There were two interesting pieces of news in the MA races for the US House that I came across. The first one had me laughing quite a bit.
MA-04: Barney Frank challenged by a dining room table
Remember that famous clip from the town halls on HCR, when Barney Frank told that woman her premise was incredibly stupid? He said that her comparison of Obama to Hitler was "vile, contemptible nonsense" and that arguing with her was like arguing with a dining room table. And he had no interest in doing it. Here's the clip:
Well, the dining room table apparently somehow got enough signatures to get on the ballot.
Rep. Frank faces town hall foe in Mass. primary
....Fast forward to this year, the questioner, Rachel Brown, is challenging the 15-term Democrat's re-election bid....
....Brown has zeroed in on Frank's role in the overhaul, saying she wants to see the end of government bailouts. Brown's platform also includes other, more novel ideas, including the human colonization of Mars.
"I think we need a program in the economy based not on only surviving for the moment, but a policy increasing physical production and allowing new discoveries to be made, with the new frontier being Mars," Brown said....
Well, wanting to go to Mars answer's Barney's question to her about which planet she spends most of her time.
MA-09: Mac D'Alessandro gets big endorsement
In the race against the anti-choice Stephen Lynch in MA-09, Mac picked up a big endorsement from The Boston Globe. This was diaried by litho and UnaSpenser earlier, so I won't go into detail on that. But that prompted me to look a bit closer at Mac, and I was moved to donate.
Here's why:
First, if people here like Mac, that's a good early indicator. (If people had listened to some of us locals during the Coakley debacle we might have Senator Capuano* right now....) So I was looking at his qualifications. Check out this degree:
Mac is a graduate of Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Science in Human Ecology and Environmental Policy
emphasis mine
If you want more representation in Congress with a grasp of Environmental Policy, I think you might want to consider sending a few bucks his way. How much is the environment worth to you? For me, having someone with a science framework is huge. There's far too little of that in DC.
Further, I saw this in Mac's background:
Adopted by white parents and raised in a black neighborhood in Chicago, Mac learned at an early age the struggles that different communities in our country face, but also how to bring people together to address our shared concerns.
This is someone who comes from a family that looks like several I know and love. I want someone representing MA--and all Americans--who understands that families are created in a variety of ways. It matters to me.
Now, those reasons alone are great--but he is otherwise qualified as well. Those are just a couple of items of diversity that I would like to see representing my state. So I gave to Mac today. Please consider that as well if these are issues that matter to you. Help Mac beat Lynch.
mem from somerville: Endorses diversity, opposes dining room tables.
*And just one word about Capuano: Mike is running unopposed. The rest of you have a lot of work to do in your districts, plz.
Also--quick note to folks writing about their candidates: Election Diary Rescue has returned. Help them out by using titles that specify the contest if possible. You're candidate will get more exposure from the Rescue list. A good thing.