Capitalism and the Opinion Police

Recently rumors have been swirling about Rush Limbaugh joining a group of investors interested in buying the St. Louis Rams NFL franchise. Rush quickly confirmed his desire to take part ownership and also confirmed that he was to be a limited partner in the venture (no responsibilities in the day to day activities/decision-making). So it's not like he would be the face of the St. Louis Rams like Jerry Jones is the face of the Dallas Cowboys.

As soon as the rumors started, everyone from Chad Ochocinco to Sheila Jackson Lee to the head of the NFL Players Union began expressing their opinion that Rush should not be allowed to buy into an NFL franchise because he is a divisive personality who has made some racially motivated comments. Since when has a person's desire to invest in a private enterprise been subject to the approval of people who have absolutely no interest involved?

Most of the objections are coming from comments Rush made regarding Donovan McNabb during his brief tenure with ESPN. Most people have construed his comment as a stab against McNabb because he's one of a few black quarterbacks in the NFL. I don't have the exact quote, but the gist of it was that Rush felt McNabb was a very overrated QB who was being overly hyped by the media who only wanted to see a black QB succeed in the NFL. I heard the comment when it was made and it never crossed my mind that Rush meant McNabb was overrated because he was black. He genuinely thinks McNabb is overrated as an NFL QB and his comment was aimed more at a fawning media who, Rush felt, had over-committed to the desired success of McNabb rather than taking an unbiased stance. Rush said that he thought all the media hype focused on McNabb was because he was black.

Did you catch the difference there? Rush never said McNabb was not a good QB because he's black. Rush never said he hoped McNabb didn't succeed because he's black. What he said was he thought the media was overplaying the situation because McNabb is black. His comment was meant to slam the media, not McNabb. And if I remember correctly, after everyone blew up about this and ESPN even fired him over it, Rush repeatedly explained that he had nothing against McNabb personally and that McNabb himself was not at all responsible for all the hype. It was the media blowing everything out of proportion. And honestly, is anyone really going to debate that the media has a tendency to blow things out of proportion?

So recently I saw a headline that Rush has been dropped from the group of investors wishing to buy the Rams. My question is, when did it become the business of the general public to decide who is or is not worthy of buying into a private enterprise? What would happen if Michael Moore tried to buy into an NFL franchise? That guy hates capitalism even though he's made millions because of capitalism. Everyone involved in the NFL--owners, players, union reps, etc.--are capitalistic. They sign contracts and make business deals for the sole purpose of making more money. Since Moore is fundamentally against capitalism, would he be railroaded the same way Rush was? I doubt it. Is Michael Moore any less polarizing of a public figure than Rush is? No.

Or how about this scenario. Should people who think tobacco products are harmful and bad be prohibited from buying stock in Phillip Morris? Should loyal patrons of Lowe's Home Improvement stores be prohibited from buying stock in Home Depot? Of course not. Free speech is a two-edged sword giving people the right to have opinions even if others disagree with those opinions. I don't agree with a single thing Michael Moore, Barack Obama or Sheila Jackson Lee believe or say, but I wouldn't have the slightest problem if any of them, in their individual capacity, wanted to buy into a private venture. Why? Because that's their decision and my like or dislike of their values and opinions is wholly irrelevant.

I'm so sick and tired of tolerance of opinion being a one-way street. If Rush wants to buy the St. Louis Rams, he should be allowed to do so if he is able to offer the best deal to the current owners and the current owners want to sell it to him. Everyone who doesn't think Rush should own the Rams should shut up and try to outbid Rush to keep him from doing it. That's how capitalism works.