Candidates often say they run for the state legislature so they can make a difference. After being elected though, they quickly find out that events shape agendas for them and they must take positions on issues they never contemplated.
Take, for example, the headline "NFL takes cable fight to Texas lawmakers" in the Houston Chronicle today. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones headed up a star-studded panel testifying to the Texas House Committee on Regulated Industries because of a spat between cable companies and the football league's NFL Network.
House Chairman Phil King says its a brand new issue for the Texas legislature, but it's one that has played out in other cities where the NFL has been broadcasting Thursday night games on its own network. (The debate loomed large in Green Bay recently.) The league has a vested interest in getting the games in as many households as possible and the cable networks want to be able to charge a premium.
King wonders if it is even an issue the legislature should get involved with. He is quoted in the article, "Assuming we do, and I'm not sure that we do, from a policy perspective should the state intervene in programming issues?"
Jones summed up why he thought the legislature should be involved. "This thing does have the interest of hundreds of thousands of your constituents."
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