Bush League: Why MLB Owners Support the Prez (more theft)

[tommcintyre]

http://www.counterpunch.org/zirin10302004.html

Weekend Edition
October 30 / 31, 2004

Bush League
Why MLB Owners Support the Prez
By DAVE ZIRIN

They didn't think he was good enough to be their baseball commissioner and follow in the immortal footsteps of people like Bowie Kuhn and Ford Frick, but the Major Leagues' cabal of billionaire owners is ponying up the dough to keep George W. Bush in the White House.

A recent Associated Press review found that the former Texas Rangers owner has had his palm greased by over half of the 30 Major League Teams. Seven owners even hold the distinction of being "Bush Rangers", meaning they raised at least $200,000 each, and six are "Bush Pioneers" signifying $100,000 a piece.

Bush's most ardent supporters in the owners box are a rogue's gallery of right wing ideologues with the bucks to back it up. There is Detroit Tigers owner with his own Republican electoral ambitions Michael Ilitch, San Francisco Giants owner and Safeway union buster Peter Magowan, Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad, best known for trying to contract his own team, and another figurehead of a decaying empire, George Steinbrenner.

Owners love Bush for a more complex reason than the usual ardor billionaires exhibit toward their tax cutter in chief. Baseball owners all yearn the same brass ring: they want to extort municipalities and tax payers to pay the tab for new state of the art stadiums ñ and no one ever fronted a stadium swindle better than George W. Bush.

[Caution]

1. Boston Red Sox owners are all proud Kerry supporters

Even if one of their ace pitchers isnt.

[tommcintyre]

5. I hope their success portends the success of their "native son"

[Shopaholic]

2. Most sports team owners

and the pro-athletes are so damned rich that they can afford to be Repugs. I can't.

[tommcintyre]

6. Selfishness sucks!

[Riddler]

3. He showed them how to steal land, rape the public

and make off with hundreds of millions of dollars. Of course he's their hero.

[lilsourgoose]

4. Los Angeles Dodgers owners for Kerry

As a huge Dodgers fan, I'm thrilled beyond belief that the McCourts are huge Kerry supporters.

Almost makes up for that grim era when Murdoch/Fox owned the team.

[Thrill]

8. Thats because McCourt is from Boston

.

[tommcintyre]

7. The great Bush family tradition

[Stinky The Clown]

9. The Baltimore Orioles Owner is a T R I A L L A W Y E R

He made his bux in the asbestos lawsuit business.