Snark-Infested Waters by Mike Bailey

Snark-Infested Waters by Mike Bailey

Subscribe  |  Share    |  Print

Follow me on Facebook

Posts Tagged ‘Ninth Congressional District’

Newer Entries »

The Week In Politics – May 4, 2012

Friday, May 4th, 2012

It’s candidate roll call recap time, and things are looking a bit disappointing for the local ballot.

Tuesday marked the deadline for candidates for district and county offices (not including the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates, more on that below) to file their nomination papers with their local registrars of voters, and the final tally is pretty sad: only five of the Cape’s 12 incumbents seeking re-election — two State Senators, six State Representatives, two Barnstable County Commissioners, and two county officers — have challengers in the coming election.

Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth) is poised to first face a new (and so far invisible) primary challenger, Democrat Stephen M. Palmer of Plymouth, and the winner of that contest will face Sandwich Republican Thomas F. Keyes. State Representative Demetrius J. Atsalis (D – Barnstable) will take on Centerville Democrat Brian R. Mannal, and whoever prevails will go on to the November general election unopposed.

The other contested local races are State Representative Randy Hunt (R – Sandwich) and Sandwich Democrat R. Patrick Ellis for the Fifth Barnstable District; and Commissioners Mary L. (Pat) Flynn of Falmouth and Sheila R. Lyons of Wellfleet against Eric R. Steinhilber of Barnstable (see below for the latest wrinkle in this race).

There’s a chance this number could dwindle further if, during the nomination paper certification process, any candidate should become disqualified for failing to collect enough valid signatures, but this happens infrequently.

I’m truly surprised by the slim pickings considering this is a presidential election cycle, which is generally more active than mid-term elections, but I also feel sorry for voters. Solid contests are good all around: they make the incumbents work for their jobs, open up opportunities for new blood and new ideas and government, and lead to more educated voters. A greater number of contested races would have been beneficial all around.

***

On the plus side, the race for US Representative of the Ninth Congressional District is looking ever more robust. Republican Adam Chaprales of Sandwich is throwing his hat in the ring, setting the stage for a GOP primary race; Christopher Sheldon of Plymouth is already running.

Mr. Chaprales is a former one-term Sandwich selectmen whose main claim to fame is that at age 21, he was the town’s youngest-ever selectman. Now 28, he works for New York Life Insurance Co. He launched his campaign this past weekend. His official campaign website is www.adamforcongress.com.

(One bit of web design advice for the candidate: that floating “sign up for updates” bar is wicked annoying. Lose it.)

Incumbent Rep. William R. Keating (D), Democrat C. Samuel Sutter, the Bristol County District Attorney, and non-party candidates Daniel Botelho of Fall River and Peter A. White of Mashpee are also running.

The deadline for Congressional candidates with party affiliations to file their paperwork is this coming Tuesday. Non-party candidates have until mid-summer.

***

Nomination papers for the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates were distributed this week to town clerks and Janice O’Connell, clerk of the assembly, and we already have two confirmed candidates for the county’s legislative body.

One of them is Falmouth’s Andrew V. Putnam, and the other is Ronald R. Beaty Jr. – the same Ron Beaty who was running for county commissioner…and I say “was” because none of the town clerks I spoke received his nomination papers by the Tuesday deadline.

This effectively ends Mr. Beaty’s plan to run dual races for county commissioner and the assembly. Earlier this year Mr. Beaty sought an opinion from the office of the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth – Elections Division and was informed that he could legally could hold both seats, as long as he exercised due diligence to avoid voting on issues as a member of one board that directly impacted the other (e.g., he could not as a county commissioner vote to raise the stipend delegates receive).

Now, however, it looks like he’ll be running only for the assembly. “After carefully reevaluating the political ramifications of my non-party candidacy for Barnstable County Commissioner, I have finally decided to formally withdraw myself as an Independent Candidate,” he wrote in an e-mail, “and to throw my complete support to Eric Steinhilber and his candidacy.”

He is dedicating himself to his assembly run, and said his “various positions on the respective issues currently related to county government will now be vigorously pursued via that potent avenue!”

Political news and announcements may be e-mailed to Michael Bailey, senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

The Week In Politics – April 20, 2012

Friday, April 20th, 2012

Looks like we have our first official candidate for the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates.

(Yes, the assembly. Stop laughing.)

That candidate is Andrew V. Putnam of Falmouth, who is planning to challenge veteran delegate Julia C. Taylor (that is, assuming she runs for re-election). He’s a member of Falmouth Town Meeting and the current chairman of the town’s Affirmative Action Committee.

