In a time of war and economic crisis, Congress' top priority seems to be a baseball player - not a baseball player who committed treason, not a baseball player who is working undercover to undermine U.S. economic interests, but a baseball player who may or may not have cheated at one time. While this is a big deal for Roger Clemens, a big deal for baseball fans and certainly a big deal for Major League Baseball, it is not a problem for the United States Congress.
Earlier this month the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform spent more than four hours grilling the all-star pitcher and his former trainer Brian McNamee about the use of performance-enhancing drugs, and this weekend news reports claim there may exist a photo showing Clemens at a party hosted by Jose Canseco, an issue disputed in Congress this month.
But Congress had more urgent matters to deal with from the beginning: Didn't our government recently decide it doesn't have time to create a new immigration plan? Isn't the United States heading toward a recession? Aren't the men and women of our military at war? And if Congress really wants to talk about drug use, aren't there more dangerous and commonly-used drugs smuggled over our borders daily?
But the United States Congress is wasting its time bickering about baseball.
Major League Baseball is a privately - not federally - owned and operated company. Our government has no part in it. The problems associated with steroid and human growth hormone use should be confronted by the Major League Baseball organization. They need to, and will, do this in order to keep their fans happy.
Furthermore, these drugs are not posing a threat to Americans. In fact, they are legal if the user has a prescription. There is absolutely no reason for government intervention.
Maybe our Congress is just not capable of confronting the serious issues facing our nation. In order to keep the votes of their many baseball-loving constituents, they are using this scandal as smoke and mirrors to hide their failures. They may not be able to strengthen the economy or create a functioning immigration plan, but they can surely play the game. They can force some baseball players to stand before the nation and admit or deny that they have cheated. But so far, it moreso looks as if the joke is on Congress. They can't seem to figure out which players are frauds, but in the process of trying to expose them, Congress is only exposing its own failures. Sheridan is a political communications and Plan II sophomore.
Be the first to comment on this article!