February 29, 2004

 By Carroll A. Campbell III

As a long-time observer of public affairs in South Carolina, I have rarely seen as much misinformation circulated in the news media as we have all witnessed surrounding a proposal by the Catawba Indian Nation to open a bingo facility in Orangeburg County.  Since my name has been referenced in a number of those articles as a "prominent backer" of the Catawba proposal, I'd like an opportunity to set the record straight.

 I knew little about the history of the Catawba Indian Nation until I accepted the position of vice president with a South Carolina company that provides management services to the Catawba Nation.  In reviewing the history of the case, I soon learned that the tribe has been treated very unfairly, especially in recent years.  I believe any fair-minded person familiar with the facts would agree.

In 1993, when my father was Governor of South Carolina, an agreement was reached with the Catawba nation to settle a long-standing legal fight over the ownership of valuable land in York County.  The Tribe agreed to drop their land claim and to forgo their right to be protected by the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).

 In return, the State of South Carolina made certain promises.  The Tribe was granted a permanent reservation in York County, where they were empowered to offer "video poker and other similar electronic devices" even if those devices were illegal in surrounding areas.  They were also promised the ability to operate two profitable bingo facilities in South Carolina to generate funding needed to support health care, housing and other basic services for the Catawba Nation. 

The State's chief negotiator today freely acknowledges the Catawba Tribe was told they would be given "the best game in town" in exchange for giving up their claims.   After lengthy negotiations, the tribe agreed to the terms.  A settlement act was then signed and ratified by the S.C. General Assembly.

Sadly, in the intervening years, the state has not lived up to its promises.  The tribe's bingo games have been trumped by legislation that gave similar rights to non-Catawba gaming operations, and they have not been able to open a second location. 

 More recently, the state-run lottery has virtually destroyed the profitability of the Catawba operation in York.  And when the tribe requested approval at the federal level to open a more modern, electronic bingo facility to help them recover lost profits, state leaders said they should make their case in Columbia rather then Washington.

In an effort to comply, the tribe has now brought their proposal before the state legislature.  They are simply asking for permission to open a more modern bingo facility in Orangeburg County, with higher speed play and higher stakes, to be competitive with the state lottery and with Indian bingo facilities in nearby states.

 The tribe's proposal is supported by unanimous resolutions from the Orangeburg County Council, Santee City Council and the Orangeburg legislative delegation.  But once again, lobbing groups are organizing to kill the proposal in the state legislature, with opposition coming mostly from religious groups. 

 Well, I am also opposed to gambling.  Like my father, I was against video poker, and I was opposed to the state-run lottery.  But this debate is not about gambling.  It is about whether or not our state is going to keep the promises it made in 1993.

  I am my father's son.  I measure myself every day by the standards he set.  I am a social conservative and an active member of the Republican Party.  I am also active in my church and seek support from my faith in making all the judgments that shape my life.  To my friends in religious groups organizing to defeat the Catawba tribe, I can only remind them that there is a Commandment against bearing false witness.  Telling the truth is a moral imperative. 

 Today, my Dad's memories are sometimes clouded by Alzheimer's disease, which makes it even more important for me to keep alive the memory of the values he stands for.  Among those, none is more essential than keeping your word.

 Honoring the promises made to the Catawba Indian Nation is also the smart thing to do.  Failing to keep our word as a state may force the tribe to bring video poker machines to reservation land in an effort to survive financially.  Most lawyers who have looked at the 1993 agreement say the tribe has that right if they chose to exercise it.  Failure to keep our word may also force the tribe to bring legal action against the State, which could lead to a tremendous financial liability to the taxpayers of South Carolina.

 This is no time to stick our heads in the sand and pretend the promises of 1993 were never made.  This is also no time to parse words like Bill Clinton, looking for some legal technicality to deny moral responsibility for our actions.

 Instead, we should allow the Catawba Indian Nation to build their modern bingo facility in Orangeburg, where the proposal clearly enjoys widespread support because it will generate revenue and 1,300 jobs in an area with 15% unemployment.  I just hope it doesn't take a bevy of lawsuits and costly punitive action by the courts to persuade my conservative colleagues that the right thing to do is also the wise thing to do.  Let's just keep our word.