Meet the Bush-Cheney donor who blocked Rush Limbaugh’s bid to buy the St. Louis Rams

Even after donating all that money, Jim Irsay's Colts had to win a Super Bowl before he got an invite to the White House

If it’s true that Dave Checketts and friends are dumping Rush Limbaugh from their bid to buy the St. Louis Rams, a lot of partisan pundits will argue that there is a political test being applied in America. Avowed conservatives and Republicans, they will say, are being crowded out of opportunities in our society because of their political beliefs.

And before they’re able to say this, it’s worth having a look at Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, who played the loudest role in the blocking Limbaugh’s effort to become a part NFL franchise owner. The firestorm kicked up by Rush’s involvement in the bid can be ascribed to the media (including me!). But ultimately, the NFL team owners are going to go their own way, and pick an owner who they think is best for the league. And Irsay was the first of the owners to publicly make it clear that he opposed Limbaugh being added to their ranks. To recap:

Rush Limbaugh’s bid to buy the St. Louis Rams ran into opposition within the NFL on Tuesday, when Colts owner Jim Irsay vowed to vote against him and commissioner Roger Goodell said the conservative commentator’s “divisive” comments would not be tolerated from any NFL insider.

“I, myself, couldn’t even consider voting for him,” Irsay said at an owners meetings. “When there are comments that have been made that are inappropriate, incendiary and insensitive … our words do damage, and it’s something that we don’t need.”

via Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay won’t vote to approve Rush Limbaugh as St. Louis Rams owner – ESPN.

Who is Jim Irsay? A fierce Democratic partisan who loves Barack Obama, George Soros, and the limousine liberal lifestyle?

Actually, no, meet Jim Irsay, Bush-Cheney supporter.

It’s hard to say exactly what Irsay’s politics are. The man is a lifelong sports executive, having effectively inherited the team from his father, Robert, who moved the Colts from Baltimore to Indianapolis.

But the most effective barometer of the politics of an individual can be seen where they put their money. And after I did an examination of Irsay in the FEC’s database, a picture emerged of a man who must be somewhat conservative in his political beliefs.

Now it cannot be questioned that Irsay is a donor to Democrats. But most of the candidates he’s given to on the Democratic side have been Hoosiers. It comes as no surprise that an Indiana business owner would give to members of the state’s Congressional delegation, whichever side of the aisle they’re on.

But when approached by national political efforts over the past decade, Irsay has really put his money behind Republican causes. Since 1999, I count $5000 given to the Republican National Committee, with no matching donation to the DNC. And in terms of candidates, Irsay ponied up $5000 for President George W. Bush in all. No support for Senator Kerry’s failed 2004 bid, and he gave nothing to President Obama’s campaign for office in 2008, or to any of his Democratic competitors.

This is not to say that Irsay is necessarily a card-carrying Republican. But when it’s come time to sign on the dotted line, Republicans, not Democrats, have been the beneficiaries of Irsay’s national political attentions.

Now if there is any team owner in the NFL who can be said to speak fairly about race relations and football, it’s Irsay. He picked Tony Dungy as his head coach, and Dungy became the first black NFL coach to win the Super Bowl when the Colts defeated my Chicago Bears in 2007. If Irsay says that he finds Rush’s statements on race to be “insensitive,” he means it from a non-partisan, principled perspective, and not to satisfy any far left peanut gallery back in Indiana.

So before anyone tells you that Rush Limbaugh failed a political test, remind them that it was a Bush-Cheney supporter who found him to be too rude and possibly racist to join the NFL owner’s circle.