Michigan Politics
Clash of the Titans Over Indian Casinos
By George Weeks

The quest on Capitol Hill by two Upper Peninsula tribes to gain downstate land for casinos is grandly described by the Washington Post as "a fierce multimillion lobbying battle of a scale not seen since fall of Jack Abramoff," imprisoned defrauder of Indians and others.

But U.S. Representative Bart Stupak (D-Menominee), whose district includes homelands of two of the combatants, the Bay Mills Indian Community and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, calls the description "highly overstated."

In a phone interview, he said the legislation, approved by the House Natural Resources Committee last week, is not so much a "titanic battle" on the national scene as it is "a Michigan delegation food fight" among members "trying to protect their own turf."

Two top delegation titans are on opposite sides of the legislation that would settle century-old land claims by allowing casinos in Romulus and Port Huron in exchange for the settling of 110 acres of land claims around Charlotte Beach in the Upper Peninsula:

For: House Dean John Dingell (D-Dearborn), powerful chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and mentor of Stupak, who heads the committee's highvisibility Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. Dingell, whose district includes Romulus, insists that the issue is about a legitimate land claim.

Among those allied with Democrats Stupak and Dingell on this issue is Representative Candice Miller (R-Macomb County), who represents Port Huron. (Now a faint blip on the crystal ball, but Miller and Stupak are potential opposing contenders for governor in 2010.)

In committee testimony on the legislation earlier this month, Miller said: "Much of the opposition is based purely on greed. Now that the city of Detroit has theirs, they don't want anyone else to have one."

Against: House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Detroit), allied with the Congressional Black Caucus and beleaguered Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick of Detroit, site of three commercial casinos.

The Interior Department opposes the legislation, saying it would circumvent its role in reviewing gambling compacts between tribes and the states.

Quite possibly the opponent to be most feared by supporters of the legislation is Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (DNevada), whose Las Vegas constituents include gaming managers with big stakes in Detroit casinos. Michigan Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow support the legislation.

This is more than an intramural Michigan food fight. Representative Dale Kildee (D-Flint), who supports the legislation and is co-chairman of the Congressional Native American Caucus, said in the Washington Post:

"It'll be a real lobbying effort on both sides. Whenever you combine gaming and money to be made, you find a lot of people interested who were never interested in Indians before."

The Post said: "The two sides have accused one another of the sort of tactics Abramoff's lobbying team made famous, including creating front groups to gin up anti-gambling sentiment.

Opponents charge that the tribes' legal position rests on a sham land purchase secretly engineered by one of the casino developers.

"Michael Malik, developer of one of the proposed casinos, is a business partner of Marian Ilitch, whose family owns a casino, hockey's Detroit Red Wings, and baseball's Detroit Tigers. Ilitch and their family members have given $393,000 to members of Congress in the past two election cycles. On the other side, MGM Mirage is the biggest contributor to members of Congress, giving $1.4 million in the past two cycles."

The paper said the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, which operates the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mount Pleasant, "and sees the legislation as a threat to its business, has given $394,000."

Also at play here, as it has been through the ages, is whether deals made will be deals kept. The state made a deal on this with the tribes in 2002, but the feds have the final word on this.

Earmarks

The slipping in of special earmarks in congressional appropriations bills without debate or prior congressional committee or administration review is widely condemned by President Bush, GOP presidential contender John McCain, and others.

Last week, after Taxpayers for Common Sense, a group critical of earmarks, reported that Stupak led Michigan Democrats in the House with $5.1 million in earmarks for fiscal year 2008, he said in a conference call with Michigan reporters: "I am very proud of the earmarks we have. I don't make any excuses."

The tally for the two Republicans representing the northern Lower Peninsula: Representative Pete Hoekstra of Holland, $833,000, and Dave Camp of Midland, $490,000.

Call to Duty

Hours before last week's convening of the Republican State Convention, state Representative Jack Hoogendyk emerged as the favorite to oppose Senator Carl Levin.

He filed papers for the race and former state House Majority Floor Leader Andrew "Rocky" Raczkowski, Levin's 2002 challenger and the choice of top party leaders to run again, revealed that he will not run because he has been called back to active duty as a major in the Army Reserve.

"You don't have to be on the ballot to serve your country," said Raczkowski, who won a Bronze Star while commanding a special operations unit in the Horn of Africa after getting a mere 38% of the vote against Levin. "We had innovative fundraising plans. But I have no control over this. It's not the best timing of my life."

In the months before going on active duty, likely back to Africa or to Afghanistan or Iraq, he said he will do all he can to "help Jack and the Republican ticket."

Hoogendyk, who abandoned a 2006 race for governor and last year, was the most conservative House member, according to an Inside Michigan Politics newsletter review of votes on 30 issues. He will need much help, as Levin is heavily favored to win a sixth term.

George Weeks retired in 2006 after 22 years as political columnist for The Detroit News. His weekly Michigan Politics column is syndicated by Superior Features.