Mr. Putnam said he wants to enhance the assembly’s visibility among voters, and in doing so increase transparency in county government.

Check out Mr. Putnam on-line at www.youtube.com/andrewvputnam, www.facebook.com/andrewvictorputnam, and www.twitter.com/andrewvputnam.

What, no Foursquare or Pinterest accounts? Slacker.

***

Some people run a campaign. So far it looks like C. Samuel Sutter is stumbing his campaign for US Representative of the Ninth Congressional District.

The Federal Election Commission recently posted online Mr. Sutter’s latest campaign finance report, which shows that as of March 31 the Bristol County D.A. has about $21,000 in campaign funds. Meanwhile, his primary opponent, incumbent William R. Keating (D) had close to $400,000 in his campaign war chest as of the end of March.

Add Mr. Sutter’s lackluster finances to his DA-related woes (accusations of professional misconduct) and you’ve got a campaign that’s one step away from needing a hougnan to bring it back to life (no offense to the voodoo priests out there).

***

Someone whose campaign apparently is apparently faring much better is that of Sandwich Republican Thomas F. Keyes, who is challenging Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth).

Mr. Keyes has been assembling “leadership teams” throughout the district, people within each town to lead campaign efforts, and last week he named Ralph Crossen, Jr. and Bill LeBeau as his Sandwich town captains.

It looks like Mr. Keyes is forming a much more solid and coordinated organization than he had in 2010, so Sen. Murray could be in for a decent fight this year.

Now, that all said, I have to shake my head in disapproval over Mr. Keyes’ recent announcement that he has signed a “no new taxes” pledge with the Citizens for Limited Taxation.

All pledges of this nature are nothing more than quick and easy and ultimately meaningless campaign gimmicks. It is President George H.W. Bush’s famous “No new taxes!” slogan in written form — and Bush, as you might recall, abandoned that pledge when the cold hard practical reality of running a government reared its ugly head.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for cutting government waste and I’m not thrilled about having to pay taxes. I’m also not thrilled about understaffed police and fire departments, inadequate public schools, and roads that are impassible by anyone not driving a Panzer.

Political news and announcements may be e-mailed to Michael Bailey, senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Politics | 2 Comments »

The Week In Politics – April 13, 2012

Friday, April 13th, 2012

It’s time for my first “We hardly knew ye” lament of the election season.

Democrat James C. King, an attorney from Dover, recently announced that he was dropping out of the US Senate race and formally endorsing Elizabeth Warren. Yes, nothing influences voters more than an endorsement from a candidate they never heard of.

***

On the flip side, we have a new candidate jumping into the race for the Ninth Congressional District: attorney Daniel Botelho of Fall River is running as a non-party candidate. Learn more about him through his Facebook page or his WordPress blog.

Political news and announcements may be e-mailed to Michael Bailey, senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Politics | Comments Off

The Week In Politics – March 16, 2012

Friday, March 16th, 2012

Looks like we have our first big controversy of the year.

Several news outlets last week picked up on allegations of misconduct against Bristol County District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter, Democratic candidate for the Ninth Congressional District. Mr. Sutter allegedly released confidential records of phone conversations between murder suspect Jonathan Niemic and his attorney, Robert M. Griffin, and now Mr. Griffin is asking for the indictment against his client to be overturned.

This is the second such instance of alleged misconduct by Mr. Sutter. In 2003 murder charges against two suspects were dropped after a Massachusetts Superior Court judge found Mr. Sutter had displayed “a reckless disregard for the truth” by knowingly presenting an eyewitness who lied to a grand jury about the case.

Between this and the fact that incumbent Congressman William R. Keating (D) already has the backing of the state party, Mr. Sutter is facing a serious uphill battle in the primary.

***

In other Ninth District news, Plymouth Republican Christopher Sheldon will officially launch his Congressional campaign on Tuesday. He’ll make the announcement at the John Carver Inn and Spa on Summer Street in Plymouth.

Mr. Sheldon will hold a private reception at 6 PM, a public reception at 6:45 PM, and full festivities begin at 7:15 PM. If you want in on this, shoot an e-mail to Allan Knowles at sheldon.congress@gmail.com or call 508-591-0195.

***

Ronald K. Beaty Jr. of Barnstable, who all year has been making much ado about his candidacy for the Barnstable County Board of County Commissioners, on Saturday very suddenly suspended his campaign.

