Neal versus Rosenberg?

Tom Wesley in bad company.

When the final campaign filings from the Pioneer Valley 2010 political races came out on Monday, eyebrows were raised behind closed doors at the report filed by south Valley Congressman Richard Neal. I say behind closed doors, because the general public was never informed of the figures by the mainstream local media, which is typical regarding anything pertaining to "The Congressman" that might be interpreted as embarrassing.

But the mind-boggling sum spent by Richie Neal to win re-election last year was really the great uncovered story of our local elections in 2010. How much was Richie forced to spend this time around? According to his filing, he spent a staggering $2,235,180, which I believe qualifies as the most expensive race in Pioneer Valley history.

What also makes Richie's massive money bomb so unique is not just its size, but the target against which all that cash was directed - Neal's almost penniless and unknown opponent, political novice Tom Wesley. To attempt to unseat Neal, Wesley raised a paltry $123,203, which on the congressional level is practically the equivalent of challenging your opponent on the proceeds of a lemonade stand.

Even more awkward for Neal is how little he got for firing this cannon of cash against a housefly. Although Republicans of a certain stripe can occasionally win in the Pioneer Valley, Wesley was not of that type. He had a military background in a district of peaceniks, was anti-abortion among rabid feminists, and against gay marriage in one of the queerest parts of the state. Wesley was also running as a Republican Tea Partier in a year when Massachusetts (and California) were unique in resisting the GOP wave that swept the other 48 states.

And yet, even with all that against him, the final tally was startlingly close, with Wesley winning a very solid 43% of the vote. It is hard to believe that a sudden attraction to Wesley's right-wing views can account for that turnout, especially since there was no Republican surge in any other local races. Although Wesley did have an enthusiastic base, his high vote total can only be fully explained as a personal anti-Neal backlash. In other words, there were a surprisingly large number of voters out there who were prepared to hold their nose and vote for a candidate they philosophically disagreed with rather than cast their ballot for Richie Neal.

And no doubt they had their reasons. Years of unchallenged incumbency had made Neal appear as if he took the seat for granted, with many voters even asking "Richie who?" since the lack of the need for Neal to campaign for the seat for 16 years had left much of the public uncertain of who he was. No doubt Neal's inside polling showed him in trouble, thereby explaining his frantic spending spree, even against an unpopular opponent with no money. That is the only logical explanation for how you end up with the bizarre sight of a two million dollar race against a guy with pocket change.  

Neal won by a margin slim enough to leave one wondering whether Neal would have lost the seat had the GOP had the sense to have nominated the much more electable libertarian Republican Dr. Jay Fleitman of Northampton, who had challenged Wesley in the primary. But that's just idle speculation at this point, in politics the winner takes all, whether victory comes by a sliver or a landslide, and under normal circumstances Neal would be able to sigh with post-election relief and enjoy another term.

Neal and Olver

But these are not normal circumstances. As a result of slow population growth in Massachusetts, we are losing one of our ten congressional seats. That means that if all ten incumbents want to run for re-election, one of them is going to have to be forced to run against a fellow incumbent. And if you know anything about the way things are done in Massachusetts politics, it ain't gonna be somebody in Boston who is going to have that problem. As usual they will shaft - I mean shift - that difficulty to us here in the Wild West, and make our two congressmen, Neal and John Olver of Amherst do an electoral duel to the death in a Democrat Party primary.

Both Neal and Olver (like the other eight incumbents) have publicly announced that they are seeking re-election in 2012; but how seriously can we take their intentions? There is no doubt that Neal is sincere, he is poised to possibly become chair of the powerful Ways and Means Committee in the unlikely chance that the Democrats retake the House. Neal is also just in his early 60's and considered still young by congressional standards.

Olver however, is a another story. For one thing, doubt is raised by the fact that Olver is required to say he is running in 2012 even if he has no intention of doing so, just to preserve any chance of saving the two Western Mass seats from consolidation. The ten incumbents are just dying to be relieved of the pressure of removing a seat by having someone retire, since then they could just wipe out that person's seat and leave all nine remaining incumbents safe and sound. So if Olver did not say he was running, it would become an inescapable certainty that we would lose the second seat, with no possibility of escaping Boston combining Neal's and Olver's districts.

