Liberal Refs

Scott Sturman

fliesinyoureyes.com

Archway Great Wall of China - photo by JoAnn Sturman

The injustice was for all the nation to see!  The Green Bay Packers had been robbed of a victory, when a “Hail Mary” pass from Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was intercepted in the end zone.  But wait!  A replacement referee, whose visual acuity made Mr. McGoo’s look like a peregrine falcon, signaled touchdown.  The patently obvious blunder incredulously was substantiated by an arcane rule of the instant replay, and then in a face saving gesture, upheld by the commissioner’s office the next day.

The nation was in an uproar.  With the exception of Seahawks and Viking fans, who saw no problem with the call, the football world bristled with the idea that the testimony of millions of eye witnesses could be dismissed by the reining powers in the sport.  Not since 9/11 had the country pulled together to demand the great wrong be righted; the scabs be fired or executed and the professional referees reinstated.  They would settle for nothing less than truth and the even handed arbitration of America’s new National Pastime. 

In August of this year, while presiding at the Democratic National Convention, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, was given the simple task of calling for a voice vote to reverse an earlier decision to strike an affirmation of Christianity and declaration of Jerusalem as capital of Israel from the Democratic National Platform.  Pollsters warned this controversial stance had not been well received by the voting public.  

To change the platform a two thirds vote is required, so to allow the party faithful to cover their tracks, a voice vote was called.  The ever dapper and wondering eyed Villaraigosa, who attended an unaccredited law school and who has failed the California Bar Exam four times, called for the delegates to respond to the question with either “aye” or “nay” in front of a nationally televised audience.  The deer in the headlight eyes look said it all:  Antonio could not believe his ears.  He had expected the herd to follow instructions and resoundingly fill the convention hall with ayes, but if anything the nays were louder than the ayes.  Again he called the vote, but the nays became perceptibly more apparent.  Finally, to pull him out of his funk, a woman approached him from behind and whispered in his ear.  He again asked for a vote.  The results were the same, but the Mayor simply declared for the ayes.

When arbitrary power and incompetence affected the results of an NFL football game, the American public and the President of the United States demanded justice.  When the Democratic Party leadership asked their national delegates to change the party platform, it was obvious a two-thirds majority were not in agreement.  In fact it was questionable whether a simple majority supported the resolution.  

The affair typified Chicago style politics in all its splendor.  If the votes don’t come your way, then either ignore them or stuff the ballot box.  In the case of the Democratic National Convention the shenanigans were displayed for millions to see, but as far as the liberal press was concerned, the conduct of a few inept refs is unforgivable, while contempt for the voting process even among their own constituents, is business as usual and hardly newsworthy. 

Bright Angel Trail Grand Canyon - photo by JoAnn Sturman