Looks like all those front-page stories hailing baseball’s return to Washington DC were a bit premature. The plan may still go through, but with the defection of city council Chairman Linda W. Cropp, it’s no longer the sure thing that many here assumed. According to the Washington Post, Mayor Anthony Williams and Cropp “each have four or five supporters,” on the city council with the remaining members uncertain or opposed to both Williams’ and Cropp’s plans. Williams says that if his plan is not approved the entire deal with fall apart.

If a baseball deal is stopped, the two council members who will deserve most of the credit are Adrian Fenty and David Catania, who have been raising tough questions about the wisdom of enormous stadium subsidies for months.

This is one of those unusual issues where the Brookings Institution and American Enterprise Institute find themselves on the same side of the issue. Henry Aaron, a Brookings fellow and baseball fan, wants baseball to come to DC but argues against Williams’ plan in today’s Washington Post. AEI fellow Scott Wallsten wrote against the plan last week in the Washington Times.

Good for them.

I was particularly pleased to see Wallsten’s op-ed, because so few conservatives are willing to speak out against the project. There is something especially galling about purported supporters of limited government arguing in favor of spending hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds for a sports palace. Some of the Beltway’s most articulate critics of government subsidies for art and public broadcasting (e.g., PBS, NPR) either support or are silent about subsidies for sports stadiums.

The city council is scheduled to vote on the Williams’ plan this Tuesday. For those of you who reside in DC, contact information for council members is below:

Linda W. Cropp, Chairman (202) 724-8032, lcropp@dccouncil.us
Harold Brazil, At-Large (202) 724-8174, hbrazil@dccouncil.us
Carol Schwartz, At-Large (202) 724-8105, carol.schwartz@dc.gov
David Catania, At-Large (202) 724-7772
Phil Mendelson, At-Large (202) 724-8064, PMendelson@dccouncil.us
Jim Graham, Ward 1 (202) 724-8181, jgraham@dccouncil.washington.dc.us
Jack Evans, Ward 2 (202) 724-8058, JackEvans@dccouncil.washington.dc.us
Kathleen Patterson, Ward 3 (202) 724-8062, kpatterson@dccouncil.us
Adrian Fenty, Ward 4 (202) 724-8052, afenty@dccouncil.us
Vincent Orange, Ward 5 (202) 724-8028, vorange@dccouncil.us
Sharon Ambrose, Ward 6 (202) 724-8072, sambrose@dccouncil.washington.dc.us
Kevin Chavous, Ward 7 (202) 724-8068, KPChavous@dccouncil.washington.dc.us
Sandy Allen, Ward 8 (202) 724-8045, cmallen@dccouncil.us