Despite such political posing, everyone is all but certain that Neal and Olver's districts will be combined, as it just isn't possible to imagine the scenario where Boston would kill off one of their own to accommodate Western Mass. So would Olver really compete in such a brutal political death match with Neal? He is well into his seventies and frankly did not impress people with his sometimes doddering, spacy performance in last year's debates against his GOP challenger Bill Gunn. Many suspect that if push comes to shove, Olver will defer to Neal by retiring should it turn out that only one of them can fill the seat.

But of course the Pioneer Valley political universe does not consist only of Richard Neal and John Olver. Some powerful Democrat could come forward, and the whispering is growing louder that the someone who may step in to challenge Neal if Olver steps down may be Amherst State Senator Stan Rosenberg. After all, Rosenberg is widely considered to be Olver's hand-picked heir, and previous speculation about Olver's retirement has regarded Rosenberg's candidacy to be a foregone conclusion. Why would that certainty be changed should the seat have Richie Neal competing for it?

My personal opinion is that if it is a Neal versus Olver Democrat primary, Neal will win because of his relative youth and the lopsided margin the Democrat machine in Springfield can deliver to Neal to overcome all the small towns that comprise Olver's base. However, a Neal versus Rosenberg race, now that's a whole other story. It's too early yet, but meanwhile let us watch with keen interest as events unfold.

The rising sun hits the woodland way into downtown Northampton. 

Transforming it into a golden road of unlimited devotion.

 



Singing along to animal posters in Northampton last week. 

On the street by Tony Mateus. 

2010 Congressional Poll Results

Congress-critters Neal and Olver.

The New York Times has released their official appraisal of where the re-election races of Pioneer Valley Congressmen Richard Neal and John Olver stand as of October 15. While Republicans in much of the country are enjoying unprecedented high poll numbers, the Times reports that according to their appraisal, coming into the home stretch both Neal and Olver are poised for landslide re-election victories.

Saying that "based on polling, expert forecasts, fundraising, past election returns and other indicators" in the closely watched 2nd Congressional District, where the entrenched Neal is being challenged by businessman Tom Wesley, the Times says that Neal is leading with 71% of the vote with Wesley trailing 44 points behind with only 27%. On the basis of those numbers, the Times declares that they are 100% certain that Neal will be re-elected.

The Times regards the Olver effort, where he faces local Tea Party favorite Bill Gunn, to be more competitive, but just barely. Dismissing leftist third party candidate Michael Engel as entirely irrelevant, the Times declares that Olver is leading with 66% of the vote to Gunn's nearly 32%. This leads them to conclude that there is a 99.9% chance that Olver will be re-elected, not quite the 100% certainty the Times has about Neal, but still very discouraging to those hoping for change. 

Challengers Tom Wesley and Bill Gunn.

But is it really so hopeless? I think the Times is mistaken in totally dismissing the role of Engel's leftist third party challenge in the Olver race. If Engel pulls a significant number of disillusioned Obama liberals away from Olver, Gunn's chances may prove better than forecast. And the experts have been underestimating Tom Wesley from day one, when everyone said that Wesley's GOP primary challenger, Dr. Jay Fleitman would win the GOP nomination easily.

In any case it will be the voters of the First and Second District who will make the final determination on November 2nd of who will represent them in Congress - not the New York Times.

To read the full NYT Neal-Wesley appraisal click here.
To read the full NYT Olver-Gunn appraisal click here.

Luke Arrivel was playing at the Haymarket in Northampton this past weekend.

A Deadhead in the UMass library.




I saw this red-tailed hawk in a tree outside Bartlett Hall at UMass this afternoon. 

