JACOB T. LEVY writes on Indian casinos and politics, in The New Republic:
The key point is that Indians are, once again, looking down the barrel of some especially adverse and arbitrary treatment by a political system in which they make up a tiny minority. If I were in their shoes and had some money on hand, I’d probably spend it on political campaigns, too. Wouldn’t you?
My own feeling is that Indian reservations ought to be able to sponsor legal gambling, sell drugs, legalize prostitution, and do most anything else that doesn’t directly menace their neighbors if they want to — though I’ll admit to having at least a notional conflict of interest there. But I’ll also note that if Indian reservations weren’t subject to state regulation, they’d have far less incentive to put money into state politics. And that would be good for everyone, wouldn’t it?
UPDATE: No, sadly, I don’t get money from Indian casinos. I’m just of Native American extraction myself. Never bothered to get a BIA card or anything, but I’d be eligible if I did the paperwork. That’s why I link Indian Country Today over under “Big Media.”