411 Politics Roundtable: Sports and Politics

Posted by Brandon Crow on 06.29.2007

The draft, the trade and the release-- three powerful concepts in sports. What happens when we apply these practices to the world of politics?

Welcome to the 411 Politics' June roundtable. This month, to coincide with the NBA's annual draft from last night, we are going to borrow a few advents of professional sports and transfer them to politics. The concepts of the draft, the trade and the release are definitely compelling in the sports world, but they could be even more intriguing in the political world. Thus, we've conducted this roundtable based on drafting, trading and releasing political figures.

Participating in this month's roundtable are Justin Baragona, Ray Church, myself, Jason Easley, Dan Martin and Brian McLain. Let's get to it…Jump Ball!

1. The draft. Who each party (limit to Democrats and Republicans) should draft (from various fields: i.e. Hollywood actors, professional athletes, TV commentators, etc…) to run for office as a way to enhance the party's future prospects. Please briefly explain why.

Justin Baragona: GOP: Actor--Kurt Russell. He still has a pretty decent profile among working actors today and also has a good cool factor (he was Snake Plissken and just worked with Tarantino), at least in terms of actors who consider themselves Republicans. Of course, he doesn't have anywhere close to the possible qualifications for him to get anywhere near the White House or even a Senate seat, but I could see him running for and winning a House seat.

Athlete--Tom Brady. This is a no brainer for the Repubs. They've been parading him out during SotU addresses and campaign stops since he became a Super Bowl winning QB. Combine that with his good looks, and you can see them grooming him for a Senate seat post-retirement and the inevitable White House run '20 or '24. Of course, they would hope that his success with the Patriots will buy him enough goodwill to swing the New England states (namely Massachusetts) red during that time.

Commentator--Chris Matthews. While some feel that Matthews has already become a whore for the GOP and not the straight shooter he claims to be, it is fact that he was Jimmy Carter's speechwriter back when Carter was President. Thus, not only getting Matthews to align with the GOP but run for office as such would be a real coup for the Republicans, as they would be able to claim that they changed the mind of a lifelong and highly visible Democrat.

Dems: Actor--George Clooney. What else needs to be said about him? He's talented, good looking and seems to know his world issues. He has been used for campaigning in the past and you get the sense that if he runs for any kind of office, that he would bring legitimacy even though he is merely an actor (and now director). His profile is huge, and the Dem are already accused of being the 'Hollywood elite' party, so why not throw him out there and see what happens? I just feel that he wouldn't embarrass them.

Athlete--N/A. Athletes tend to never run as Democrats, only as Republicans. One could point out that athletes tend to be simple minded and rich and thus make that connection to why they are overwhelmingly Republican in nature. Regardless, I can't think of an athlete that the Dems would or could get to run for office.

Commentator--Al Franken. This is actually pretty much a given that Franken will be running for a Senate seat in his home state of Minnesota. So drafting him is just for show, as he's doing it anyway.

Ray Church: I'd liked the idea of drafting Bill Maher for the Greens, but as this is just Dems and Republicans, we'll throw that out the window. For the Republicans, Bruce Willis would be real star power (as opposed to Fred Thompson) if they could woo him back to the fold. If the party decides to swing libertarian, Clint Eastwood would be another possibility.

(or maybe they could just adopt the Fox News Network and make it official)

For the Democrats, there are already a lot of second tier stars hanging around (Affleck, Damon, Sarandon, Robbins...) who could be pulled in, but for real star power there can be only one... Oprah Winfrey. Will Smith would also be a good choice, but there is not much evidence he is interested in such things except for his involvement in Live 8. Or Tom Hanks, who supports the Dems but tends to stay silent in public.

Brandon Crow: Republicans should draft Jim Webb and "Big Diesel" Shaq. I know Webb is already Senator of Virginia on the Democratic ticket, but that's only because Bush's total mishandling of the war in Iraq pushed him over the line. The man has been a life-long Republican; in fact, he was even Secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan. Losing him cost them big—first off, he's a military man. Secondly, he's a tough guy with a legitimate claim on that image, unlike Bushie and Cheney. And lastly, well, he took the Senate seat away from Macaca Allen. If the Republicans can do so, they ought to draft him back into the party.

Shaq is an obvious choice, I think. The guy is a star, has lots of charisma and is adored by the media. What Republican out there can claim this? Shaq would fill the biggest void in the Republican party with these traits. Draft away, gentlemen!