Mr. Beaty said in a follow-up to his e-mail announcement that a medical crisis was behind the decision. He said the suspension was indefinite and gave no hint whether he would return to the race once his medical issues are addressed.

***

I normally don’t pay much attention when people say, “Oh, I hear so-and-so is going to run for such-and-such this fall,” but this one has piqued my interest.

Over the past week I’ve received two calls from folks saying the word on the street is that Andrew V. Putnam of Falmouth is contemplating a run for the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates. Mr. Putnam is a Town Meeting member for precinct nine, chairman of the town’s equity/affirmative action committee, and son of Falmouth Selectman Brent Putnam.

When contacted this week, Mr. (Andrew) Putnam confirmed he is considering a run for the assembly. “My reason for considering running is simple,” he wrote in a brief statement. “I believe that I could give a new perspective on many of the issues that face Falmouth and the Cape and help those that have been ignored be brought to light (such as the importance of the Assembly of Delegates).”

Mr. Putnam is referring to a proposal to merge the assembly with the Barnstable County Board of County Commissioners – an idea that his possible opponent Julia C. Taylor, a 22-year member of the assembly, is open to exploring.

Still, I’m curious about the buzz that seems to be building over this tentative campaign. For starters: over a race for the assembly? The county body that few know about and fewer care about? Nothing personal against the delegates, but let’s call a spade a spade: I’ve been covering the assembly for 13-plus years now and people STILL ask me, “What’s the assembly of delegates?”

This occurs, I must note, despite the assembly’s traditional annual rallying cry of, “We need to increase the visibility of county government!” Which stands in contrast to the fact that many delegates show up to maybe one board of selectmen’s meeting per year to talk about what’s happening at the county level. But I digress…

It’s not unprecedented for candidates to start a “whisper campaign” in advance of a formal declaration of candidacy to build some name recognition, but my advice to Mr. Putnam is this: don’t whisper, dude. Shout. Loud. And a lot.

***

Finally, I present a slightly paraphrased version of one of Senate President Therese M. Murray’s (D – Plymouth) jokes from last weekend’s Barnstable Democratic Town Committee St. Patrick’s Day Brunch: a conservative, a moderate, and a liberal walk into a bar. The bartender says, “Hey, Mitt.”

Political news and announcements may be e-mailed to Michael Bailey, senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in County, Politics | 2 Comments »

The Week In Politics – March 9, 2012

Friday, March 9th, 2012

The field of candidates for Barnstable County Board of County Commissioners continues to grow.

Republican Eric R. Steinhilber of Barnstable is apparently going to formally announce his candidacy later this month, bringing the current tally up to four: incumbents Mary L. (Pat) Flynn of Falmouth and Sheila R. Lyons of Wellfleet, and Ronald K. Beaty Jr. of Barnstable.

If the name sounds familiar, it’s because in 2010 Mr. Steinhilber ran for State Senator of the Cape and Islands District — and lost the primary, to my mind inexplicably, to James H. Crocker Jr.

(Nothing personal, Crocker fans, but I really thought Eric was the better candidate.)

Before I move on, let me take a minute to clear up some misconceptions as to how this particular race is going to go…

Once the field of candidates has been established, all the Democrats appear on the Democratic primary ballot, all the Republicans on the Republican ballot, and non-party candidates get to cool their heels for a while because they don’t get primaries.

The top two candidates from each primary race then moves on to the general election ballot, at which point the race becomes totally non-partisan and something of a free-for-all — which is to say, for example, Mr. Steinhilber would not run directly against Ms. Flynn. Everyone runs against everyone, and the top two vote-getters in the general election each win one of the available seats.

***

Dover attorney James King has gotten his US Senate campaign underway. Mr. King is running as a Democrat, which pits him in a David-versus-Goliath fight against Elizabeth Warren, and while choice is always good for voters, I have a hard time imagining Mr. King making any real headway in the primary.

Mr. King is actually not alone in challenging Ms. Warren. Marisa DeFranco, an immigration lawyer from Middleton, is also running, although she’s further along in her campaign: she’s already reached the point where she’s accusing Ms. Warren of ducking debate challenges.

***

It’s official! Thomas F. Keyes is running for State Senate!

Okay, it’s not, you know, 100 percent straight-from-the-horse’s-mouth official, but it might as well be. In addition to issuing position papers for the past several months, holding fundraisers, and teasing announcements, the Sandwich Republican’s supporters planted some campaign signs at polling locations on Super Tuesday.

