And Eliot Engel calls himself a baseball fan.
I once swore on the hallowed memory of Lou Gehrig that I would never trust a Mets fan from the Bronx, so I’m definitely a little biased on this issue (I have it on good authority that Engel roots orange and blue)….but it bothers me that Engel hasn’t joined Bronx congressional colleague Jose Serrano in calling for Major League Baseball to move next year’s All-Star game from Phoenix, if Arizona doesn’t repeal its new immigration law.
Now, there is no MLB team in Engel’s district, so in that regard he’s clear. But he does represent a significant Hispanic population, and often speaks out on immigration issues.
Furthermore, Engel talks baseball a lot. When you Google Search Engel press releases that include reference to baseball, you get three pages of results.
Some of his baseball-related press releases:
- The one where he asked Major League Baseball to prevent players and coaches from using smokeless tobacco
- How about when he used a baseball analogy to criticize attempt to change filibuster rules mid-filibuster
- Don’t forget about that one where he recommended new steroid rules
- Or that other steroid one
- Ah, yeah, the one where he wanted the Subcommittee on Telecommunications to get involved with a YES Network broadcast issue
- Oh! That reference to baseball’s anti-trust exemption during the health care debate
This is the perfect way to show support for America’s Hispanic community (and therefore his own Hispanic constituents), while not risking the appearance of “meddling” in Arizona’s affairs.
A teaser for next week
Could it be that Engel doesn’t want to give his new Tea Party challenger ammunition? Check back next week to find out….