Hell has officially frozen over. I once told a friend that I disagree with the way Democrats do things so often that I was beginning to think that hell would have to freeze over before I would ever favor Democrats over Republicans in any situation involving both. Well, the just concluded hearings of The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform involving steroids use in baseball provided made hell look like the North Pole for me.
Plain as Day
I am as fair and objective an observer as the next guy, and I try my best not to rush to judgment on any issue, but the entire Roger Clemens-Brian McNamee issue seems like a slam dunk to me. After weighing all of the allegations, inconsistencies, accusations and events of this frenzy, I have come to the opinion that Roger Clemens used steroids in a desperate, pathetic and unnecessary attempt to prolong and enhance his already storied career. Like Barry Bonds, Clemens did not need these substances but, like Barry Bonds, it appears that he could not help himself. You see, it must be very difficult to be so good for so long and watch your skills and ability slowly erode through the natural, and universal effects of age. When one’s identity becomes mingled with being the best, no longer being the best or watching others pass one by must be painful indeed.
Given the above, it seems evident that Clemens is lying through his teeth to deny such use, realizing that his legacy stands in the balance. His claims and testimony, even under oath, are drenched in inconsistencies, inaccuracies, vagueness and just plain absurd notions. The list of these is considerable, but just a few will suffice here.
How could anyone believe, for example, that a macho man like Clemens would not fire or punch out a relatively skinny guy like Brian McNamee for injecting his wife in the butt with possibly harmful substances without Clemens’ knowledge? Clemens claims he did not know, searched McNamee’s luggage when he found out and obviously did not fire McNamee as a result, because he is “a very forgiving person”.
How could any sane person believe that, as Clemens claims, his agents did not inform him that Senator Mitchell was trying to reach him and, again, did not fire them for this outrageous breach of duty? There goes that “forgiving person” line, I guess.
What about Clemens’ claim that he was not at a party in Jose Canseco’s house, despite the assertion in the Mitchell Report that he was and, as it turned out, the confirmation of this by his own nanny who, as it turned out, Clemens tried to influence before the government could speak to her? His claim that he was trying to help the government out by seeking her out rings bogus, and instead looks like just another attempt to influence things in his direction.
Finally, everyone agreed that Andy Pettitte’s testimony was credible, yet Clemens could only suggest that Pettitte “misremembered” when he swore that Clemens told him of Clemens’ steroid use.
All of the above, combined with the way Clemens stumbled and rambled through often vague and evasive “answers” to questions posed, point to the view, held by over 90% of people asked in media programs, that Clemens is the “spectacular liar” that Rep. Tom Davis mentioned at the start of the proceedings.
Differential Credibility
There is no doubt, proven during the proceedings and admitted by McNamee himself, that Brain McNamee has lied in the past and is no saint by any stretch. As he himself has admitted and expressed shame over, Brain McNamee has acted in the most egregious and disgusting way regarding promoting, participating and profiting from the use of such substances. However, if one looks closely at the various instances of deception by McNamee cited during the proceedings, there is one consistent theme. Brian McNamee has often lied to protect himself and others, by omitting, downplaying or denying facts to avoid harming others and himself.
The government made it clear to McNamee that the only way he could hurt himself in this case was to lie to them. Everything seems to point to the fact that he was not completely honest and accurate at the start of the investigation in an obvious attempt to s shield Clemens from harm. However, Clemens’ public use of the private, taped phone conversation with McNamee seems to have removed any such effort by McNamee to protect Clemens.
Brian McNamee has been a liar in the past, and he admits this today, but I believe that he is telling the truth in this case. His answers, while not always uplifting or noble, seemed direct and immediate. As noted above, Clemens’ answers seemed evasive and rambling.
In brief, we have a dispute between two people who have lied to protect themselves. McNamee has done so in the past to benefit himself and others, and Clemens is doing so in the present to protect his legacy.
Shameful Fawning and Bias
Many people have noted the incredibly partisan slant of the committee members’ questions and remarks during this hearing. I thought that Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif), Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) and Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) performed admirably, tearing through Clemens’ inconsistencies and bearing the sheer absurdity of his claims. The only Democrat who strayed from effective questioning was, in my opinion, Rep. Eleanor Holmes, who probed some interesting angles such as why Clemens would continue to employ McNamee after all of the “horrendous things” he did.
However, instead of using these facts to discredit Clemens, she seemed to fold like a cheap suit by accepting his “forgiving person” claim, declaring that he was surely “going to heaven”.
In contrast to the generally excellent Democratic questioning, I found the Republicans performance embarrassingly biased and glaringly selective. Rep. Dan Burton ( R-Ind) called the proceeding “a circus” and the hearing a “trial by media”. After eliciting a list of past lies by McNamee, Burton declared
"This is really disgusting. You're here as a sworn witness. You're here to tell the truth," Burton said. "You're here under oath, and yet we have lie after lie after lie after lie, of where you've told this committee and the people of this country that Roger Clemens did things -- I don't know what to believe. I know one thing I don't believe and that's you."
Burton, of course, failed to note the inconsistent and evasive nature of Clemens’ claims, inferring that Clemens is some kind of noble sports god being tarnished by McNamee.
Rep. Virginia Foxx ( R-NC) stated that the government has better things to spend money on that gossip, and held up a poster of 4 Clemens photos at various times in his career, noting how he did not appear physically different in any of them ( unlike Bonds). Finally, Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn) called McNamee a “drug dealer” which, while technically accurate, implies that he has no more credibility than some corner pusher selling drugs to kids.
Much was made of Clemens meeting with 25 of the 40 committee members before the hearing, and how inappropriate and unseemly that appeared to many observers. Asked about the propriety and appearance of Clemens private meetings with people about to question him, Rep. Davis provided the lame answer that no laws were broken.
Conclusion
There should be no doubt that our children deserve all the protection and guidance we can provide. There should also be no doubt that they deserve the best role models and example of proper conduct we can exhibit. If we cannot provide them with either of these things, then we are failing as a society. Included in this example is the intolerance of illegal and harmful drug use in all its forms, including sports enhancement. Also included is the example of unbiased, objective and fair performance of one’s duties. Above all, included in this example is protection of the integrity and honesty in governmental and official proceedings.
I found the line of questioning by Rep. Dan Burton, Rep. Virginia Foxx, Rep. Christopher Shays and Rep. Tom Davis blatantly biased and selective in favor of Roger Clemens. They completely ignored the holes in Roger Clemens’ testimony while practically labeling Brian McNamee a low-life liar. Conversely, I was very impressed by the objective and effective questioning of Rep. Henry Waxman, Rep. Elijah Cummings and Rep. Carolyn Maloney. While I completely disagree with the political positions of these Democrats on many other critical matters, I found their performance in this hearing exemplary.
The vast majority of people I have spoken to believe that Roger Clemens has lied to Congress and may get away with it. Likewise, the vast majority of these people believe that the Republican members who questioned him made fools of themselves with the biased, selective, unfair and sometimes even fawning tone of their questioning.
One perceptive observer has noted that it was unseemly for committee members to allow Clemens’s efforts to charm them before the hearings. She observed that these members came off more as star-struck fans rather than the public servants whose stated goal should be to protect impressionable kids from the scourge of steroids.
Most of the time I disagree with the way Democrats do things and how they look at the world. For once, at least, it was the way some Republicans behaved themselves and looked at the facts that made me cringe.
Copyright by Gabriel Garnica
