Ron Paul Leads in Fantasy Congress Rankings, Jon Kyl Featured Member
Popular website claims that Senator Jon Kyl has carved out a niche for himself in Congress and could be a valuable timely pick-up and has recently been scoring points with amendments.
His H.CON.RES.43 was introduced in January and is titled: "Expressing the sense of Congress that the President should implement Recommendation 9 of the Iraq Study Group Report."
The recommendation concerns talks with Iran and Syria. It urges the United States to work with Syria and Iran on getting Iraq back together in one piece. It goes on to state that a fragmented Iraq is no better for Iran than a U.S. occupied Iraq.
"Politics has become a fantasy sports," according to an article that appeared on the Boston Globe, and that the exact concept that Fantasy Congress looks to thrive off of.
Fantasy Congress is modeled after fantasy sports in which participants draft a team from Congress and gain points with those lawmakers' legislative activity -- is being used increasingly by students and teachers for some civics education outside the textbook.
Instead of a fantasy team headed by Roger Clemens, players can choose a political pitcher like New York's Hillary Clinton or Mississippi's Trent Lott. And just like in fantasy baseball, players can obsess over statistics, as in "Who got more legislative points this year, Massachusetts' liberal lion Edward M. Kennedy, or Oklahoma's fiscal conservative James Inhofe?" (The answer: Inhofe, by far: 1794-871.)
"Think of us as sort of the 'Schoolhouse Rock' of the 21st century," Andrew Lee, a student at Claremont McKenna College in California and one of the game's creators, told the Globe.
Fantasy Congress began as the idea of Claremont McKenna College (CMC) student Andrew Lee while he was living with a roommate who was constantly preoccupied with fantasy football.
Andrew was no stranger to fantasy sports, having played fantasy baseball. Impressed by the power of fantasy sports to engage and captivate their players, Andrew decided that someone needed to invent a fantasy sports game to challenge government aficionados and to attract average people to the world of politics.
This month's spotlight politician is none other than Arizona Senator Jon Kyl. There is quite the irony in such a selection.
In October, Senator Jon Kyl pushed legislation through Congress as part of an unrelated port security bill banning online gambling. By doing so, he ensured carve outs for both horse betting and fantasy leagues.
The legislation initially threatened to halt fantasy sports leagues that charge sign-up fees and offer prizes to top players, clearly making the activity illegal. And, for the first time, it would have subjected players in such leagues to possible prosecution on a federal charge that carried a maximum penalty of three months in prison and a $500 fine.
Only those sites that charge fees, which typically range from under $10 to several hundred dollars, would have been affected if Kyl's bill is signed into law.
But FantasyCongress.Com doesn't offer cash prizes or betting with real money. Instead, the popular website hopes to offer awards in the form of scholarships.
Jon Kyl, the fantasy site claims, has carved out quite a niche for himself in Congress, following a closer than expected win last November. The billion dollar online gambling community had lobbied to get Jon Kyl out of office during the waning pre-Election Day hours.
Having recently survived a closer than expected reelection bid, Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) is carving a new niche for himself in the Senate. In 2006, Kyl edged out Democratic land developer Jim Pederson 53%-44%, though several analysts attributed weaknesses with Pederson’s campaign more than strengths with Kyl’s to the result. During the same cycle, Republicans lost two seats in Arizona, giving each party half of the 8-member delegation.
Kyl is a solid conservative, scoring a 90.8 out of 100 on National Journal’s partisan score, but is looking for ways to work with the Democratic majority on important legislation. Kyl is currently the 7th highest scoring Republican Upper Senator, and is among the highest scoring conservatives. Kyl won’t anchor your team, but could be a valuable timely pick-up and has recently been scoring points with amendments.
In its report, the Globe points out that there is a built-in bias to the game that features favoritism for those parties holding the majority in each chamber -- since it can push through more legislation. But one of the revelations of Fantasy Congress is how prolific some members of the minority party can be. And savvy players say that shrewd picks can come from those in the minority party who cosponsor bills with those in the opposite party.
"I like that it's beneficial to cross the aisle in the game," Matt Hughes, a student at the State University of New York in New Paltz, told The Globe.
Ron Paul Leads in Fantasy Congress Rankings, Jon Kyl Featured Member
Fantasy Congress began as the idea of Claremont McKenna College (CMC) student Andrew Lee while he was living with a roommate who was constantly preoccupied with fantasy football. 
Jon Kyl, the fantasy site claims, has carved out quite a niche for himself in Congress, following a closer than expected win last November. The billion dollar online gambling community had lobbied to get Jon Kyl out of office during the waning pre-Election Day hours.