Friday was the 35th day of the government shutdown. Airports had been shut down, flights were diverted, IRS employees failed to show up for work ,TSA employees walked off the job, and 800,000 employees were doomed to miss a second payday.
But for Senator Bill Cassidy of the great state of Louisiana, there was only one concern and it was paramount: The call made against the New Orleans Saints in last Sunday's playoff game that propelled the Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl.
Yes, this unjust outcome (to Cassidy, anyway) was a thing to spend SEVEN FULL MINUTES on the Senate floor -- with visuals, even!
"The state of Louisiana is outraged because of what happened in the Superdome last Sunday…What happened in my belief, and the belief of many, was the most blatant and consequential blown call in NFL history," Cassidy huffed, and then he went off to the races.
"My colleague in the House of Representatives is calling for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to testify before Congress on the travesty that occurred five days ago," Cassidy went on, leaving no doubt that he was in complete agreement with Steve Scalise that the call was so unjust, so unfair, so wrong that there should be a do-over and Congressional testimony.
Should I remind everyone again that he is having this tantrum in the middle of a government shutdown where hundreds of thousands of government employees are making choices between their medication and food? Between rent and medication? Between getting a second job or standing in a food line?
This is what Republicans think is important. A blown call that means their team doesn't go to the Super Bowl.
God bless America.