Liberty on the Line

Since when is wanting to buy a football team a matter for the House floor?

When Sheila Jackson Lee took the floor of the House this week to criticize Rush Limbaugh in an attempt to block his bid for purchasing the NFL's St. Louis Rams, I wasn't the only one confused as to the appropriateness of the venue. Even Congresswoman Lee stated, "This is not a government issue." Then why was she wasting taxpayer time and money discussing an explicitly private-sector matter?

Because liberals love nothing more than involving themselves into arenas in which they have no knowledge, while desperately wanting to appear righteous. But I wasn't overly concerned with her choice of venue. I was frightened by her choice of words... [snip]

When a government representative can stand on the floor of our most respected chamber and use phrases like "not the kind of owner the NFL needs," "standards of integrity," and "do the right thing" when discussing a private citizen, a shiver runs down my spine. T

If Limbaugh isn't an acceptable "kind of owner," then who is exactly?

Is it the place of a public employee to judge what "kind of owner" a business should have? Also, to what "standards of integrity" is she referring? Limbaugh has never committed a crime. He pays his taxes fully. He gives mountains more to charity than President Obama or nearly all Democrats. What question of integrity?

If a private citizen can't say what he wants and spend his own money how he wants, while not breaking any rules, our nation's founders would not recognize their creation. Maybe the "right thing" Ms. Lee is searching for is for the NFL to have owners that don't lean "right."

The reality is that it's not a big jump from Ms. Lee's position in the House to a legislator saying that a teacher who doesn't believe in unionization is "not the kind of educator our schools need."

Or a doctor who doesn't agree with single payer healthcare is described as "not the kind of physician our hospitals need."

Or a small business owner who speaks out against exorbitant corporate taxes is deemed "not the kind of entrepreneur our economy needs."

Or...

Suddenly, the "standards of integrity" and the ones doing "the right thing" are distinguished by a distant and relativistic judge.

Once again, this is not the liberty our founders intended.

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