NCAA March Madness Caught Up in Political Craziness

Editor's Note: From the Back Forty is Liberty Nation's longest running and most popular weekly column. 

March Madness has taken on a new meaning as conspiracy theories, identity politics, and the annual basketball fever collide. Former President Donald Trump attended the wake of a fallen NYPD officer while Joe Biden was given a gross financial boost to his campaign from two former popular presidents. You thought they called this month mad just because of hoops? Well, bless your heart.

Oh, It’s March Madness Alright

The people of Indiana are basketball crazy. For those who have seen the 1986 movie Hoosiers starring Gene Hackman, well, it’s just like that. If you were born in this state, it’s in the DNA. Matt Maddock, a Republican member of Michigan’s House of Representatives, clearly isn’t a Hoosier – but he did have a brush with the debilitating mental illness known as confirmation bias. “Happening right now. Three buses just loaded up with illegal invaders at Detroit Metro,” Maddock furiously typed on X. “Anyone have any idea where they’re headed with their police escort?”

Yeah, we do: They’re headed for the Sweet Sixteen Tournament for NCAA men’s basketball. It’s March Madness for goodness’ sake. Oh, and those “illegal invaders” were actually the Gonzaga basketball team. Oops!

Detroit-based journalist Maxwell White responded: “Photos show Gonzaga getting on an Allegiant plane to Detroit for the Sweet 16, and Flight Radar shows a plane from GEG to DTW landed at 7:25 p.m., around the time this photo was posted.”

Hoosiers gathered at the Foxhole Pub in Warren County, IN, couldn’t quite believe the gossip stirred up by such an accusation, and then the Purdue University Boilermakers added injury to the insult on the Gonzaga Bulldogs by beating them 80-68. Randall Stine offered: “People are so focused on their own beliefs they don’t see the forest through the trees, or whatever that saying is.”

A woman shooting nine-ball sighed. “A little nugget of conspiracy sure blew up in ole Matt’s face,” she said, and then made a crazy good shot.

Being Presidential

In 2019, former President Barack Obama said: “Most of the world’s problems are caused by old men not getting out of the way." That makes the inquiring mind wonder why he and former President Bill Clinton headlined a fundraiser for the old man who is clearly losing cognitive and physical abilities at an alarming rate. But they showed up, raised a cool $26 million for Joe Biden's re-election campaign, and gloated. They gloated on the very day of the wake for slain New York City Police Department officer Jonathan Diller. Donald Trump, on the other hand, was at the officer’s ceremony to comfort the family and console mourners.

The Democrats couldn’t be bothered – after all, Queen Latifa, Lizzo, and Stephen Colbert were at Radio City Music Hall. Just send a card. Plus, they were told not to come per the family’s wishes. The president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, Vincent J. Vallelong, warned politicians not to attend the services. And a family member reportedly told the governor: “[W]e don’t want you here. You’re not wanted here. You have blood on your hands. If you want to do something, change the bail laws.”

But Gov. Kathy Hochul thought she knew best and showed up anyway. She was yelled at by family and friends, and police effectively chased her back to her armed escort and official fancy vehicle. Kenneth Russel was amused in Mississippi: “They told y’all no to come, but as usual, you don’t listen.”

“Well, she is to blame,” said Alan Spector in Alhambra, IL.

Shirley Hayden in Kentucky said: “I would not have wanted her there either. She’s not for the police. She’s for the criminals. If this guy had not been let out with 21 arrests, the policeman would be alive.” Also hailing from the Bluegrass State, Robert Roach was appalled: “Some kinda nerve and arrogance to show uninvited,” he began in his short rant. “Knowing she has been the root cause of the problem. Like the arsonist showing up to the fire to gloat! I wonder how much support the NYPD FOP will go to Democrats?”

There Is No Help for This Guy

Despite the glitzy fundraiser for Joe Biden, too many voters just don’t like the guy. Horace Cooper, chairman of Project 21, a public policy organization from the conservative black perspective, told Fox News:

“What we saw last night was the president’s ‘let them eat cake’ moment. Millions of Americans are suffering because of the mismanagement of this economy. I say this frequently. We’re seeing record numbers of foreclosures; people are having their cars repossessed; we are seeing a silent job loss because the reports are now showing that the actual growth in employment is in part-time jobs, not in full-time jobs. It is totally and completely unseemly, in this economic environment, for our president to say that we’re going to try to set the record for the amount raised. No money to help people buy eggs and bacon. No money to make sure that people can afford gasoline.”

A thinking person sees through the haze that Biden didn’t raise squat. When faced with a tragedy as the Francis Scott Key bridge collapsed, sending several people to their deaths, the gaffe machine known as Biden did what he always does: He made it all about himself and got it all wrong in the process, recalling those great days of train travel crossing the bridge several times in the past.

The memes blew up, and the best this presidency and election year was: “Who had Biden riding a train over a bridge with no tracks for March?”

We say goodbye to March Madness this week and celebrate the resurrection, only to start the next month with April Fools’ Day on a Monday. Good Luck, heartlanders.