The RP: No Bracket? No Pay! (The No Labels NCAA Bracket Challenge)

Today, we kick off an historic week.

On Wednesday, March 14, “No Budget, No Pay” legislation — sponsored by Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) and Cong. Jim Cooper (D-TN) — receives its first hearing by the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT).  The landmark bill, sponsored by No Labels, would deny Congressmen pay if they fail to pass a budget and spending bills on time.  Read all about the bill here.  I hope to see many of you at the important event in Washington, DC. (Click here for more information.)

Then, the very next day, Thursday, March 15, March Madness erupts — the first full round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament begins play across the country.

This is a big event in the No Labels universe.  My Kentucky Wildcats are the early favorite, followed closely by co-founder Nancy Jacobson’s alma mater, the Syracuse Orangemen.  Co-founder Mark McKinnon’s Texas Longhorns are always dangerous, and contributing RP/No Labels co-founder Lisa Borders‘ Duke Blue Devils are always evil.  (Sorry, folks, click here to relive my nightmare.)

To celebrate the convergence of these two monumental events, we at The Recovering Politician and No Labels are sponsoring our first NCAA basketball March Madness bracket challenge.

We are calling it…wait for it… “No Bracket, No Pay“.  The RP Nation and No Labels activists across the country are invited to submit a completed NCAA bracket — for free — and the winning brackets (and perhaps some losers as well) will receive BIG CASH PRIZES.

(OK, full disclosure:  The “BIG CASH PRIZES” don’t actually involve “cash.”  But we will come up with some fun stuff to give away.)

Entering the tournament is simple and easy. Just click here and follow the directions.  And you don’t need to be a roundball expert to play — in most office pools, it’s the clueless hoops-a-phobe that usually wins.

The deadline for entry is  12pm EDT on Thursday, March 15, 2012. 

And remember, you can’t win if you don’t play — No Bracket, No Pay.

Click here to join the fun today (or at least before Thursday at Noon EDT.)