Neal's Brochure Confusion

 

It's been so many years since entrenched south-Valley Congressman Richard Neal has had to campaign for re-election, that it appears as though he can't even recognize major landmarks from own district. At least that is the impression given by a campaign flyer mailed to Springfield voters this week. Neal's opponent Thomas A. Wesley had this to say in a press release about Neal's confusion over local geography:

RICHARD NEAL FOR CONGRESS MAILING FURTHER HIGHLIGHTS HIS DISCONNECT WITH THE SECOND DISTRICT

HOPEDALE—Tom Wesley today questioned Richard Neal’s commitment to the 2nd District as a result of some glaring errors in a direct mail piece Neal's campaign recently sent to voters. The oversized postcard, with the title “Effective and Accessible for Springfield,” featured six different categories: jobs, technology, transportation, economic development, redevelopment, and healthcare.

The first sign that Congressman Neal is out of touch with the Second District is the picture accompanying the “Transportation” blurb. He refers to a federal investment in I-91 and I-291 “to make local highways safer and less congested" but it features a picture of I-91 in Hartford, CT!

Under “Healthcare,” Neal highlights the $150,000 that was earmarked for Mercy Medical Center in Springfield. And, while that figure may be correct, the structure in the picture is about 1,200 miles south of Springfield. Instead of the Mercy Medical Center, the Neal campaign features a picture of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida!

Richard Neal has been in Congress for 22 years. That is a lot of time away from the Second District. His campaign brochure that is paid for by his own political operation demonstrates how far he has in fact drifted away from us. He cannot even identify his hometown hospital.

While he may not have personally designed the mail piece, he signed off on it. Too often, I speak with voters who have never met, or even seen, Congressman Neal in their town. He has failed to return their calls and their letters. He has failed to listen to their concerns. He has failed to be their congressman.

Looks like Neal needs to do a little riding around the district to refresh his memory before he prepares his next campaign mailing! So where does the Neal/Wesley race stand now? My spies haven't sent me any inside polling data yet, but for what it's worth the war over who has the most Facebook fans is currently being won by Neal, with 1,782 to Wesley's 759.

Northampton had a Columbus Day parade this week. 

These guys dressed as Revolutionary War soldiers attended the ceremony held after the parade at Pulaski Park. 

Naturally all the local pols were there, including Northampton Mayor M. Clare Higgins (far left).

An old vinyl Monkees record discovered at a tag sale for one dollar. 

A Republican in a wheelchair entered a restaurant one afternoon and asked the waitress for a cup of coffee. The Republican looked across the restaurant and asked, "Is that Jesus sitting over there?" The waitress nodded "yes," so the Republican requested that she give Jesus a cup of coffee, on him.

The next patron to come in was a Libertarian with a hunched back. He shuffled over to a booth, painfully sat down, and asked the waitress for a cup of hot tea. He also glanced across the restaurant and asked, "Is that Jesus over there?" The waitress nodded, so the Libertarian asked her to give Jesus a cup of hot tea, "My treat."

The third patron to come into the restaurant was a Democrat on crutches. He hobbled over to a booth, sat down and hollered, "Hey there, honey! How's about gettin' me a cold glass of Miller Light?" He, too, looked across the restaurant and asked, "Is that God's boy over there?" The waitress once more nodded, so the Democrat directed her to give Jesus a cold glass of beer. "On my bill," he said.

As Jesus got up to leave, he passed by the Republican, touched him and said, "For your kindness, you are healed." The Republican felt the strength come back into his legs, got up, and danced a jig out the door.

Jesus also passed by the Libertarian, touched him and said, "For your kindness, you are healed." The Libertarian felt his back straightening, raised his hands, praised the Lord and did a series of back flips out the door.

When Jesus walked towards the Democrat, the man jumped up and yelled, "Don't touch me - I'm collecting disability!"

 

2010 Congressional Update

 

The Massachusetts conservative website Red Mass Group has been running a series of analysis recently of the 2010 Western Mass races for U.S. Congress. This is what they have to say, with my own two cents thrown in as well. The First Congressional District is currently represented by Democrat John Olver, who is being challenged by Republican Bill Gunn and third party candidate Michael Engel.