…even though he’s not an official candidate and he appeared nowhere on Tuesday’s ballot so what was the point?

Anyway, Mr. Keyes has announced an event at the Radisson in Plymouth for Sunday, March 18, where he will make an “announcement for State Senate or (the) return of donations” to his campaign. Considering the event comes with a $35-per-person admission fee, I think it safe to say that he’ll confirm his candidacy. Finally.

(This may be twisted of me, but I kind of hope this sort of false, manufactured non-drama becomes the motif for his campaign, because this column THRIVES on that stuff.)

If you’re interested to see whether Mr. Keyes announces his candidacy (wink) or returns his donations (wink wink), call 774-208-3480 to make reservations for the March 18 event or buy your tickets at the door.

Political news and announcements may be e-mailed to Michael Bailey, senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Politics | Comments Off

The Week In Politics – February 24, 2012

Friday, February 24th, 2012

 

Busy week this week, so let’s get to it!

Robert A. O’Leary has put an end to weeks of speculation and announced that he will not take another shot at Congress.

Mr. O’Leary, a former Barnstable County commissioner and State Senator of the Cape and Islands District, ruled out a re-match against Congressman William R. Keating (D) because of the heavy financial cost of running a Congressional campaign.

“It was painful to make this decision,” Mr. O’Leary said in a statement released last week.

Rep. Keating and Mr. O’Leary faced off in 2010 for the Democratic nomination, and Rep. Keating eked out a win with 51 percent of the vote.

With Mr. O’Leary officially out, the field of candidate for the Ninth Congressional District remains at four confirmed candidates: Rep. Keating; Democrat C. Samuel Sutter, Bristol County’s district attorney; Plymouth Republican Christopher Sheldon; and non-party candidate Peter A. White of Mashpee.

***

On another Keating-centric note, Rep. Keating last week picked up another early union endorsement, and it’s a big ‘un: the Massachusetts AFL-CIO has not only given the freshman Congressman its official thumb’s up, AFL-CIO President Steven A. Tolman said returning Rep. Keating to office was “one of our top priorities.”

***

Looking more locally, County Commissioners Mary L. (Pat) Flynn of Falmouth and Sheila R. Lyons of Wellfleet last week informed me personally that they would both be running for re-election this year.

That brings us to a field of three candidates for two spots on the board, the third being non-party candidate Ronald K. Beaty Jr. of Barnstable. I’ve heard chatter about a potential Republican candidate, who has taken out papers but has not made any formal announcements, so that’s not yet a done deal.

***

Also not a done deal, but close to it: Hyannis attorney Brian Mannal has announced plans to challenge seven-term State Representative Demetrius J. Atsalis (D – Barnstable) — in the primary!

Mr. Mannal was born in Centerville, moved to New Mexico with his family as a child, and returned to his hometown to raise his family. He briefly worked for former Milford state rep Marie J. Parente and for George H.W. Bush’s campaign in 2000.

This could be a very interesting contest. Rep. Atsalis has had only one serious challenge during his time in the Legislature: his 2002 race against Ann B. Canedy, which he won by a mere 101 votes. Could a fellow Democrat succeed where many Republicans have failed?

***

I’m going to change Thomas F. Keyes’ name to Thomas F. Tease.

The Sandwich Republican has, since losing his 2010 race against Senate President Therese M. Murray (D – Plymouth), suggested through occasional e-mails that read very much like campaign position papers and a couple of fundraisers that he would mount a second challenge this year.

This week Mr. Keyes sent out to supporters a link to this video:

http://youtu.be/Db-1IkeIWpw

Please note that he doesn’t specify whether he means he plans to run again or refund the donations…although — and here’s your free grammar lesson for the day, Tom — the way he phrases his announcement makes it sound like he’ll be returning everyone’s money.

I somehow think that isn’t what he’ll announce next month, but we’ll all find out together, won’t we?

Political news and announcements may be e-mailed to Michael Bailey, senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in County, Politics | Comments Off

The Week In Politics – February 17, 2012

Friday, February 17th, 2012

The unseasonably warm weather lately has apparently thrown everything out of whack: Nantucket is reporting premature cherry blossoms, Falmouth saw its first herring heading in to spawn, and we already have our first political endorsement.

1199SEIU, the largest union for health care workers on the Cape and Islands and the South Shore region, last week issued a formal endorsement for Congressman William R. Keating (D), who will be running for re-election.

