They should have an Apprentice for politics … how fun would it be to watch The Engineer going up against one of those caged models from PETA, an NRA gun fanatic, a GLBT advocate, and maybe a Mason? They could compete in events such as fundraising, petitioning, street protests, cocktail-party schmoozing, direct lobbying, and YouTube … LOLZ, that’s kinda how it is these days as Washington DC tries to make the most of an American Idolized electorate in a social media assembly.

(Go Rich Muny! TID!)

It seems we are indeed making a strong showing for this month’s YouTube Town Hall question; there are actually two online poker questions — one about the Barton Bill (H.R. 2366: the Internet Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection, and Strengthening UIGEA Act of 2011) and the other about the Campbell Bill (H.R. 1174:  the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act). However, I’m wondering if either would be selected for YouTube debate, because as far as I can tell, the poker questions are the only ones attached, by number, to specific bills. My guess is few Members would use their YouTube airtime to pimp a single bill that hasn’t even been heard yet in committee . They’re looking to address concepts that may or may not mean something to voters — like freedom and fiscal sensibility, or something grand-sounding like “comprehensive tax reform” — not specific legislation with amendments still being written and a name that won’t even fit on Twitter.

But still, whether or not the online poker questions make it to the next round you can be sure Members are at least taking note of what voters are <s>thinking</s> thumbing.

More…

The Poker Players Alliance continues to evolve, with Rich Muny, aka @TheEngineer2008, appointed Vice President of Player Relations. Now it is officially The Engineer’s job to communicate for the PPA on various blogs and social media forums, from Twitter to 2+2 — pretty much as he has been doing since long before April 15, only now he’ll be the guy responsible for filtering through internet noise to make sure the PPA is hearing poker players’ legitimate concerns as various bills and political stuff moves forward.

Read the full press release below:

More…

While Jim McManus is preaching All-American poker goodness to the presumably liberal academic NPR set, Rich Muny (aka @TheEngineer2008) has taken it upon himself to address non-poker conservatives.

His latest missive on BigGovernment.com is a good one that puts online poker restrictions in the context of the 18th Amendment. And while yeah-yeah, we all know (most of) this stuff already, check out the 87 (!) comments to see how this key audience is grappling with the notion of creating a bureaucracy in the name of less government intrusion.

Good op-ed piece by Rich Muny (@TheEngineer2008) that lays out the current poker argument on our issue. Nothing you haven’t heard before, but Muny’s not preaching to the typical choir … he’s addressing conservative small-governmenters and in addition to laying out some legislative history, explains why (spoiler alert:) regulating online poker and gambling ≠ wild, rights-infringing government expansion.

The GOP’s Bad Bet Against Online Poker

You know, I’m obviously not running the poker-political show, though I do try to follow it. And I’m starting to think it’s time to amp-up the aggression on a grass-roots level. Drew Lesofski, the PPA’s director of grassroots and external affairs may not be as visible as the typical spokespeople (Pappas, Frank, D’Amato, Raymer) but he’s effectively rallied the troops — on state and federal levels — and while I’m pretty sure the new tweetforpoker.com has a purpose … bottom line … and this is only me talking here, not the PPA … might it not be time crash a few tea parties?

The message:

Take our goddamn fuckin’ money! And take it now! We want our damn personal freedoms back, and yeah, we expect America to be a better place to engage in a recreational activity legal in 48 states than Malta. We want to pay you, and those who oppose this pursuit don’t have to pay squat. And even though we don’t expect these bogus societal problems to emerge … hey, guess what, if they do, we’ll pay to clean’em up. Cool?

Hey, have you met our new 21-year-old posterboy Joe Cada? Pretty good kid …