DISTRICT ONE

Prediction: John Olver (D) 70%, Bill Gunn (R) 25%, Michael Engel (I) 5%.
Unfortunately, this is not a good district for a Republican and Bill Gunn has neither the financial resources nor the history of electoral success at this time to have a credible chance to win.

 

Here's my analysis of their analysis - It is true that Olver will be hard to beat in this very liberal district, but I don't think Gunn's prospects are as bleak as they claim. While it's true that Gunn lacks name recognition and experience, indications are that this is a year when being an outsider can be a virtue. Gunn will also get a boost from third party candidate Michael Engel, a candidate who, incredibly enough, is running to the left of Olver. 

Therefore, liberals who want to cast a protest vote in this anti-incumbent year, but who are repelled by Gunn's tea-partyish views, can still desert Olver and cast a protest vote for Engel without compromising their leftist ideology. So if Engel ends up riding the anti-incumbent wave enough to reach double digits, Gunn may well find himself within striking distance of an upset victory.

To read the full report on District One click here.

Surprisingly the Second District is the more hotly contested of the Western Mass contests, with longtime incumbent Richard Neal facing two strong possible GOP challengers. Here's what Red Mass Group has to say:

DISTRICT TWO

Republican Primary Prediction: Tom Wesley 62% Jay Fleitman 38%
General Election Prediction: Richard Neal (D) 59%, Tom Wesley (R) 41%.

The Massachusetts 2nd Congressional district has been trending more Republican over time. The towns in south Worcester County become more Republican and a larger percentage of the district. In 2008, it voted slightly more Republican than the 3rd congressional district, formerly held by Peter Blute (R). Both Wesley and Fleitman have quality resumes and are running real campaigns. The Republican nominee will have raised six figures, done a fair amount of retail politics, and caught a good year in 2010. Unfortunately, Neal's near $3 Million on hand will prove difficult to overcome. I expect a decent showing, but not victory at this time.

 

My analysis of their analysis: Before Neal can be challenged there will be a September primary where either Fleitman or Wesley will be eliminated. I agree with Red Mass Group that Wesley is probably ahead, but not by the nearly two to one margin they claim. Whoever wins, it is important that the primary leave no hard feelings, because the GOP will have to be fully united to have any chance to oust as firmly entrenched an incumbent as Neal. 

The real trick for the GOP nominee is to cut significantly into Neal's powerbase in Springfield, where the city's corrupt Democrat Party machine is certain to deliver a lopsided electoral landslide on Neal's behalf. A similar landslide is likely for Neal in Northampton by the non-corrupt but partisanly passionate Democrat organization, although if Northamptonite Fleitman is the nominee he may be able to cut into that a little as a hometown favorite. Whoever the nominee is, the GOP's goal will be to try to keep Neal's expected Springfield/Hamp landslides to a low enough margin so that GOP victories in the Republican leaning suburbs can hopefully compensate for their big city losses. It's not an impossible feat - Scott Brown carried the district in the special election in January, despite being crushed in both Springfield and Northampton, by successfully carrying nearly all of the suburban and hilltowns.

To read the entire Second District report click here.

Speaking of Scott Brown, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw on the bus the other day a person proudly displaying a Martha Coakley sticker. I thought everyone scraped those off in embarrassment long ago. 

Here's a song about Amherst set amidst the power lines of Pelham. 

PeloNeal?

Or NealPelosi?

Take your pick which term you like (personally I feel PeloNeal has better alliteration) but congressional candidate Tom Wesley thinks there's not a dime's worth of difference between south Valley Congressman Richard Neal and current Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, a congresswoman from San Francisco California.

Nancy Pelosi is the face of all that is wrong with Washington right now. She is an ultra-liberal from San Francisco with an agenda far from the beliefs and values of the majority of Americans, including those here in Massachusetts’ Second District.

Richard Neal is our Congressman, but he might as well be the Congressman for Nancy Pelosi’s district. Richard Neal votes 98.9% with Nancy Pelosi. That doesn’t seem right to me. The voters I have met from Springfield, Dudley, Webster, Douglas, Wales, Hopedale and the other towns around the Second District have expressed their frustration with their lack of representation in Washington.

