Competition, that`s what made this country great. And competition is what will keep us great in the world marketplace.
That`s what our Gov. Jim Edgar said when they squeezed him in as a speaker during the Republican convention.
He probably figured nobody was listening when he said it, since most delegates were either absent, talking or dozing, and the networks were broadcasting soaps.
But I listened. And his enthusiastic endorsement of competition shocked and embarrassed me.
There was the governor of my state telling a whopper of a fib to his fellow Republicans and the politics buffs who were watching on C-SPAN.
I was so shocked that I found myself yelling at the TV set:
”Competition, Gov? What about the racetrack industry, the lottery, the riverboat gambling, huh? Tell `em about that, why don`t you?”
If you are following the great casino battle, you know what I mean.
Chicago, through its elected leader, Mayor Daley, wants casino gambling. It will create jobs and bring much-needed money into this city.
Some large corporations want to build the casino and tie it in with other recreational facilities.
They aren`t asking for tax breaks, free land or any other special favors or perks, as many industries do in this job-hungry economy. They just want state consent to do business here.
In other words, a fair opportunity to compete for the gambling dollar.
And the key word there is ”compete,” as in competition, which Gov. Edgar spoke so warmly about to his drowsy audience.
So what`s stopping them?
Gov. Edgar, that`s what. It appears that he is selective in his enthusiasm for competition.
He has become an unabashed front man for the racetrack industry, which has been whining that a casino in Chicago would hurt its take.
And maybe it would. Some people might decide that they would rather bet on the turn of a card at a blackjack table than guess which midget can whack a horse`s rump hardest.
That is the nature of competition, free enterprise, an open market and all those other economic virtues to which Republicans swear loyalty.
So why not let the competition begin? Those who want to bet on the horses can do so. Meanwhile, those of us who prefer to toss our bets on cards, dice or the spin of the wheel should be allowed to.
But Edgar and his cronies say no. They have a duty to protect horse racing, which they describe as a fine, old, honorable industry.
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Sure. This is the same fine, old, honorable industry that provided the bribes that put former governor Otto Kerner in prison and corrupted numerous other politicians.
It`s also the industry that has been the bread and butter of the crime syndicate. All those millions of dollars that are taken in by mob bookies-does Edgar think people are betting on traffic lights?
So rather than favoring competition, Edgar is a supporter of a monopoly for the racing tycoons.
Oh, sure, there are a few exceptions. There`s the state lottery, the biggest sucker bet since the last guy who bought buggy whip stock. And riverboat casino gambling, for Edgar`s Downstate voters and contributors.
But the gambling industry doesn`t care about the lottery. It knows that the suckers who make a one in 5 million bet at a 7-Eleven store or a gas station aren`t its customers anyway. And the same applies to the small bettors who frequent the riverboats and bingo parlors.
A big-time casino is a different matter. Yes, it might cut in on the racetracks` take. But so what? That`s what competition is about. I didn`t hear Edgar or any other Downstate politicians wailing when Wal-Mart stores opened in Downstate towns, burying countless small, local businesses that couldn`t compete with cut-rate prices. Instead, Sam Walton was hailed as a marketing genius.
So the racing industry has brought out Edgar and its other shills to warn us of the evils of casino gambling.
They point at Atlantic City and say: ”Look, it is a dump.” Sure, but it was an even worse dump before the casinos. Besides, nobody ever said that Trump Palace would turn Atlantic City into Paris.
They choose to ignore the fact that Vienna, Austria, which has several casinos, is no dump. Nor is Nice, France, or Monte Carlo, or dozens of other casino cities all over the world. It`s always Atlantic City.
For that matter, Las Vegas is far more livable and has a lower crime rate than dozens of other American cities that don`t even allow punch boards or penny pitching.
Then they trot out their favorite bogeyman, the crime syndicate. Open a casino, they warn, and the mob will soon have control. Crime in the streets, blood in the gutters, our women-folk won`t be safe.
Says who? The mob hasn`t taken over Atlantic City. Or Vienna, or Badden-Badden, Germany. Or Illinois` riverboats or bingo parlors. Sure, it`s always had a piece of the action in Las Vegas, but that`s because the mob virtually created the town.
The state polices the racetrack industry and the other forms of legit gambling. So there is no reason it can`t do the same with a Chicago casino.
And Edgar knows that. Just as he knows that a casino would bring thousands of jobs and millions of dollars to Chicago. But Edgar, an enthusiastic horse bettor himself, is more concerned with protecting his millionaire friends in the racetrack industry.
Sure, Edgar believes in the great American tradition of business competition.
Just about as much as I believe in the tooth fairy.