Aside from Kerry Healey and Reed Hillman, who is it, again, that is setting the standard for the state Republican party?
This buffoon, for one: Ken Chase, one of only four statewide GOP candidates this cycle (Healey, Hillman, and Attorney General candidate Larry Frisoli are the others). Chase won the hotly-contested yet barely-noticed primary between himself and Kevin Scott for the honor of being demolished in the general election by Ted Kennedy. Even the Sages of Beverly aren't too psyched about Chase.
And really, all you need to know about Chase appears in this hilarious video, in which (as Brian McGrory recently recalled) he and the campaign manager of his pathetic run against Ed Markey a few years back hashed out their differences before - wait for it - Judge Mathis. Especially entertaining is the revelation that Chase talked about wanting to take a 2-by-4 to Markey's head.
So that's Chase. The final statewide GOP candidate, Larry Frisoli, seems like a decent enough guy, but of course he has no chance against Martha Coakley.
And we would be remiss indeed if we failed to mention one last high-profile candidate fielded by the GOP this year: none other than Jack E. Robinson, who this time is taking on Steve Lynch in the Ninth Congressional District. Robinson, you surely recall, ran for Senate in 2000 with, well, interesting results. Here's an article from April, 2000:
In the mid-1980s, for starters, Robinson was stopped by police for driving under the influence; and after graduating from law school in 1985, he failed the bar exam three times in two states. More recently, a federal judge decided Robinson had lifted portions of his 1994 book on Pan Am airlines from another author. One former girlfriend once took out a restraining order against Robinson, and last month, an unnamed woman told reporters Robinson had groped and forcibly kissed her after a date four years ago, leading Boston papers to dub him "Jack the Tongue."
And just when things couldn't get any worse, they did. While talking to a reporter on his cell phone two weeks ago, Robinson got into a car accident -- "Candidate Robinson Steers into More Trouble," ran one headline -- and worse, was accused by another driver of leaving the scene. Within days, the Republican State Committee withdrew its support, and Robinson's candidacy became a punch line. "The sheer volume of the allegations, and the disturbing nature of some of these allegations," announced Gov. Paul Cellucci, "makes it pretty impossible for him to get this campaign off the ground."
So "Jack the Tongue" is back, representing one of the best chances the GOP has this year of picking up a congressional seat in Massachusetts. Which, obviously, ain't sayin' a lot.
There you have it, folks, the standard-bearers for the state GOP: Ken "Judge Mathis," "whack Markey with a 2-by-4" Chase, Jack "the Tongue," "maybe driving while talking on your cell isn't such a great idea after all" Robinson, and Larry "nice guys finish last" Frisoli. These guys had better hope that Kerry Healey has really, really long coattails.
