Say Anything Blog

So much for the party of small government.

There is talk in Washington about taking away Major League Baseball's antitrust exemption.

Because of all that steroid stuff? No.

Because of MLB's heavy-handed approach to financing new stadiums? No.

Because of the possibility of liberal financier George Soros buying the Washington Nationals.

Soros is a critic of President Bush, the former Texas Rangers part-owner.

"It's not necessarily smart business sense to have anybody who is so polarizing in the political world,'' Rep. John Sweeney (R-N.Y.) told the Washington Post. "That goes for anybody, but especially as it relates to [MLB] because it's one of the few businesses that get incredibly special treatment from Congress and the federal government.''

And incredibly special publicity for those threatening to end incredibly special treatment.

"Why should politics have anything to do with who owns the team?'' Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) said. "So Congress is going to get involved in every baseball ownership decision? Are they next going to worry about a manager they don't like? I've never seen anything as impotent as a congressman threatening the baseball exemption. It gets threatened a half-dozen times a year, and our batting average threatening the exemption is zero.''

I don't like Soros very much either, but I don't think that gives Congress license to influence his business deals based on his politics. If this were Rep. Charles Rangel trying to block Rupert Murdoch from buying the Nationals I'd have the same problem.

I think somebody needs to tell Rep. Sweeney that Congress has more important things to be focusing on.