The politics of Clemens
Don Quixote on Feb 16 2008 at 7:36 pm | Filed under: Democrats, Republicans
DQ here. While Bookworm is on a well-deserved vacation, let’s see if we can get some good discussion going and, maybe, learn a little from each other. Let’s start with a topic I doubt BW would ever blog on — Roger Clemens. Several commentators have pointed out that most (though not all) of Clemens critics are Democrats and most (though not all) of his supporters are Republicans. This puzzles the heck out of me.
Why should Republicans be any more supportive of a cheating baseball player than Democrats? What, if anything, does it say about the parties that they split along party lines this way? Personally, I’m a Republican who thinks Clemens is as guilty as Bonds is and think both of them should be treated as cheaters and lawbreakers. Many folks have pointed out that when they used steroids, the steroids weren’t banned in baseball. Okay, but they were illegal!
Anyway, what do you folks think of the cheating and of the political divide? While we’re at it, what do you think of the whole idea of politicians getting involved in all of this. I read a quote the other day that said “America is not at war. America’s military is at war. America is at the mall.” It seems our Congress is at the mall, too. Don’t these folks have more important things to do than hold hearings on Roger Clemens and spygate?
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I read a quote the other day that said “America is not at war. America’s military is at war. America is at the mall.”
Given the fact that the media is stopping news coverage of Iraq now that there is no valuable propaganda to be derived from it, it is kind of obvious why America is at the mall.
I am not ready to tar and feather Roger Clemens. As Rep Burton pointed out so forcefully, his primary accuser is a serial liar. I am not certain exactly what Petite is saying, and it could be damning. OTH Petite has been under enormous pressure himself; maybe throwing Clemens to the wolves helps him. Or maybe as Clemens says Petite misunderstood.
Clemens may be dumb enough to go before a Congressional Committee and tell ball faced lies, but I hope his Attorney is not that dumb. I just find it hard to believe that he would put himself in such legal jeopardy if he were not innocent, when he could have simply clammed up. It would have no doubt cost him the hall of fame since you are guilty in the media as soon as you are accused, with no hope of proving your innocence. But better than jail.
Waxman and crowd set out to slime Clemens, and apparently have been successful–so far. They turned over a bunch of rocks and I hope a snake crawls out and bites thost jerks in the rear.
Seriously, we are at war, there are millions of people who want to kill, convert or subjugate us, and we’re worried about ball player’s habits?!?
All things considered, a couple of ‘roid abusing baseballers is not something that should be front page news. Especially considering the general lawlessness that is rampant throughout all of sports, from college ball teams on up through the NBA/NFL/MLB (you name it, pick your scandal).
I’ve always been baffled by this country’s preoccupation with people who aren’t even slightly worthy of the attention lavished upon them. All while completely ignoring true heroes.
For example. After nearly a decade serving this country as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician, one of my good friends lost his foot (and the tips of several fingers) to a landmine in Afghanistan. Instead of taking his well deserved medical retirement; he committed himself to regaining full active status and became an instructor at one of the most difficult training courses in the US military. For this, he got a couple hundred words in a tiny handful of publications.
My friend is a person worthy of attention, and he is but one among thousands. Roger Clemens and all of his ilk don’t rate compared with the kind of commitment and heroism displayed by servicemen and women daily all over the world. I wouldn’t trade even one of my EOD brothers for a hundred ball players or movie stars, and I personally couldn’t care less if Clemens or any of the others are guilty or not. That is a matter for the law and the baseball commision to sort out. I do care that the MSM and our politicians are wasting time on this petty issue when there are genuine existential concerns that they continue to ignore.
I haven’t a clue why Congressional Republicans are taking Clemen’s side and Democrats take the opposite. Maybe they’re exercising their infrequently used trial lawyer muscles. It’s a pick up game of legal football played out in front of their constituents on national TV.
Certainly, Ymarsakar is right, the MSM needs to ignore the success the Iraq campaign and this soap opera is taylor made for them.
Should our Federal Government get involved with poor decisions in what is essentially an entertainment industry? I am forced to say yes because, 1) the industry has not policed itself, 2) private organizations have not forced the industry to police itself, 3) the reason the industry cannot be allowed to use steroids is that if the Big Leagues do it, the Little Leagues (that is our kids) will too. Remember what happen to that poor little Russian gymnast in the Olympics decades ago? I think her name was Olga Korbit. The Russian trainers gave her steroids to enhance her performance, and they destroyed her.
