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It is that time of year again; time to see
which politician earns the Poliball Award. Poliball is the “short term” for
Political Football. The award goes to the politician, or politicians,
who know how to play Political Football—a game where the politician
plays with your money, lies to you, or takes action for political, and
personal, gain. Usually the game involves a level of disregard for the
people. This year, there are many candidates, both
in my home state of Tennessee and nationally, who deserve the award.
Despite the high number of qualified recipients, here are the three
finalists: 1. President George “WMD” Bush. 2. Tennessee State Representative
“Rope A Dope” Jim Vincent. 3. The Rhea County Tennessee “We
don’t want gays” County Commission Every one of the finalists lacks the
ability to be forthright with the people. President “WMD” Bush took us to war in
Iraq because Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Most important, the
President told the world that Iraq had the ability to use the weapons,
creating an imminent threat to the world. It is a year later, and the President is
coming up empty handed—people are dying, and this President has no
evidence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or that Iraq could
use them. We are now left “nation building” in Iraq, our troops will
be there for years, and people will continue to die. Two things
came out of this war—we caught Saddam Hussein and our budget deficit
has sharply increased. Next there is Tennessee “Rope A Dope”
State Representative Vincent. “Rope A Dope” recently was involved in
an alleged “bar fight.” This fight occurred in Nashville, with Mr.
Vincent coming out with an injury to his head. Mr. Vincent denies fighting—however, it
is hard to believe Mr. Vincent, who changed his story several times. Mr.
Vincent’s most questionable action is his request to a local newspaper
publisher to “sit on” the story. Rope A Dope wanted to hide what
happened; he wanted to hide it so much he asked the press to join him in
his deceit. Mr. Vincent failed to be up front about the
issue.” Mr. Vincent’s actions clearly show disrespect for the press,
and the public. “Rope A Dope” placed career over the truth. .Finally, there is the Rhea County Tennessee
“We don’t want gays” County Commission. The Rhea County Commission
recently passed a resolution asking the State Legislature to give them
authority to “make it a crime to be gay.” The purpose of the
Resolution was clear; the Commission wanted the authority to ban gay
people from living in Rhea County. The reaction by the gay community,
and the people of the county, was swift. Rhea County made national, and
international, news. So what did the commission do? The Commission, within twenty-four hours,
bravely rescinded a resolution it never passed. The Commission rescinded
a resolution dealing with gay marriages, a resolution the “Anti Gay”
Commission never discussed. The Commission was then escorted out by
local authorities, much like a prisoner being taken into custody. The commission lied to themselves, the public,
and the world about its intent. Its refusal to accept responsibility for
its acts is despicable; it acted with disdain for the duties of the
office each member holds. All three finalists deserve the award; all three
finalists have demonstrated that keeping their job is more important
than representing the people. And so…the Poliball Award goes to all three,
for their efforts to deceive the public for political, and personal,
gain. The real shame of it all is the winners have a
good chance of keeping their jobs. Stuart James
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