The New Frontier casino in Las Vegas vanished in a cloud of dust earlier this morning, to be replaced by yet another bazillion-dollar Steve Wynn monstrosity. "We see fewer people playing the quarter slots since the New Frontier and Stardust closed," said Wynn, referring to two of the very few hotels on the Strip that actually catered to budget-minded visitors.
Used to be, Vegas offered the siren call of cheap food and lodging as an incentive, knowing damn well they'd get the money out of you in other ways. Even nickel slots could be addictive, and you could be down a hundred or more before you knew it.
These days, they don't bother. Sometime in the nineties, the major players in Sin City discovered just how stupid people can be: People no longer needed to be lured into gambling, they'd do it willingly. Hell, they'd pay top dollar for a room and food just for the privilege of throwing their money away. It's so much easier to fleece the suckers when they come willingly into your arms.
Which brings us to the Democrats.
The Jefferson-Jackson Dinner is a major blowout for the party faithful here in the caucus state of Iowa, and all of the major candidates would be there. Being one of the faithful, my sister Ann attempted to buy a ticket, or maybe two: Her companion was interested in attending, so Ann asked the party rep selling tickets about handicapped access.
Well, she was told, it was an old building and blah blah blah, but if he can walk at all--
No, Ann interrupted, he can't.
Well, then, the rep continued, we really can't--
Fine, whatever. She bought only one ticket.
Things got worse for Ann when she attempted to attend the event. Her ticket guaranteed her entrance to a specific section, but shortly after being admitted, she was told Secret Service agents had ordered that section closed for security reasons. She asked person after person where she should go, but nobody knew anything. Finally, disgusted, she left.
Aside from the woeful disorganization--or had the party deliberately overbooked the venue?--what's most interesting is how blind the party's organizers were to Ann's concerns. Why should they accommodate a guy in a wheelchair--even though Federal law says they must--when to do so might take away precious room on the main floor? People paid big money to sit down there and mingle with the candidates, and those people are simply more important than one handicapped guy.
Similarly, who cares about the troubles of one person--or dozens of people--who only paid for general admission seats? They don't contribute the big money that makes the machine run, so the hell with them. What are they gonna do, vote Republican?
No...but maybe they won't vote at all. The Democrats have for so long assumed a support base they no longer feel the need to seek that support. They have always been the party that cares about minorities and the downtrodden and basic human rights, and once upon a time, they showed that concern: The New Deal, the Great Society. Now empty words are the best you can hope for, and more often, you don't even get that. All the Democrats have going for them is the fact they're not Republicans, but is that enough? Not when their contempt for their base is so transparent.
The Democratic party is Steve Wynn, and most of us play quarter slots.