Personally, I think some very good things have come out of San Francisco, such as the Grateful Dead!

San Francisco has also been on the frontiers of gay rights.

However, I have no use for Nancy Pelosi, who is wrong on nearly every issue that matters. As Wesley explains in his latest one minute political ad, we don't need a Nancy Pelosi twin representing our Valley.

 



 

It's a shame how the old Sabin Locksmith Shop in downtown Northampton is being forced out by a new landlord. 

So is their neighbor the punk clothing store Sid Vintage, but happily they are relocating to the old Winterset site. 

The Amherst version of the Mill River. There are many Mill Rivers in Massachusetts.

 



A cow skeleton in a classroom at UMass. 

Valley music videographer Jeff Ziff came upon this interesting beverage at a blues festival in Maine last weekend.

Angry music is made in Amherst as the band Little Death perform their lovely tune "I Don't Hate You Because You're Gay - I Hate You Because You're an Asshole."

Neal's Power Play

With Campaign Cash

As usual the local media has been giving entrenched incumbent Congressman Richard Neal a virtual free ride in his re-election bid, with puff pieces that never explore the real issues. Still, you might think that Congressman Neal himself would be busy focusing on the first real race he's had since the early 90's, against one of two possible challengers, Dr. Jay Fleitman and Tom Wesley. This is especially true considering that Neal has always run by promoting his incumbency as his main asset. 

But now Neal faces re-election, as George Will put it, in "a year in which incumbency is considered a character flaw." According to the Boston Globe, instead of focusing on this November, Neal appears to be passing out his campaign cash in hopes of winning another election - for a coveted committee chair in congress. The Globe reports that Neal will be a having a huge fundraiser this weekend, but not in his district:

On a Cape Cod bluff, amid cabanas that overlook the swimming pool and ocean beyond, a group of major campaign contributors this weekend will join US Representative Richard E. Neal at the Chatham Bars Inn, far from his Springfield district.

The price: $5,000.

In return for their money, Neal’s financial supporters will get a “Summer Weekend on Cape Cod’’ with the 11-term Democrat, a key element in Neal’s campaign to raise his relatively low profile and seize one of the most powerful perches in Congress: chairman of the tax-writing Committee on Ways and Means.....

As this weekend’s event at the Cape demonstrates, the effort is being waged through the use of political money, both given and received. Neal, who is expected to be easily reelected to his House seat in November, has been raising large sums, which he in turn has been donating to other members of Congress, to demonstrate his leadership and curry favor.

So far this year, Neal has donated $49,000 to other House candidates, more than the combined amount he gave directly to candidates from 1997 through 2007. He also donated $100,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which separately funds House races.

As Neal has risen in stature, more of his contributions are coming from out of state. Last year, three-fourths of his contributions came from outside Massachusetts, compared with one-fourth in 2004. Steven Ballmer, the chief executive of Microsoft and a frequent political contributor, for example, donated $1,000 to Neal for the first time in December. Ballmer could not be reached for comment.

Despite the recent attention Neal has been getting from moneyed interests around the country, those who have known him for decades say he hasn’t lost the approach of the Springfield city councilor, or the mayor who would speak into a tape recorder while driving through the city, forcing aides to transcribe it and work on fixing the problems he spotted.

“We used to joke when we were in 11th grade, that when he was president we’d all have jobs,’’ said Barry Metayer, a longtime friend.

So even in eleventh grade they were talking about cashing in. Sadly, once again you have to read out of town papers to know what's going on in our own backyard, although I wrote about this topic back in March. Congratulations to the Globe for finally catching up with the blogosphere.

Yesterday I went to Springfield. When passing through Holyoke, I was surprised to see that the bus stop at Veteran's Park has been moved to the corner by Saint Jerome's.

This is the house on Haskins Street in ol Pine Point where my Dad grew up. 

This is the flag Saint Michael's put on my Dad's grave. 

How odd to see a little beehive forming on the wing of the statue on the grave of Jay Libardi.

