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I have never had a tremendous amount of respect for the Poker Players Alliance.

I always have thought they were extremely unorganized and seemed to have very little value true value to poker players.

Let’s not even discuss their Full Tilt Poker connections.

The PPA - Ignoring Important Facts as Long as It Furthers Online Poker

Now, they have released a statement regarding statements made by I. Nelson Rose against Texas Republican Joe Barton.

Yes, the same Barton of the Barton bill currently in Congress.

His points are essentially this based on the PokerPlayerNewspaper.com article:

1. He thinks Barton came out in support of online poker when he figured out that he could get campaign contributions from it.

2. Barton voted in FAVOR of the “Internet gambling by credit card” ban in June 2003. Also, Barton voted in FAVOR of the UIGEA.

In addition, he voted in FAVOR of the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act in 2006 and gave up the right for his committee to change the bill.

Rose goes on to talk about the politics of Barton and gives examples of times where Barton comes off as “not very smart.”

The PPA stated the following in its press release:

“The attacks center not on issues of the legislation itself, or even of poker-related issues. Rather, they focus on Rep. Barton’s politics and on Rose’s apparent disagreement with them.

“This is unfortunate and, in the opinion of the Poker Players Alliance, very misguided.”

So, the fact that he voted on three separate bills that brought about the current situation in online poker is not poker-related.

The man’s politics and general ability to understand key concepts is not relevant to his being able to understand the issues of online poker.

Am I the only person that sees that the PPA is missing his whole point here?

People are slow to change, especially politicians. Up through 2006, Barton has been a proven opponent to online poker, yet now he suddenly supports the right of people to play.

Why the sudden change of heart? What changed from 2006 to now?

Did he lie to his constituents all this time and only voted the way he did to get their votes? Why does he not care about those votes now?

Rose’s point about campaign contributions could be very valid, and they could be pointless.

The PPA said that “Rep. Barton believes in our right to play.” Will he continue to support our cause if we don’t support his cause financially?

Chances are we won’t find out.

While many favor the PPA, I am not one of them. This is just another example of its “support online poker or else” mentality.

Instead of focusing its time and efforts on Rose’s well thought out views, put more effort into achieving its goals.

Then again, this is the same organization that didn’t see Black Friday coming.