The Democrats should get it over with and officially draft John Stewart and Stephen Colbert into the party. I think Stewart has a brighter political future than Colbert, but both could do the party proud. Democrats aren't stomp-your-face bullies and don't do well with character assassination. Those are strictly realms of the Republicans. But what Democrats do spades better than the GOP is using humor and comedy to their points across. Who better than Stewart and Colbert?

Jason Easley: Democrats - Let's see the Democrats have lots of Latinos, African Americans and women, but what they really need is a good Jewish leader. Welcome to the Party, Mike Bloomberg. Bloomberg is the one free agent that the Democrats should try to sign. He would be a great Democrat. He already has the policy stances, and he is the mayor of NYC. If things don't work out for the Party in 2008, he could be their nominee in 2012. It makes perfect sense, which is why it will never happen.

Republicans - Justin Timberlake. He brought sexy back, so maybe he can do the same for Republicans. He would energize the GOP in the gay and female demographic for sure. Plus, he would lower the average age of the Party, which currently stands at 116.

Dan Martin: The Democrats should make Clint Eastwood their first selection. Obviously, Clint is not a spring chicken, but if any charge has dogged the Dems it is not being tough enough. Eastwood has always played tough guys.

The Republicans should draft Patricia Heaton of Everybody Loves Raymond fame. She is a conservative and far more articulate than Elizabeth Hasselbeck. Heaton could help Republicans not come across as menacing. Unlike Hasselbeck, she could make actual arguments that do not amount to quickly reciting memorized statistics (sent from?).

Brian McLain: Wow, who would I draft to each party? I'm going to have a little fun with this one:

Republican Party -- Jesse Ventura: The guy is a straight talker and can talk business with
anybody. After the last 8 years, the Republican Party could use a good talker.

Charles Barkley - A black guy is a rare and very valuable asset to the Republican Party. Especially if he actually votes Republican!

John Wayne - It doesn't matter that he's dead. Republicans will vote for him BECAUSE HIS JOHN F'N WAYNE!

Democrat Party -- Jesse Ventura - Can't play for both sides of the fence? Bah! He was always kind of a tweener anyway.

Ron Artest - He's black, he's angry, he can knock out a drunk white guy in one punch, and he can really play basketball. Maybe he'll be black enough for Al Sharpton.

Uncle Sam - Take that, Republicans! No one can call Dems un-American with this guy in their corner. I mean, he's like Apollo Creed...only he's old...and white...and not a boxer...and...ah screw it.

Joe Rivett: I would like the Democrats to draft Terrell Owens. They need some arrogance. They need confidence. Most Importantly, they need to tell it like it is.

I would like the Republicans to draft Eric Mangini. With Karl Rove the supposed genius retiring, why not have the Man-Genius?

2. The trade. Who each party ought to trade to the other side and why. For this question, you may either say in general, or focus on the current presidential candidates.

Justin Baragona: GOP: Trade--Ron Paul. The party hates him now because he had the gall to speak the truth about foreign policy and the Iraq War, instead of waving the flag and yelling 'Support the Troops' and complaining about 'Cut and Run'. While he definitely has old school conservative ideals, he just does not fit in with the neo-cons and religious right that run the party now. Therefore, might as well trade him to the Dems where they will embrace his anti-war stance and come to terms with his other conservative ideals (many of which actually fit within the party's ideals now.)

Dems: Trade--Hillary Clinton. She is extremely polarizing, and if she secures the nomination, people will vote against her as opposed to voting for her opponent. Meaning, they will just not want to vote for her out of pure spite. So I say send her to the GOP where she can go ahead and say that she is in favor of and supports the Iraq War, which we all know is how she truly feels. They may take her for 30 cents on the dollar (or straight up just to get rid of Ron Paul) just so they can say they have a Clinton. They won't let her run for President, but they'll use her for campaigning.

Ray Church: Republicans: I guess we got to look at centrists here. The DLC would be a good place to start (I would start with the Blue Dogs, but there are not many high profile names there), who are basically Compassionate Conservatism by another name. Hillary Clinton is the most high profile, but if she joined the Republicans they would probably lose more than they gained. Kerry is too foot in mouth and Edwards has swung left, so the next highest profile name would probably be Rahm Emmanuel. Don't know him? He's basically trying to be the Karl Rove for the Democrats and was behind funding for a lot of Democrats in the 2006 election, organizing donations from California where his brother acts as a talent agent. He is wrong for the republicans on all the right issue (gun control, abortion rights, military spending, immigration), but there is one over riding thing that he agrees on... he likes to win. (He was also the guy who criticized Howard Dean over his 50 state strategy in 2006)

Democrats: Two names jump out at me, Chuck Hagel and Ron Paul, but neither is a likely candidate. While Paul certainly fits with many of the social views (well, he has mixed reviews), he is very anti environment, which is becoming the hot button for liberals. He is supports the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, which is hard to justify to the Democrats. Hagel is an even bigger push, as he is generally opposed to gay rights, opposed to social security, opposed to funding health coverage, supports gun rights and generally anti environment. If they could convince one of these two guys that they're wrong, then there is a trade possibility, but I don't see it.