Aside from Rep. Keating, the field of candidate for the Ninth Congressional District includes fellow Democrat C. Samuel Sutter, Bristol County’s district attorney, Plymouth Republican Christopher Sheldon, and non-party candidate Peter A. White of Mashpee.

Political news and announcements may be e-mailed to Michael Bailey, senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Politics | Comments Off

The Week In Politics For January 27, 2012

Friday, January 27th, 2012

The race for the new Ninth Congressional District is heating up in earnest (sure glad something around here is warm).

This month alone Democrat C. Samuel Sutter, the Bristol County DA, has announced the formation of an exploratory committee and could challenge the de facto incumbent William R. Keating (D) for the primary nomination; and non-party candidate Peter A. White of Mashpee announced he was abandoning his bid for US Senate to run for the Ninth.

Now let’s welcome to the race our first official Republican, Christopher Sheldon of Plymouth, businessman and member of the Plymouth County Charter Study Commission. This is, according to his official bio, his first run for public office, but he has served as a campaign manager for MaryAnne Lewis, who ran as a non-party candidate for the soon-to-be-retired 10th Congressional District in 2010.

“Like many from the South Shore, South Coast, Cape and Islands, I am very concerned about the direction of our country, and especially our economy,” Mr. Sheldon said in a press release announcing his candidacy. “I believe in the American dream and I believe that, if we start now, there is still time to get our nation back on track.”

Mr. Sheldon is pitching the “we need new blood” angle and calling for an ouster of the career politicians in Washington, as well as an end to partisan bickering — two points I can totally get behind, personally.

The candidate plans to formally kick off his campaign on March 20.

***

Republican Thomas F. Keyes, the not-quite-official candidate for State Senate of the Plymouth and Barnstable District, is holding a meet-and-greet on Sunday, February 4. That will be held at the Trowbridge Tavern & Canal Club in Bourne from 7 to 9 PM.

The evening will feature the music of Andrew Botieri and a silent auction to benefit Mr. Keyes’ campaign. Donations of any amount are also welcome.

To RSVP or for more information, call Agatha Bodwell at 774-208-3480 or e-mail her at events@votekeyes.com.

(PS: Tom. Dude. It’s pretty obvious you’re running again. Make a formal announcement already.)

***

Regardless of what anyone thinks of either US Senator Scott P. Brown (R) or Democrat Elizabeth Warren, you have to appreciate their willingness to play fair…or, at least, as fair as you can in the political world.

This week Sen. Brown and Ms. Warren signed onto a pledge to actively condemn any negative ad campaigns funded by third-party sources, and to personally shoulder the penalty for an infraction by an outside organization. Each candidate has promised to donate to charity 50 percent of the cost of any third-party ad that explicitly supports their own candidacy or attacks their opponent by name.

Sadly, there’s one potentially crippling flaw in this pledge: the political action committees (PACs) responsible for the mudslinging ads don’t have to honor it; legally, the candidates have no control over these PACs or the ads they put out, so don’t be surprised if the overall negativity does not subside to any appreciable degree.

Ironic postscript: as I was writing this, the pro-Republican PAC American Crossroads (Karl Rove’s group) sent me an e-mail claiming that all the loopholes in the agreement are totally Warren’s fault. Way to embrace the message, guys.

Political news and announcements may be e-mailed to Michael Bailey, senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Politics | Comments Off

The Week In Politics For January 20, 2012

Friday, January 20th, 2012

Non-party candidate Peter A. White of Mashpee has dropped out of the running for US Senate…and is now running for Congress. Again.

Mr. White issued a press release last week announcing the switch, noting that “many of my peers in the Occupy movement are supporting (Democrat) Elizabeth Warren for US Senate and my grassroots democracy key value moves me to respect their wishes that I not oppose her in her campaign to replace Senator Scott Brown.”

Instead, Mr. White will take his third shot at Congress, running for the Ninth Congressional District. He’s run for Congress twice before, the first time in 2006, coming in third in a three-way race, and again in 2010, but he dropped out midway through the campaign.

***

Ah, but when the political gods close a door they open a window, and that window’s name is William Cimbrelo. He has been running as a non-party candidate for US Senate since October, although I didn’t hear about him until this week, when he issued a press release touting his “Hyannis ties” in the form of parents who retired to Hyannis.

(And stretch and reach…)

Mr. Cimbrelo is the creator of www.jobaction.org, an online message board for job seekers, and the founder of IndependentSurge.org, which is dedicated to aiding third-party candidates for elected office.

***

Is he or isn’t he?

