Rapid response on the latest volley in the electronic bingo wars (though no response faster than the TRO secured by Milton McGregor as troopers waited to raid Victoryland). Read the story of this morning’s events here.

Democratic candidate Ron Sparks campaign released a statement calling the attempted task force raid “an outrageous waste” of state resources to “kill thousands of jobs for working Alabamians.”

The Artur Davis campaign says in part “midnight raids… are not the answer.” Davis stands by a statewide vote to resolve the issue with each county deciding whether to approve gaming.

This morning in Birmingam, long-time anti-gambling activist Eric Johnston says a vote is not needed.

“The Supreme Court needs to decide the issue,” Johnston tells me today.

He is part of Citizens for a Better Alabama. The group has launched a new TV spot opposing gaming legislation in Montgomery. Watch it here on YouTube.

He says court rulings on current law shows “these machines are unlawful. We don’t need to vote up and down on them.”

Johnston also claims a statewide vote would be a hard battle for anti-gambling activists.

“The amount of money would be overwhelming… there’s no way we can compete financially” with the electronic bingo backers, he says.

McGregor released a statement earlier this morning, again calling on Gov. Bob Riley to end, what McGregor calls the “hypocrisy” in his war with electronic bingo. Read the statement here.

The head of Riley’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling, Mobile DA John Tyson, says the task force is still working to “enforce the rule of law in Alabama.” Watch his news conference at the State Judicial Building here.

Rick Journey

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