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Posts Tagged ‘Joe Barton’
December 9th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Congress Votes … On College Football
Posted by Print

Proving that Congress can “walk and chew gum at the same time,” the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted to ban NCAA Division I football from holding a “national championship” unless it’s the product of a playoff system. What!?

Sadly, during the voice vote there was only one enthusiastic “No” vote from John Barrow (D-GA).

Congress loves power, and this vote is a perfect example of how everything, no matter how trivial (sports), is supposedly under their domain.  ‘Mandating that everyone get health insurance?  We can do that.  Controlling all political speech?  We run this show!  Mandating how college football players spend their postseason?  Sure, we watch college football and we personally prefer a playoff system.’

Republicans and Democrats deserve equal criticism.  The legislation is actually sponsored by Republican Joe Barton (TX).  Of course, if Texas had gone to the national championship game last year, then some representative from Oklahoma would have cried foul and tried to change the system.

Today’s vote is just one example of the blind arrogance exhibited by our representatives on a daily basis.  Power is king on the Hill.

It seems that Congress is little different from high school social politics.  Everyone travels in cliques (known as caucuses); everyone wants to be popular (leader, chairman or even President) and there are plenty of scandals involving drugs and cheating.

I guess in this metaphor that makes voters the parents of Congress.  It’s a shame that throwing Congress out of office every two years is the only punishment voters can inflict upon their “honorable” representatives.  (At what point are we allowed to stop calling them honorable?)

You can read the bill, H.R. 390 “The College Football Playoff Act,” hereHere is the markup information from today’s hearing.