More precisely: is Ronald R. Beaty Jr. of West Barnstable running for Barnstable County Commissioner or not? The answer: maybe.

Mr. Beaty issued a press release this week in which he says he’s “only contemplating a run” for county commissioner, but included with that release a copy of a Citizens for Limited Taxation-created “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” that he signed “Ronald R. Beaty Jr. – Candidate for County Commissioner.” He also has a blog titled “Ron Beaty for Barnstable County Commissioner” (linked above).

According to the release, Mr. Beaty is waiting to acquire his nomination papers and should have a 100-percent-official announcement soon.

Now, there is one other factor that could come into play here, and that’s Mr. Beaty’s criminal background. In 1991, Mr. Beaty — and this has been verified by the man himself — spent time in prison after he was convicted of sending threatening letters to President George H.W. Bush, US Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and then-State Senator Lois Pines. You can read more about that here and here.

Mr. Beaty is seeking a presidential pardon for those offenses, but regardless of how that turns out, you can bet that if he enters the race, this will become an issue.

Political news and announcements may be e-mailed to Michael Bailey, senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Politics | Comments Off

The Week In Politics – November 11, 2011

Friday, November 11th, 2011

The Sandwich Republican Town Committee invites the public to attend its upcoming “Pancakes & Politics” fundraiser at the Sandwich American Legion hall (20 Main Street, Sandwich). The event is scheduled for Saturday, November 19 from 8 AM to 10:30 AM.

The morning will feature a presidential straw poll and a presentation honoring committeeman, activist, and past candidate Chris Fava.

Proceeds will be split between the SRTC’s scholarship fund and Republican candidates running in 2012.

***

On Monday, the Joint Legislative Committee on Redistricting released its proposed new Congressional district map, and we are now poised for some serious fun next year.

Go check out the map here and you’ll see that the current 10th Congressional District has, for all intents and purposes, been re-labeled as the Ninth District (you’ll Massachusetts lost one of our 10 districts), and its boundaries have been pushed farther west and south while its northern boundaries have been pulled back. As a result the town of Quincy — home of Congressman William R. Keating (D) — is no longer in the district.

But that won’t last long. In order to keep representing the Cape and Islands (and avoid a primary showdown with Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (D) — whose current Ninth District will become the new Seventh District, which will encompass Quincy), Rep. Keating plans to make his Bourne home of 17 years his primary residence.

So the next question is: who might emerge in 2012 to challenge Keating?

Expect to see a lot of interest from the GOP in this seat in 2012. As a freshman lawmaker Keating will be more vulnerable than an entrenched incumbent, plus he’ll be a brand-new face for folks in the New Bedford area AND it’s a Presidential election year, which means there’s going to be a big push by the Republicans to get as many Dems out of office as possible.

Yes, because one-party rule is always such a good thing.

***

So. The Herman Cain thing.

Cain has a chance to come out of this thing — well, not unscathed, but looking better than he does now, but he blew that the minute he outright denied the whole thing every happened, then went on to have increasingly specific memories about what happened. Had he laid his cards on the table and divulged everything instead of, in order, lying, dissembling, shutting down, and finally trying to shift the blame onto the media (also called “The Palin”), he might have been seen as a man who confronts adversity and addresses it with quiet dignity — a president in the making — instead of, well, a slimy politician.

His recent cries of foul play by the media are especially laughable. He jumped into the biggest shark tank in the country by announcing a presidential run, and it’s either arrogance or naivete on his part to assume that he would never come under the media’s microscope — particularly when he, against all reason, pulled ahead in the polls. It happened with Michele Bachmann, it happened to Rick Perry, and now it’s Cain’s turn.

At this stage in the game, Cain’s best escape plan is to hope something about his accusers emerges that shatter their credibility so completely that Cain starts to look like the victim, but as far as I’m concerned, Cain revealed his true colors by failing to meet this challenge head-on. I wasn’t behind the guy to begin with — his “999″ tax plan is vague and flawed, and his stance on social issues is myopic and regressive — but his response has showed me the man is absolutely not presidential.

PS: For any readers getting ready to respond with, “Yeah, well, what Bill Clinton did in office…” or some similar, let’s be clear: what Clinton did was scummy and beneath the office of the president. Had he been accused of such behavior during an election phase, he should have been roundly roasted over an open media fire. Crummy behavior transcends political ideology, folks.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in National issues, Politics | Comments Off

Newer Entries »

Other blogs

Follow us on Facebook

Advertisement