Brandon Crow: The Republicans should trade Ron Paul for Bill Richardson. I think this makes a lot of sense. Ron Paul is more libertarian than Republican. He claims to be a strict Constitutionalist. But in the '08 run, he's trashed the current Republican leadership and called into question their entire philosophy. The Republicans would do well to release him, but seeing as how the Dems are lapping up his every last word, he's got definite trade value. Shoot, if a man is going to badmouth you no matter what, why not get something in return? And look who they'd get back—Bill Richardson! Young, experienced, charismatic and Latino! Imagine what Richardson could do for the GOP in terms of revamping their "white bread" image. Imagine what Richardson could do in outreach and recruitment in the Latino community for the GOP.

The Democrats should trade Evan Bayh for Chuck Hagel. Bayh is a solid candidate for president or VP, but unfortunately, in the Democratic Party, he's absolutely lost in the shuffle, especially this year. Just look at the Democratic field: an African American, a Latino and a woman. Plus John Edwards who pretty much speaks for the entire underprivileged class. Where does Evan Bayh fit in? Nowhere. In the Democratic Party, Bayh is simply too white bread. He would thrive in the Republican party because "white bread" pretty much defines that party. The Dems would do well with this trade also as they would get Senator Hagel in return. Sure, Hagel is a total conservative socially, but his seniority, credibility and outspoken opposition to the Iraq War give the Dems some much needed balls and toughness.

Jason Easley: Democrats - Rudy Giuliani. Whether Rudy wants to admit or not, in policy terms, he is much closer to the Democrats than the Republicans. He would make a fine candidate for the Democratic Party where he could be as pro-gay and pro-choice as he wants. Plus, the Democrats could use somebody to senselessly wave the flag and invoke 9/11 every 3 seconds.

Republicans - Hillary Clinton. Clinton is the opposite of Giuliani. She is running a campaign where she is pretending to be more liberal than she really is. For God sake people, she was a Goldwater Girl during the 1964 presidential campaign. If she goes to the GOP she can be as pro-war, pro-free trade, and anti-union as she wants. She can also feel free to take over the Rudy role of invoking 9/11 every 3 seconds.

Dan Martin: The Democrats ought to trade Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana to the Republicans for former Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island. Bayh's conservative New Democrat star faded when Gore did not select him for VP in 2000. Chafee was every Democrats favorite Republican. Swap the somewhat conservative Bayh for the somewhat liberal Chafee and everyone is happy.

The Republicans should trade Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska to the Democrats for freshman representative Heath Shuler (NC-9). Hagel is a vocal critic of Bush. Shuler is a former Tennessee Volunteer and a former Washington Redskin. He also is young and has a personality. How many Republican politicians are long on charisma?

Brian McLain: Republicans to Democrats - George Walker Bush - he's got the business connections, relies on fear to strong-arming to get what he wants, he loves to spend money, and he supports the killing of babies. So he wants to make sure their out of the womb first, that's just a late LATE term abortion, right? Ooooo...I can feel the hate radiating through the screen.

Ronald Reagan's Legacy - Let me get this straight...the guy triples the national debt, bankrupts the economy in 1987, invades countries at will to "help" and gets held up as a hero. Our guy lowers the national debt, increases the economy, and invades countries to help and gets impeached. Wait...what?

Democrats to Republicans - William Jefferson Clinton - Come on, let's bring the Republican Party out of the ho-down and turn it into a frat party! Who brought the beer and chips?

Jimmy Carter - With the trade of GW, we need to make sure there's at least a little balance.

Joe Rivett: I'm going to focus on who the parties should trade for...

The Democrats need Ron Paul so that they can make an intelligent dissent to the Iraq War. The Democrats should also try to trade for Mitt Romney so that he can be the liberal he is.

The Republicans need some pragmatic moderates so they should make a trade for Hillary Clinton and Bill Richardson.

3. The release. For those problem children whom a trade is just not an option, who each party should simply release and from here on out, deny any association.

