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Michael Vick's Next Career: Right-Wing Pundit

August 21, 2007

With his plea deal yesterday on charges of running a dog fighting operation, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick likely brought his NFL career to an end. But Vick's next calling awaits him as soon as he is released from prison. Michael Vick, it would seem, is supremely qualified to be a conservative pundit.
Far from a barrier, a felony conviction is often a feather in the cap for the aspiring right-wing radio host, Fox News commentator or conservative movement mouthpiece. After all, Watergate conspirator G. Gordon Liddy enjoys a fine livelihood as a talk radio host and author, while Iran/Contra hatchet man Oliver North is a regular on Fox News. (His street cred was no doubt damaged when his conviction was overturned by an Appeals Court led by reliable Republican Laurence Silberman.) As they show, Michael Vick need not worry about the loss of his lucrative endorsement contracts.
As jailed Nixon aide Charles Colson can attest, finding God while behind bars definitely helps pad your resume for work among the conservative chattering classes. His prison ministries enjoy government funding. And the born-again criminal is now a featured attraction at religious right events such as Justice Sunday. (Seriously. You can't make this stuff up.)
But Michael Vick's impressive qualifications as a Republican talking head don't end there. As it turns out, casually torturing animals for fun, profit or just mere convenience is commonplace in GOP leadership circles. The former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist was a frequent visitor to animal shelters where the future Doctor adopted stray cats only to dissect them later as part of his learn-at-home medical studies. And more recently, it was revealed that GOP White House hopeful Mitt Romney was a repeat practitioner of rooftop canine waterboarding, strapping his dog Seamus' kennel to the top of the Romney family car. Vick's conviction will keep him off the much discussed Romney-Vick '08 ticket. But if Bill Frist is any indication, his past record of animal abuse might still allow the ex-Falcons QB to make videotape diagnoses of the comatose. At the very least, he can start his own blog.
Finally, Michael Vick can play up the "family values" angle so near and dear to the radical right. His younger brother Marcus, after all, followed Vick as the star quarterback of Virginia Tech. Like Michael, Marcus made an obscene gesture to fans. After multiple run-ins with the law, Marcus Vick was expelled by Virginia Tech. In much the same way that older brother Michael claimed he would be vindicated in court, Marcus confidently predicted he would be validated in the NFL draft. And while both of the tremendously gifted brothers are now out of football, Michael on July 30th signaled to his future right-wing friends that he is on the path to redemption:

"It's a crisis situation for me, but I'm going to get through it and I feel, by the grace of God, that's the only way. I believe in the outcome at the end, and that's why I put my faith in the man upstairs."

Michael Vick's playing days may be over, but his future as a purveyor of right-wing rage is there for the taking. It may not be football, but politics is a contact sport. And in the dog-eat-dog world of no-holds-barred right-wing punditry, Michael Vick is a natural.

7 comments on “Michael Vick's Next Career: Right-Wing Pundit”

  1. This is a stretch, and lowball politics. It's like saying if he had drowned a pregnant staff member of the Falcons, he'd make a great Senator from Massachusetts. Lets talk politics, ideas, and solutions.

  2. I am horrified by the details of dogfighting - dogs tortured, beaten, starved, maimed, electrocuted, drowned, etc. People involved in this crime have serious, intense psychological problems, and need to be helped immediately so that they may not kill again. I am glad to know that Michael Vick's crimes are being taken seriously by the public - there is no excuse for animal cruelty.
    Where do we go from here? People around the world will be celebrating and honoring animals on World Animal Day, October 4, 2007. For more information, or, if you would like to post a prayer for animals born into the cruel and inhumane world of dogfighting, please visit our site.
    Thank-you!
    Nancy J. Cronk
    Founder, Chair and Chaplain
    Interfaith Association of Animal Chaplains
    http://www.AnimalChaplains.com
    Email: [email protected]

  3. What about the dog that raped the 2 year old do we blame Micheal Vick for that,I think what Micheal did was wrong but you guys are acting
    like he acted alone and did something to people, I feel this is a race thing but I know God and I think Micheal does to.

  4. As an owner of a beautiful German Shephard and an equally spiritied Mini-Schnauzer, I was really upset initially with Mr. Vick's decisions. Then I thought that in some countries dogs are domesticated, farmed and eaten as food. Wow! Talk about terrible! Then I thought, what about the animals we in the U.S.A. domesticate, farm and eat. Who is standing up for the plight of the helpless chickens and cows...what about the pigs and turkeys? Yeah, yeah, I know what you are going to say...it was just a thought anyway.

  5. Great post, Michael Vick's playing days may be over, but his future as a purveyor of right-wing rage is there for the taking. It may not be football, but politics is a contact sport. And in the dog-eat-dog world of no-holds-barred right-wing carnival cruise deals punditry, Michael Vick is a natural.


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Jon Perr
Jon Perr is a technology marketing consultant and product strategist who writes about American politics and public policy.

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