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Gaming tribes target senator for defeat

Thursday, April 8, 1999 | 11:08 a.m.

The Seattle Times reported Gorton, a Republican, is a longtime foe of Indians. As Washington Attorney General in the 1970s, he fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court a landmark ruling giving Indians a treaty right to half of the state's salmon catch.

As a senator, he advocated sharp cuts in tribal budgets in 1995, then introduced a proposal two years ago to force tribes to waive their sovereign immunity in lawsuits.

Gorton said he was not trying to undermine tribes as independent nations; he argues federal legal policy toward Indians has tilted too far and elevates some rights of Indians above those of non-Indians.

Gorton's campaign issued a fundraising letter last month raising the specter of "Indian tribes flush with gambling dollars" willing to spend whatever it takes to defeat him.

The Times reported the involvement of the tribes in the campaign signals how far they have come in both economic and political measures. Thanks largely to economic benefits from their casinos, Indians now are players.

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