Steven P. BarrettGOP UPSTART BECH COULD UPSET OUT OF TOUCH LIBERAL OLD (NAG) WARHORSE JOHN OLVER, MA-1ST (LINK)
July 21st 2008 19:29
By Steven Barrett
Oh how I wish I lived in my old congressional district for just this year alone. Not that I'm unhappy with Rich Neal, (D-MA 2nd District.) Being of Irish ancestry, naturally I'm proud that my congressman did so much to help bring the Troubles in Ulster to an end. And he's done a lot of good for the district, and I'm not just speaking about bringing home indiscriminate pork.
On the other hand, it'd be a lot of fun casting a vote against John Olver, long my former State Senator (D-Amherst) and longtime Congressman representing the 1st MA Congressional District, encompassing most of western Massachusetts. (He succeeded Silvio Conte, R-Pittsfield, who served for some 30 plus years before dying in office.)
In sharp contrast to the more "old school" politician Conte was, Olver represented the rising class of upscale academics who were his bread and butter; whereas Conte never, absolutely never had trouble relating to and getting the votes of people from all walks of life in the district. Olver, however, not only grew older, but more insular in his outlook, and seemed more interested in supporting the trendier issues favored by his more natural constituency, the Amherst-Northampton egghead, artsy-fartsy crowd.
I have nothing against the man, and he was a neighbor who also voted in the same precinct. One morning during an election Ijust as I entered my voting machine booth Olver's unmistakable bass voice filled the small library auditorium. Oh, was I sorely tempted to say loudly "Sorry John, not this time!"
Lately, though, Olver fell into the bad habit of earmarking like so many of his colleagues. Sometimes earmarking can do a lot of good, but I've been doing some eye-ball-rolling about some of the pork Olver's bragged about recently. Lotsa dough for a bike path and mucho grande to help some already well-heeled Amherst area artists and hoity-toities keep an old movie theater from getting knocked down. Sentimentally speaking I was kind of happy to see the old place spared since I got my first job working there thanks to a high school classmate.
And, of course the bike path is a nice thing to have. By all means, if a bike path can help reduce the traffic, etc. who couldn't support one.
But at what cost and to whom?
The standard Republican answer and war cry is THE TAXPAYER! True, but sooner or later what we pay taxes for should come back to us in the form of necessary services, etc. How about more money for student loans; funds for paying independent truckers to make sure the Foodbank in Hatfield that provides food for many anti-poverty and social service agencies doesn't go empty thanks to the recent rise in gasoline prices. How about more money going to sponsor more shelters for battered women, homeless veterans, and so forth?
The only way to beat an old (and still strongly entrenched) liberal like John Olver is to OUT-Liberal him in ways he'd never know what hit him. Recently Bech proved he could do that by something he posted on his website:
Really Long Link
For years Olver had been playing professor, although I've heard he hasn't darkened a door in decades, though he still holds his tenure at UMass/Amherst (great racket--academia, right?), and apparently he couldn't resist the temptation to step back in his old role. But he overplayed his hand.
This post isn't "payback," or anything like that. It's just that I find myself agreeing with this young man a lot more than Olver. Hell, I've never met Bech. He just strikes me as the better candidate. It's just too damn bad Olver didn't face a candidate like Bech before. Most of his opponents were the near stereotypical GOP candidates who'd call me for my vote telling me it was so important to vote Prolife, which I agreed, then they ruined it all by bragging about how much they'd gut from the very same programs so many of the young moms-to-be NEEDED in order to get their kids off to a better start. Sorry folks, when it comes to preserving human lives, you can't do it on the cheap.
Bech's different and he's got his ears closer to the streets than Olver's previous opponents, many of them "put up jobs" for the state and local GOP committee could say they've done something. No wonder Congress never learned because the incumbents never had any real opposition.
Looks like both Olver and Congress will be getting a very harsh lesson this fall. And long overdue. Oh, it's stuff like this that makes me a little "homesick" even though I'm only five miles as a bird flies from Olver's manse.
If you're interested in helping Bech, contact him by hitting the link button in the headline box.
