Clemens v. Congress

The big story in sports this past week was the testimony of Roger Clemens before Congress. Now obviously this was a huge waste of time and (more importantly) tax payer money. It is classic pandering by Congress. We all know this, right?

There was something else that bothered me even more about the Congressional hearings. That was the obvious division along party lines. Republicans clearly supported Clemens and tried to discredit his accuser, Brian McNamee. Democrats clearly wanted to prove Clemens had taken steroids and HGH. I don't have a problem with folks having an agenda (though if everyone has their mind made up already, why a hearing? Oh never mind.) No what bothers me is that this division was along party lines.

Why does the Republican Party need to support Clemens? How is his innocence somehow a priority for the Party? One can only conjecture. Is Clemens a significant contributor to Republicans and the Party?

Similarly, why does the Democratic Party need to prove that Clemens is guilty? Is it just to spite the Republicans? Do they want to bring greater government regulation and involvement to Major League Baseball or sports in general?

These questions just lead us back to the beginning of this post. The government has no business doing hearings on Roger Clemens. Not only is it wasteful, but inevitably the issue itself becomes meaningless thanks to partisan politics.

Oh, and for what it's worth, I think Clemens is lying and that he used steroids and HGH. I don't care if he did or not, but clearly the evidence points against him.