Steve Stuart: Obviously, he didn't wear his batter's helmet enough.

We all remember:  Steve Stuart's vision of Major League Baseball (tm) that he and Tim Leave-it were so hot to get us bent over for:

GIVE the Yakima Millionaires FREE use of STATE land (Like any other private entity could get that) and a paltry $22 million for a 3000 seat ballpark.

Oh, yeah.... and by the way?

You suckers in Clark County... the hundreds of thousands of you who wouldn't ever set foot in this rip off?

YOU GET TO PAY FOR IT, AND WE'RE NOT EVEN GOING TO ASK YOU IF YOU WANT THIS FISCAL RAPE!

Man, the lies they tried to use: everything from fictional fiscal impacts ($200 million over 20 years?  Why stop there?  For all THOSE lies, they COULD have said it was 200 BILLION.) to how important it was for our community "growing up" (I never did see where a self-appointed bunch of thugs acting like a 3 year old to get what they wanted over the objections of the people; wasting 10's of millions for this crap in the middle of a horrific recession with massive unemployment while we were closing down fire stations.) and the Columbian's 180, going from hating the idea of tax-payer dollars bailing out the Beavers to wearing out knee pads for the Bears.

So, the people of the little town of Hillsboro figure out a way to build a ballpark 50% bigger (4500 seats) for $10 million less, without the moronic ticket tax that would have had everyone ELSE paying for a ballpark every time they went to a movie... played golf.... went to the fair or the amphitheater of any number of other events... even though NONE of them had ANYTHING to do with baseball and NONE of us were even asked!

How?

How is it that a little town could do so much more on so much less, without involving the entire county by ripping them off the way Stuart wanted to rip US off so HE could re-live his childhood as a jock, vicariously through others?

What's his excuse?

Glad you asked:

What it wasn't interested in was getting bent over and screwed... like YOU, Mr. Stuart, were so eager to do.

What those in office wise enough to be opposed to this scam weren't interested in was having this dog hung around their necks when it came to re-election time.

Stuart's admitted lack of vision was the key.  His "hear-no-evil" monkey meme; his inability to listen, his lack of any ability to think outside the box except when it comes to new and varied ways to screw the people of this county...

Hey, I know: what say we trade Stuart for an old bus, a broken pitching machine and the Hillsboro city council economic development experts?

After all, the big city-slicker was an abysmal failure on this issue (And so many others, I might add) lets replace him with a bunch of country hicks who could do a lot more.... for a lot less... and all without screwing the taxpayers.

Deal?

And calling the Millionaires "pro baseball" is like calling radio-controlled cars NASCAR.

Now, at least, he can relive his youth on somebody elses dime and we can move on... until he runs for his next election, when this ballpark scam helps to strike him out.

You know, along with the bridge rip off, the loot rail rip off, the toll rip off, the BRT rip off, the long list of rip offs.