Seneca Nation using cash for influence
November 2nd, 2009
In American politics (and maybe all politics everywhere), it seems that large amounts of cash and/or a large voting bloc is what gives groups and persons political power and influence.
American Indian tribes possess a potentially large voting bloc but historically Indian people have not voted in high numbers. There are several instances, however, where the Indian vote in a state or federal election has been the deciding factor. In just recent years, the American Indian vote in Washington state was crucial in Maria Cantwell’s defeat the incumbent Senator Gorton by just a few thousand votes, and in reelecting South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson by about 300 votes in 2006. Gubernatorial elections in Alaska in 1995(?) and in New Mexico were also decided by Indian voters.
It looks like the Seneca Nation is taking this lesson to heart in its dispute with New York over taxing cigarette sales on the Seneca Reservation.
The upstate New York press is reporting that the Seneca Nation is expanding its strategy to block tax collection efforts on its cigarette operations by using campaign cash contributions to target state politicians who openly oppose the tribe.
The Senecas are launching efforts to help defeat three Senate Republicans whom they call “hostile to the nation’s interests” for pushing collection of what lawmakers say could be as much as $1 billion a year in cigarette tax revenues on Indian retail sales.
The Senecas last month reportedly adopted a resolution to funnel campaign cash to “any candidate who is supportive of the Nation’s treaty rights” and who plans to challenge any senator on its target list.
