Tea Party Hockey

I would like to welcome members of the Tea Party to the Boston Bruins Bandwagon.  The 2011 Stanley Cup Champions (I will NEVER get tired of saying that) have become the new darling of the Tea Partiers after my favorite player--goaltender Tim Thomas--refused to accompany the team to the White House yesterday for the annual photo op with President Obama. 

The team issued a statement saying that Timmy passed on the trip because of "personal political reasons."  Later in the day, Thomas--who is one of just two Americans on the Bruins--issued a statement on his Facebook page:

“I believe the federal government has grown out of control, threatening the rights, liberties, and property of the people. This is being done at the executive, legislative, and judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers’ vision for the federal government. Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a free citizen and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion, both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an individual.’’


Thomas was immediately assailed in the blogosphere and Twittersphere for stiffing the President--with the general consensus being that Timmy should "stick to hockey".  I find this ironic, as many of the same reporters and commentators have criticized Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan for failing to be more political.  Jordan explained his silence with the famous phrase "Republicans buy shoes too."

It will be interesting to see how Thomas is received by the fans in Boston when they return to the TD Garden Arena later this week.  Let's not forget, we are talking about Massachussetts--which gave us the Kennedeys, McGovern, Dukakis and Romney.  The encroachment of Government on personal liberties apparently isn't much of a concern in the Commonwealth.

I would hope that people would consider that Tim Thomas was exercising his right as an American citizen.  There is no law that says if the President wants you to see him that you have to go.  And that is a beautiful thing--that the leader of the country has no right to compel you to do anything (except--according to the current administration--purchase health insurance).  Compare that to the story the Beatles' former publicist--Peter Brown--tells about how the band was detained by soldiers in the Phillipines after they cancelled a visit to Imelda Marcos and her children.

Personally, I would have liked to see Timmy go to the White House--and then chop the President in the back of the knees or give him a waffleboard in the chops--just like he gives to forwards who try to camp out in front of his crease.