Oh how I wish I lived in my old congressional district for just this year alone. Not that I'm unhappy with Rich Neal, (D-MA 2nd District.) Being of Irish ancestry, naturally I'm proud that my congressman did so much to help bring the Troubles in Ulster to an end. And he's done a lot of good for the district, and I'm not just speaking about bringing home indiscriminate pork.
On the other hand, it'd be a lot of fun casting a vote against John Olver, long my former State Senator (D-Amherst) and longtime Congressman representing the 1st MA Congressional District, encompassing most of western Massachusetts. (He succeeded Silvio Conte, R-Pittsfield, who served for some 30 plus years before dying in office.)
In sharp contrast to the more "old school" politician Conte was, Olver represented the rising class of upscale academics who were his bread and butter; whereas Conte never, absolutely never had trouble relating to and getting the votes of people from all walks of life in the district. Olver, however, not only grew older, but more insular in his outlook, and seemed more interested in supporting the trendier issues favored by his more natural constituency, the Amherst-Northampton egghead, artsy-fartsy crowd.
I have nothing against the man, and he was a neighbor who also voted in the same precinct. One morning during an election Ijust as I entered my voting machine booth Olver's unmistakable bass voice filled the small library auditorium. Oh, was I sorely tempted to say loudly "Sorry John, not this time!"
Lately, though, Olver fell into the bad habit of earmarking like so many of his colleagues. Sometimes earmarking can do a lot of good, but I've been doing some eye-ball-rolling about some of the pork Olver's bragged about recently. Lotsa dough for a bike path and mucho grande to help some already well-heeled Amherst area artists and hoity-toities keep an old movie theater from getting knocked down. Sentimentally speaking I was kind of happy to see the old place spared since I got my first job working there thanks to a high school classmate.
And, of course the bike path is a nice thing to have. By all means, if a bike path can help reduce the traffic, etc. who couldn't support one.
But at what cost and to whom?
The standard Republican answer and war cry is THE TAXPAYER! True, but sooner or later what we pay taxes for should come back to us in the form of necessary services, etc. How about more money for student loans; funds for paying independent truckers to make sure the Foodbank in Hatfield that provides food for many anti-poverty and social service agencies doesn't go empty thanks to the recent rise in gasoline prices. How about more money going to sponsor more shelters for battered women, homeless veterans, and so forth?
The only way to beat an old (and still strongly entrenched) liberal like John Olver is to OUT-Liberal him in ways he'd never know what hit him. Recently Bech proved he could do that by something he posted on his website:
Really Long Link
For years Olver had been playing professor, although I've heard he hasn't darkened a door in decades, though he still holds his tenure at UMass/Amherst (great racket--academia, right?), and apparently he couldn't resist the temptation to step back in his old role. But he overplayed his hand.
"For America, the only certain solution to the high price of gasoline is to reduce the consumption of gasoline. We can drive slower. We can drive less. We can carpool. We can use public transportation when it's possible. We can develop 'work from home' wherever and whenever that's feasible as an option. We must start pursuing all of these strategies immediately."
This post isn't "payback," or anything like that. It's just that I find myself agreeing with this young man a lot more than Olver. Hell, I've never met Bech. He just strikes me as the better candidate. It's just too damn bad Olver didn't face a candidate like Bech before. Most of his opponents were the near stereotypical GOP candidates who'd call me for my vote telling me it was so important to vote Prolife, which I agreed, then they ruined it all by bragging about how much they'd gut from the very same programs so many of the young moms-to-be NEEDED in order to get their kids off to a better start. Sorry folks, when it comes to preserving human lives, you can't do it on the cheap.
Bech's different and he's got his ears closer to the streets than Olver's previous opponents, many of them "put up jobs" for the state and local GOP committee could say they've done something. No wonder Congress never learned because the incumbents never had any real opposition.
Looks like both Olver and Congress will be getting a very harsh lesson this fall. And long overdue. Oh, it's stuff like this that makes me a little "homesick" even though I'm only five miles as a bird flies from Olver's manse.
If you're interested in helping Bech, contact him by hitting the link button in the headline box.
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