Advertiser: Indian $ Fought Ala. Gambling

     The Montgomery Advertiser reports this morning on the years' old allegations about American-Indian Tribes funding Alabama anti-gaming efforts.
     But past allegations have focused on Mississippi tribes. The Advertiser says there was a $100,000 donation from the Poarch Creek Indians in Alabama to a national Republican fundraising group that was then passed on to an Alabama group fighting electronic bingo, which competed with the tribe's gaming facilities.
     The Poarch Creek operate casino-style facilities in Atmore, Montgomery County, and in Wetumpka, where they are expanding into a full-fledged gambling resort on The Alabama River.
     The contribution dates to 2010.
     If nothing else, the article is evidence that election laws need to be tightened up, so voters know the source of funds trying to sway their votes. The Advertiser story can only go so far...tracking the $100k from the tribe to the GOP group, and a contribution in the exact amount made the same day to the anti-gambling group. Coincidence? If the law required the complete transparency that politicians are always calling for, we would know for sure.