The NIGC is an independent regulatory agency created by IGRA and housed in the Interior Department. IGRA requires that the Commission have three full-time members. The Chair is a presidential appointment that requires Senate confirmation. The current Chair, George Skibine, has been filling the position on an interim basis since Phil Hogen's retirement. The remaining two associate members of the NIGC are chosen by the Interior Secretary. (One of the associate members is chosen, by a majority vote of the Commission, to serve as Vice Chair.) IGRA requires that at least two members of the Commission be enrolled tribal members, and that both political parties be represented on the Commission. The U.S. Attorney General's office is tasked with completing background checks on all appointees to the NIGC, and the Interior Secretary is required to publish information about appointees in the Federal Register and allow for a 30-day public comment period.
Little, a member of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, is a Republican. (Skibine and the other Commissioner, Steffani Cochran, are both Democrats and also tribal members). These days, bipartisanship isn't so popular among some folks, and it seems that the NIGC may get its own taste of divisive politics.
Rick Klein of ABC News reports that it's possible that Little is responsible for online comments and posts that are, well, highly critical of the Obama administration. Here are some examples from "The Note" on abcnews.com:
On a Washington Post blog, djlndc wrote last February, "the leftist media [are] covering for Obama -- just like during the campaign."
At Newsweek.com last July, a commenter with the same handle sounded off on “the thieves in the White House and Congress stealing all the wealth from the producers and bankrupting this country for future generations.”
Last March, djlndc accused the “leftist editors” of the Las Vegas Sun of removing some of his postings: “They are a bunch of Democrats that love Obama and didn't report the truth during the election. Why would I think they would report the truth now? Everyone should thank Obama and the Sun editors for all the lost revenue Vegas has seen due to the lost convention business. Pathetic!”
The posting on The Note suggests that djlndc may be Little, as in his initials djl "in D.C." -- an alias Little has used. But Little (through his people, as he's not commenting) denies or at least doesn't remember making such comments.
Salazar published Little's name and information in the Federal Register last month, and the 30-day comment period has since passed, though Salazar has not yet formally named Little to the Commission. Maybe a nice thank you note would help . . . .
Check out Steve's quote in the posting on The Note