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Kerry Challenged

By an opponent, I mean. Republican Jim Ogonowski, narrowly defeated by Niki Tsongas for the 5th Congressional District seat in Massachusetts, is taking on Kerry. Ogonowski’s statement:  

“Last summer, we started a movement right here in Massachusetts — a call for change that has resonated across the state and the nation.  It’s a call to change the way Washington does business.  It’s public service for the right reasons.  That means serving the people and not the lobbyists and Washington insiders. With the lowest approval ratings in history, it is clear that Washington is broken and the people of Massachusetts are demanding a new voice that will fight for their interests. No one represents the status quo, business as usual mentality in Washington, more than John Kerry.

“Folks in Massachusetts don’t see John Kerry around here much anymore — Washington is his home. It’s been his home for a long time.   I call Dracut, Massachusetts my home.

“I want to go to Washington to return government to the people.  I will stand up to the Washington insiders and special interests and fight for the people of Massachusetts.  We have real problems that need real solutions, not more political lip service.  We need a long-term economic plan that brings jobs back to Massachusetts.  We need immigration reform that does not include amnesty for illegal immigrants and we need a long-term energy plan that works.  We had an energy crisis 22 years ago when John Kerry took office and we have one still now. He didn’t fix this in 22 years and he won’t fix it with another 6 years.  It is time we send someone new to Washington.

“That is why I am running for Senate and that is why we will build on the movement we started last summer and that is why I believe Congress will be returned to the people in 2008.”

Here’s the Boston Herald:

A retired Air Force commander whose brother was a pilot on one of the doomed 9/11 flights is launching a bid to seize John Kerry’s seat in the Senate.

Republican Jim Ogonowski, a Dracut farmer and retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, said he will go head-to-head with Kerry in November. Kerry, a Democrat, has been in office since 1985.

Ogonowski’s announcement comes just months after he lost a close battle for the 5th Congressional District seat to Democrat Niki Tsongas in October.

“With the lowest approval ratings in history, it is clear that Washington is broken and the people of Massachusetts are demanding a new voice that will fight for their interests. No one represents the status quo, business as usual mentality in Washington, more than John Kerry,” said Ogonowski, 50, in a statement.

“Last summer, we started a movement right here in Massachusetts - a call for change that has resonated across the state and the nation,” he said.

“It’s a call to change the way Washington does business. It’s public service for the right reasons. That means serving the people and not the lobbyists and Washington insiders.”

Ogonowski claims he will strive to return government to the people and stand up to special interest groups and Washington insiders.

But Kerry hit back, saying he has been fighting for change and will continue to do so when he runs for re-election.

“John Kerry brings to public service a lifetime of fighting the tough fights for change and standing up with courage and conviction, and he’ll keep doing that in the United States Senate,” said Kerry spokesman David Wade.

Globe here: Kerry’s Out of Touch.

Ogonowski fought a great campaign against a local Democratic namebrand in Blue Mass. All things being equal, he would have trounced her. It will be an uphill battle against Kerry, but who knows, maybe even people here will have had it with faux JFKs. 

Speaking of faux Kennedys, by the way, did anyone else notice that Ted Kennedy gave JFK credit for inspiring the civil rights movement and Vietnam war protests in his Obama endorsement today?  Sounds like Clintonian racism plus a little historical telescoping. I believe JFK’s involvement was at the front end of that war. But Ted gets big points for not calling Barack “Osama.”

Personal to Norm in comments:

Search me.  Tell the Blairites that until Deval Patrick was elected last year, we had Republican governors for 16 years. GOP lost its last U.S. House seat over a decade ago though, and numbers that gave them a little clout in the state Senate under the first Weld admin have dwindled to meaningless nothingness.  In JFK’s day, it was a heavily Republican state, and despite the subsequent shift, lunchpail Dems voted for Reagan. A third to half the state consistently still votes Republican in statewide and national elections, but shows little interest in running.  Kennedy benefits greatly from (A) Camelot legacy, (B) incumbency, (C) money and (D) generally low-caliber opponents, his toughest challenge in living memory being Romney in the mid-1990s. My own conservative newspaper has endorsed him as recently as a couple of years ago, a somewhat Murdochian recognition of his unquestionable power in Washington, when his opponent’s campaign barely registered a blip. I think the mindless cheers you saw during his absurdly vapid and revisionist Obama endorsement speech yesterday tell the whole story. The uninspired younger brother of JFK and RFK, delivered a hand-me-down U.S. Senate seat four decades ago, was the last man standing and took on the Kennedy mantle, itself an odd anomaly of American 20th Century politics, utter cynicism blooded into legend. A scandal … driving off a bridge, abandoning a young woman to drown, taking a powder while figuring out what to do about that … that would have run out mere mortals a long time ago rarely even rates a mention any more except by meanspirited partisans who cruelly question how such a man could possibly claim to represent the interests of common people. 

Hope that helps.

Topics: pols

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 12:20 am on Tuesday, January 29, 2008

7 Responses to “Kerry Challenged”

1. norm Says:
   January 29th, 2008 at 9:28 am

   Hey Jules, help out the Blairites. They’re asking us seppos why the gasbag from Chappaquidick keeps getting elected by the people of Massachusetts and why his endorsement matters so much and we don’t have an answer.

2. The_Real_JeffS Says:
   January 29th, 2008 at 9:49 am

   Good luck to Mr. Ogonowski. Lurch should have been driven from office YEARS ago.

3. RebeccaH Says:
   January 29th, 2008 at 12:22 pm

   This makes me sorry I can’t vote in Massachusetts. Great analysis of Teddy Bear’s staying power, Jules.

4. sarah rolph Says:
   January 29th, 2008 at 6:00 pm

   This is excellent news. Really makes my day.

5. Dave Surls Says:
   January 29th, 2008 at 7:22 pm

   “Ted Kennedy gave JFK credit for inspiring the civil rights movement and Vietnam war protests in his Obama endorsement today? ”

   LOL. Next he’ll be telling us that Bobby was violently opposed to Joe McCarthy.

6. Republican Jim Ogonowski to Challenge Kerry for Senate Seat : BigMouthFrog Says:
   January 30th, 2008 at 5:02 pm

   [...] Kerry Challenged [...]

7. Jules Crittenden » Name One Accomplishment Says:
   February 6th, 2008 at 1:46 am

   [...] another race to watch in November is Ogonowski vs. Kerry. Ogonowoski, a retired Air Force LTC and New England farmer whose brother was killed as pilot of [...]

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