So baseball followers are grumbling as a result of Todd Ricketts, Cubs co-owner and finance chair of the Trump Victory Committee, is dandling GOP fundraisers at a celebration Saturday evening in just a little property of his referred to as Wrigley Field.
Reaction was swift and predictable. ”BOYCOTT THE CUBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Jim McDonald demanded on Facebook. “Anyone who goes to Cubs games and spends money is actually supporting Trump. Who do you love more The Cubs or the future of the USA?”
Oh please.
First off, the Ricketts household assumed controlling curiosity within the Cubs (it was too sophisticated a monetary shell recreation to name it a “purchase”) in 2009. So the hefty revenue off all these $10 beers have been funneling to right-wing causes for a decade. Odd that some discover solely now, even claiming to shift their allegiance to the Sox, as if such a factor have been attainable.
And bear in mind from whom the Ricketts purchased the Cubs: The Tribune Company. Not precisely Ben & Jerry’s. More like Fox News earlier than the American Pravda was a gleam in Rupert Murdoch’s eye. Whether sneering at immigrants or urging isolation, the Trib was a foghorn of right-wing nuttery for many years, stretching again to the times when its proprietor, Col. Robert McCormick, started every morning licking the boots of Hitler.
Yet followers nonetheless cheered Ernie Banks.
What modified? Americans are stuffed with an illusionary sense of their very own significance or, should you favor, empowerment. We’re going to strike a blow for LGBTQ rights by avoiding the waffle fries at Chick-fil-A. I’m as responsible as anyone: I really drive just a little quicker passing the Hobby Lobby on Waukegan Road, as if their model of glittery-eyed small-town bigotry is a contagious fog and I would catch it.
But there’s additionally a triviality to the I-mold-the-world-through-my-consumer-decisions mindset. Don’t like Todd Ricketts’ politics? Enjoy your day on the Friendly Confines, then minimize a hefty test to a Democratic candidate. That’s his model. I hesitate to get into the pinnacle of Todd Ricketts, however I’ll wager he isn’t attempting to defeat the Democrats by avoiding advantageous wines produced up by liberal California vineyards.
Donald Trump and Todd Ricketts, a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs, shake palms as Ricketts leaves the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J., shortly after the November 2016 election.Associated Press
Otherwise, Democrats ought to fear about aping the Republicans. It’s mistaken that we’re lining as much as mock Trump’s hair, his intestine, his atrocious style sense. All legitimate criticisms, but additionally not even within the prime 20 of Trump’s most vital flaws (My listing I might start with: 1. Chronic mendacity; 2. Undermining American freedoms; 3. Coddling our nations enemies; 4. Debasing political discourse; 5. Promoting anti-science and normal idiocy. …) Trump’s the man, bear in mind, coining merciless nicknames, ridiculing opponents for his or her top, their gender, their bodily infirmities. Don’t emulate him — or, like him, it’s possible you’ll sometime discover it unimaginable to cease.
Before we let go the subject of right-wing baseball homeowners, a historic tidbit to chew upon. Before the Tribune, who owned the Cubs? I’ll offer you a touch: the Cubs play at Wrigley Field. That’s proper! William Wrigley Jr., to start out. And was he additionally a Republican booster? Why sure, he was. And did he additionally use the group to advertise wildly-unqualified GOP presidential candidates? Why sure, he did.
During the marketing campaign of 1920, Republican social gathering officers have been involved that their man, Warren G. Harding, was too intently related to golf, then thought-about an exercise of the effete wealthy (thank goodness these days are previous!).
GOP mastermind Albert Lasker determined Harding wanted him to attach with America’s nationwide pastime and contrived to deliver skilled baseball to Marion, Ohio, the place Harding was conducting his “front porch” marketing campaign. The senator was informed to let or not it’s identified…