And yes, they all need to be censured for cheating.
Al
“It seems our Congress is at the mall, too. Don’t these folks have more important things to do than hold hearings on Roger Clemens and spygate?”
Shepard “The Poodle” Smith does his Daily Britney. Bill O’Reilly spends time on sensational missing persons cases and trials and media celebrities. Greta Van Susteren’s entire show is dedicated to exploitation. Now Congress, which is supposed to be above it all, is entering the arena of exploitation. Call it ‘The Circus’.
Congress, the President, and all candidates are in favor of a $150 billion payout to Americans without cutting spending. Inflationary and adding to the debt, any short term benefit will have worse long term effects. Call this ‘The Bread’.
Bread and Circuses. Bread and Circuses. Add to that the fact that our entire national government, on every side, has become deeply corrupt, and I have to seriously wonder: How far along the road that led to the Roman collapse are we?
Sports has replaced religion as the opiate of the masses. I can’t blame the MSM for covering sports; look at the ratings for the Super Bowl. The media will always report what people are interested in, and people are intensely interested in sports. Mike is right about the “bread and circuses” though. What ever happened to the America that valued hard work and self-reliance?
Oldflyer, I’m curious whether you’d make the same defense of Bonds. I didn’t believe Clemens (or Bonds) anyway, but I lost all respect for Clemens when he threw his wife under the bus.
If there is credible evidence Bonds committed a crime he should be prosecuted. If there is credible evidence he violated a baseball rule (if one existed at the time in question)he should be sanctioned by baseball.
The same goes for Clemens. The emphasis in both cases is on credible evidence. My primary point was that the primary accuser of Clemens has admitted–under oath–that he previously lied repeatedly, and under oath. Petite’s story should be investigated by professional and competent authorities. It appears to me that this whole exercise had the intent of turning a possible indiscretion into a crime. Not a good thing.
In either case I object to Congress getting their slimy noses into areas in which they have no business, simply to get their faces in the media; and I object to anyone being tried and slimed in the media.
Congress uses MLB’s favored status as their excuse to muck around in these situations. Guess what? I do not think that the entertainment industry, which clearly is where all professional sports operates, should have favored status under the law.
That is where I am on this.
The media will always report what people are interested in, and people are intensely interested in sports.
People are interested in helping human life and war. So what you say is patently untrue for this decade of the 21st century.
Well, specifically on the Clemens case, you have testimony by Chuck Knoblauch and Andy Pettite supporting the (disreputable) trainer - and all three accepted by Mitchell. In their suppport you also have the (questionable) Jose Canseco. Against all of these, you have Clemens alone. It’s not a good place for Clemens to have to be standing alone, given the suspicion of widespread use of steroids and HGH by most professional athletes.
I have no explanation for the partisan divide on this issue. Because it defies rationality, it therefore *MUST* come down to moneyed supporters: lobbyists. When it doubt, follow the money, follow the money.
It’s televised and discussed widely on the news because the people are fascinated and want it. I would wish our media and our elected officials would not lower themselves to this level, but they have been and they are. They won’t stop now. That’s why I discussed “bread and circuses”: When even the supposedly wisest among us are stooping so low; when then there are few wise leaders anywhere to be seen; when the “momentum” is towards worse levels of exploitative infotainments and Senate and House sideshows… you have to ask where we can go from here.
Gotta run! A Britney story just came on! And another report about one missing pretty blonde young thang, instead of about the other 900,000 each year who go missing that aren’t pretty blonde young thangs.
Enough with the bread and circuses and the Roman collapse hand-wringing. Rome lasted more than 400 years after the squalid corruption of its early emperors and I have no doubt America will prove much more resilient and endure longer. Congress investigating steroid use in baseball is a good thing because it keeps a jerk political hack like Waxman, who heads the committee, from doing more serious harm.
Good point, Zhombre!
The Roman Empire lasted far longer than 400 years after Caligula. But they were only able to do that by moving their capital to Constantinople. The “Byzantines” thought of themselves as Roman until their end. And of course, having a base in control of Egypt-Alexandreia-Syria didn’t hurt either.
When Rome lost Egypt to the Muslim conquests, it was all over but the dying. Egypt was a huge grain and trade supply source.