In this highly contentious 2012 campaign season, we have finally hit on an issue that Democrats and Republicans agree on: The NFL replacement referees need to go.
In New Jersey, Democratic State Senate President Steve Sweeney has actually introduced legislation that would ban the scab refs from taking the field. This pie-in-the-sky measure would apply to games played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., home of the New York Giants and New York Jets.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who made national headlines for opposing collective bargaining by state workers, is begging for the return of the unionized referees. Why is Walker suddenly pro-union? He’s a Green Bay Packers fan, and the Packers lost Monday night on a botched call by the replacement refs on the final play of the game.
Even President Obama weighed in, with a tweet that called the situation “terrible.”
And then there’s Paul Ryan, who couldn’t resist the opportunity to turn this controversy into a political weapon. The GOP vice-presidential nominee, also a Packers fan, told an Ohio crowd that the replacement referees remind him of Obama’s handling of the economy, asserting, “If you can’t get it right, it’s time to get out.” Which, given the current Romney-Ryan poll numbers for Ohio seems like a bit of a Hail Mary pass.
