Tweety to Alan Schlesinger: "It's not mudslinging IF IT'S TRUE"

[Human Torch]

The GOP candidate running in Connecticut against Ned Lamont. Tweets asked him about being banned from CT casinos for counting cards (cheating) in blackjack, plus past massive gambling debts. With a frozen smile he asserted that it's all mudslinging, but Tweety wasn't standing still for it.

Watch the "Hardball" repeat tonight if you get a chance.

:patriot:

[Supersedeas]

1. but THE DECIDER can't decide whom to support (hard werk ya know)

deciding which crook to crony.

[gizmo1979]

2. What kind of idiot runs

for office with those skeletons in the closet?

[Jackpine Radical]

6. A Democratic idiot.

Repugs can generally assume they have a free pass on any sleaze in their past. This guy would have been OK anywhere but CT, and against any candidate not approved by the RNC like Lieberman. But since the Puggies want to sink him, he's fair game, and if he didn't have pre-existing baggage they would have invented some for him.

[eleny]

3. Thanks - sounds like an interview I'd like to watch

[Canuckistanian]

4. That's when I knew - he was going to get whacked

Schlesinger is toast.

[Jed Dilligan]

5. I don't consider counting cards to be cheating

It's just using your memory to get an advantage. You aren't manipulating what cards get dealt (cheating). The casinos ban you for it because they can't stand to lose a cent to anyone.

My point however has nothing to do with politics. It should be enough to alientate the GOP base that their candidate was even in a casino.

[Sadie5]

8. The GOP has put their money on Joe

to win the race and they definitely are out to get Schlesinger. They could care less about him. This just might cost them in the future.

[LoZoccolo]

7. Card counting is neither illegal nor wrong.

I've heard he's been accused of using fake IDs to conceal his identity from the casinos, and that would be wrong, but if you ask any decent blackjack player they will tell you that card counting is simply a learned skill that helps you bet accordingly, just like basic blackjack strategy is a learned skill that tells you when to hit or stand. The casinos would like people to believe that it's cheating, but the truth is that they don't ban you using any legal power meant to punish cheating, but simply the fact that they can kick out anyone they want (and they'll do so when they find that your skill is giving you an advantage, which is something they enjoy over everyone who doesn't count cards). I actually think that's wrong because they are using one of a number of limited licenses to run their casino, and in Atlantic City the casinos actually cannot eject you for counting cards per the gaming commission.

I actually think we should be making Schlesinger look good if we want to siphon enough votes from Lieberman so that Lamont can win, in case you're wondering why it looks like I'm spending a lot of time defending him. That and I like to play blackjack and counter the casino propaganda.

[AlinPA]

9. I never understood why card counting is cheating; I thought it was called

"playing". That's what its about isn't it, trying to outguess the cards? The assholes in the casinos expect people to leave their brains at home.

[The_Casual_Observer]

10. That seems to be the only good thing about Schlesinger that I've

heard about.

[jumpoffdaplanet]

11. Same here. If he can keep track of cards like that

It means he actually has a brain.

[Jack Rabbit]

12. Where did Tweety get this information

Is the White House trying the undermine the GOP candidate? Do they think there's a better one?

[Tanuki]

13. Hmmmm.....

maybe if Lieberman wins as an independent, he has promised to switch to the Republican party in return for the administration's present support.

[Jack Rabbit]

15. I'd like to think not

He says that he'll vote with the Democrats on the continuing resolution in January. I like think the Lieberman's word is better than Bush's.

Then again, he's been a major disappointment to me in many other ways.

[Bjorn Against]

14. Counting cards is not cheating...

It is a skill that really good card players have.

I think they were looking for a scandel they could pin on Schlessinger in order to give the Republicans an excuse to back Lieberman.

I am by no means a Schlessinger defender, but I just think these accusations are ridiculous. The Republicans knew Lieberman was in trouble and they smeared Schlessinger in order to lend him a helping hand.

[Jack Rabbit]

16. I agree

But Casinos make the rules and they say using skill is cheating.

Casinos are like Republicans: they only like suckers who patronize them.

[AX10]

17. Card counting is not cheating. It is using one's memory to...

improve their chances of winning. Schlesinger is no prize package, but this sounds like the GOP wants to take him out to help their "tool", Joe LIEberman.

[Awsi Dooger]

18. Tweety was too stupid to understand the issue

I'm glad many posters in this thread have jumped in to correctly assert card counting is hardly illegal. It is a thug casino practice, part of a process to exclude anyone who threatens to win.

Hell, I was booted out of the Caesars Palace sportsbook in the late '90s after a winning streak of a few months. Years earlier Harrahs sportsbook told me I could bet there, but not on golf.

They do whatever they want.

Some casinos will ask suspected card counters to leave, hoping you get the idea and won't persist. Others ban you the first time. I've heard the Connecticut casinos, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, were much more apt than Nevada casinos to instantly ban someone.

On Hardball today, Schlesinger described the typical approach of the pit bosses or casino personnel. The phrase he used, "we don't like your play," is the standard message. The other one is, "we don't want your action."

[AX10]

19. Well, Casinos are run by thugs and owned by thugs....

so....what else did you expect. I stay away from those kind of places.