"Together We Soar"...with slots

Speaking of the Morongo ad blitz, I got some mail from the Morongos' campaign. To refresh your memory, the campaign is to persuade California to approve new gaming compacts with several tribes so they can increase their slot machines from 2,000 to 7,500 each.

The brochure is titled "Together We Soar." On the cover is a bald eagle with wings outstretched against a blue sky. The interior shows caregivers, children, and a rainbow of people below the following text:California & Indian Tribes Soaring Together

Expanding Healthcare, Improving Education and Solving the Fiscal CrisisAmazingly, this brochure doesn't use the words "gaming," "casino," "compact," or "slot machine," even though that's what it's about. All it asks for is the reader to support the "new agreements." If you didn't know anything about the subject, you might think you were being asked to support a new education and healthcare bill.

In short, it's a nice piece of propaganda. Apparently the Morongos don't want to talk about casinos and slot machines because they know how ambivalent the public has become about these subjects. It's a telling commentary on the state of Indian gaming that the brochure doesn't even mention the subject.

You can see similar words and images on the TogetherCalifornia website. At least the home page mentions the word "compact." But you have to dig into the submenus before you'll find out the website is advocating an increase in slot machines in California.