machines at Alabama dog racing tracks. “I told them from day one that if they took gambling money I would quit the campaign. I was adamant about it and I was tremendously disappointed when it came out,” Palmer said.
In the race for Alabama Attorney General, current officeholder Luther Strange recently opened a re-election campaign speech to a Republican group with, “I have the best job in politics in Alabama. As the attorney general I just go to work every day and think of a way to sue the Obama Administration. If you don’t think that is fun, that is a full-time job.” Barack Obama is not running against Strange, but Democrat Joe Hubbard is. Strange connected the two by noting Hubbard “has gotten a check for $1 million from the Indian games casino. One million dollars. Go back and check about who supports Indians gaming casinos. You’ll find it’s the Obama administration. These things are not by accident.”
Hubbard received three checks for $250,000 each from a political action committee representing the Poarch Creek Indians. Previously the PAC gave Hubbard another donation of nearly $250,000. Last year Strange’s office sued the Poarch Creek for allegedly illegal bingo operations on their land.
In the contest for state Senate, Republican candidate Greg Albritton, a former state representative who won the June 3 primary, has received $12,000—more than 25 percent of his total cash donations–from the political action committee of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Most Republican candidates have refused to take contributions from the tribe because of its connection with casino gambling.
Albritton said, “Indian development is one of the major developments, economic forces in this district.” In addition, he noted his mother is related to former Poarch leader Eddie Tullis.
Albritton reiterated his opposition to legalizing electronic bingo in Alabama, a pledge he signed in 2004 as a member of the legislature. He said that would “open the floodgates” to expanded gambling. He pointed out the state was unsuccessful in trying to shut down Indian gaming. “I don’t do it. I don’t believe it’s a healthy endeavor for anyone. I also know we fought it, and we lost,” he said.
Lawyer Harry D’Olive, who came in second to Albritton in the June primary, said he tried to get donations from the Poarch Creek tribe , “but I could never seem to get my foot in the door with them,” he said. Indian gaming is a federal issue but he added he “probably would not” favor commercial gambling in Alabama. “I wouldn’t want to depend on gambling as a revenue source,” D’Olive said.
Indian gambling also is causing rifts within the Alabama Republican Party.
Officials recently named a committee to investigate allegations that Chairman Bill Armistead surreptitiously accepted donations from the Poarch Band tribe. Armistead denies the allegations.
Political consultant Baron Coleman told the committee that Armistead asked him help steer campaign contributions from the tribe to the party to keep that information from the steering committee. Armistead said in an email to party members several months ago that he was not aware of any contributions that the party had accepted from the tribe.
However, the tribe’s then-chairman, Buford Rolin, was listed as a “platinum sponsor” on the party’s 2013 summer dinner program. Armistead said Rolin must have purchased a sponsorship to be listed on the program, but later he told party officials that Rolin did not follow up on his commitment to pay for the table.
Tribal spokeswoman Sharon Delmar said the party did ask for a contribution for the dinner and later asked that Rolin be listed on the program instead of the tribe. The tribe also agreed to send a check to the Barbour County Republican Party. Delmar said, “It is very troublesome to hear that Bill Armistead would now attack the credibility of Chairman Rolin, a man of the upmost integrity, by claiming that he did not follow through on a commitment. We would hope that is not the case.” Armistead said he was unaware the tribe was asked to send a check to the Barbour County GOP in exchange for a seat at the dinner.