Justin Baragona: GOP: Release--Rudy Giuliani. As in sports, trade away someone who is considered an asset but who is definitely going to lose his value in the near future. However, sometimes you cannot get a willing suitor and you just have to cut someone, even if it might make you scratch your head at the time because the player seemed to still have it. This is the case with Giuliani. Rudy is an idiot, and if he is able to secure the GOP nomination, it will be disaster for the Republicans as he will be exposed on more of a national level as a Dubya clone who looks foolish in debates, has no concept of foreign or even domestic policy, and runs out the tired 9/11 mantra whenever he cannot think of anything else to say (which is very often.) So I say, get rid of him because while he may seem valuable now, he is just a disaster waiting to happen.

Dems: Release--John Kerry. After the failure of the '04 Presidential election and the debacle of '06 when he stuck his foot in his mouth and almost caused problems for the Dems in the mid-term elections, it seems like it is about time for the Democrats to send this old horse out to pasture. Much like Giuliani, he has a very high profile, and you would think he would carry a lot of value, but who wants him? He is one of the favorite whipping boys of the GOP, and he is from Massachusetts to boot! No, he needs to be sent packing so that a younger, fresher face can take his place in his Senate seat.

Ray Church: Oh dear...

Republicans: Giuliani and McCane. Giuliani's feigned ignorance of foreign relations with the flack over Ron Paul was just pitiful. Here's a guy who was hated by his city until 9/11, now we get him played by James Woods and we're supposed to believe he's a hero. McCane is just a joke. Straight talk express has become "I'll chase him to the gates of hell".

Democrats: Hillary, Hillary, Hillary. Obama didn't do himself any favours with the punjab comments either, but Hillary continues to put out a campaign that looks like a bad car commercial. And she has a world of songs to choose from and the one she goes with is by Celine Dion? She may win the female vote, but she just lost the male vote...

Brandon Crow: The Republicans should seriously release George W. and Vader Cheney. These two, though effective and still having some tight grip on power, policy and direction of the GOP, are actually killing the party in the long run. They've turned the Republican party from the party of Goldwater and Reagan to gang of chicken hawk thugs run by the auspices the fanatic Religious Right and the NeoCon paranoids who believe that everyone wants to destroy America. The GOP will need to spend at least a decade to undo the damage to their part done by these fools. The sooner they sever ties with these two, the better.

The Democrats need to seriously release William Jefferson and John Kerry. Jefferson is a straight up criminal, plain and simple. He's taking bribes, getting caught with his hands in the cookie jar, and openly denying any wrongdoing. Come to think of it, they don't need to release him, they should trade him to the Republican party!

Though I like Kerry and think he would have made a much better president than Bush, he has suffered one faux pas after another, one set back after another, and all of them very publicly. He's almost a danger to the Democratic Party every time he steps outside.

Jason Easley: Democrats - William Jefferson. Dude got caught with $90,000 grand in bribe money in his freezer, and he has the stones to stand up in court and say not guilty. Of course he is guilty, and nothing good can ever come from keeping him in the Party. He belongs in a federal prison for the rest of his life. He is a disgrace to our democracy.

Republicans - Ron Paul. Congressman Paul is nothing but a troublemaker who runs around acting truly conservative and making all the other Republicans look bad. He uses logic when he talks about 9/11 which is a big no-no in the GOP. Until Dr. Paul learns to stop thinking, get with the program, and wave the flag, there is no place in the Republican Party for him.

Dan Martin: The Democrats ought to release Representative William Jefferson. How can the clean up ethics on the Hill push work if Jefferson is still drawing a paycheck and casting votes.

The Republicans ought to release Rep. Tom Tancredo. Making nativist defenses is one thing. However, if the Republicans come across as anti -Latino, then look for major election losses in the future. First, many Hispanics in the U.S. are voting citizens and have deep roots within the U.S. Second, children of illegal aliens born on U.S. soil are citizens who can vote when they turn 18. Do you think they will vote for a party that demonized, let alone deported, one of their parents? If you want to throw a fast growing demographic to the Democrats for the next 50 years, make Tancredo the public face of your party. Otherwise, release him.

Brian McLain: That's easy. Everyone in Congress should be released. Take the ball away from them and tell them to go home to their mommies because they just cannot
seem to behave. And I don't mean released with a nice handshake and a pat on the back.

No, I mean WWE released. Catch them when their sitting in a hospital bed and send an informal letter saying "Sorry, you're fired. Leave your pension and lifetime benefits at the door on your way out, we're tired of paying for your ass. Sincerely, your REAL constituents"

Joe Rivett: The Democrats should release John Edwards. He makes their party look too elite with his 28,000 square foot home. I also think he would be disasterous if he were to be the party's nominee.

The Republicans should release George Bush. No man has done a better job at destroying the Republican Party than the President.