McGwire Tries Anti-McCarthyism.

Mark McGwire appears to have gone into yesterday's hearing intending to play the hero who stands up to a witch hunt and refuses to name names. His testimony yesterday included the following quotes:

"My lawyers have advised me that I cannot answer these questions without jeopardizing my friends, my family, or myself. I intend to follow their advice."

"I will use whatever influence and popularity that I have to discourage young athletes from taking any drug that is not recommended by a doctor. What I will not do, however, is participate in naming names and implicating my friends and teammates."

Back during the Cold War some Americans were brought before Congress to answer questions and name names about alleged involvement with the Communist Party. As evil as Communism is, membership in the party is protected by the First Amendment's Freedom of Association clause so people who stood up to Congress back then were defending a principle of freedom guaranteed by our Constitution.

No such principle is at stake today. Congress's steroids investigation is not an attack on the Bill of Rights. It's an investigation into whether Major League Baseball countenanced criminal wrongdoing by its players and whether it's doing enough now to attack the problem. The only things at stake are whether professional baseball will be able to continue not regulating itself and whether athletes who use drugs will continue to get away with it. That's why McGwire's lame attempt at anti-McCarthyism failed.

-tdr