 



Northampton rock-out. 

Waiting

For the Bus

I forgot that today was President's Day, so I arrived at the bus stop at the wrong time, the schedule having changed to reduced service because of the holiday. Instead of just standing at the bus stop doing nothing, I decided to wander around downtown a little bit. 

I used the clock on First Church to make sure I didn't lose track of time. 

They had a "naughty needles" sale at the wool store for Valentine's. 

This is a picture I took of my friend Zak last summer. He likes tattoos.

 



Soon Zak will be opening this restaurant downtown. Everybody's really excited about it.

Bulbs were blooming in this window. 

However it will be some time yet before they bloom outdoors - especially with snow predicted for tonight. Then it was time to head back to the bus stop. 

Campaign Developments



Howie Carr mentioned the local congressional races in his Boston Herald column yesterday:

Is there a Republican revolution in Massachusetts? Maybe, but so far there seem to be a lot more generals enlisting than privates.

Consider how many Republicans have taken out nomination papers against Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Worcester and Havana). The answer is five. Five!

Richie “the Sheik” Neal has three Republicans officially eyeing his seat. Ditto, Niki Tsongas. The ancient John Olver, in the bluest of the blue First Congressional District, has two Republican challengers, plus an independent.

Who are the three challenging Neal? Well of course there's libertarian Republican Dr. Jay Fleitman and social conservative Tom Wesley, but who is the mysterious number three? Everyone is whispering that it will be former State Senator Brian Lees.

Meanwhile, Neal challenger Tom Wesley has started a new website designed to highlight Neal's role as a loyal foot soldier for the congressional establishment in Washington, voting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over 98% of the time. Wesley also points out that Neal has had many fundraisers outside the district, even having a post office box to collect the cash down in Maryland. From Wesley's press release:

Why is there a post office box for the “Richard Neal for Congress Committee” in Chevy Chase, Maryland? Because it is closer to Washington, D.C.? 

 
Funny

Multi-media artist Kelsey Flynn strikes an Ed Sullivan pose with her parents in anticipation of The Really Big Show at the Academy of Music February 28th. 

I generally don't like redneck jokes, but this poem is cute:

Susie Lee done fell in love;
She planned to marry Joe.
She was so happy 'bout it all
And she told her Pappy so.
But Pappy said, 'Susie, gal,
You'll have to find another
I'd just as soon ya Ma don't know,
But Joe is yo' half brother.'

So Susie put aside her Joe
And planned to marry Will.
But after telling Pappy this,
He said, 'There's trouble still ..
You can't marry Will, my gal
And please don't tell your Mother,
But Will and Joe and several mo'
I know is yo' half brother.'

But Mama knew and said to her,
'My chile, do what makes ya happy.
Marry Will or marry Joe,
You ain't no kin to Pappy.'


Today's Music Video

More newness from Northampton's School for the Dead.

Fleitman's Progress

Senator Scott Brown and Dr. Jay Fleitman

I'm pleased to see that there was a major article yesterday in the Hampshire Gazette about Dr. Jay Fleitman, one of two Republican challengers to longtime incumbent Congressman Richard E. Neal. I was happy because as near as I can remember it is the first time in over a decade that I've seen any local newspaper devote that much ink to anything political involving Neal. Perhaps that's not so surprising, considering that Neal has not had to defend his seat in an election since 1996.

Unfortunately, the article was biased against Fleitman, especially in a sidebar called Where Fleitman Stands in which Fleitman was allowed to comment directly on some of the issues. However, in an odd journalistic twist, commentaries were inserted after Fleitman's quotes to refute what he was saying. For example on the subject of the failed stimulus bill the first paragraph quotes Dr. Fleitman:

Fleitman opposed last year's $787 billion spending package, calling it "more of a laundry list of pork" that Democrats had been waiting to fund. "I would have done this in a much more limited fashion," he says. "I've been through a lot of recessions, and some have been much worse ... I'm convinced the economy would have bounced back on its own."

Then what follows in the very next paragraph are these Democrat Party talking points:

Democrats such as Neal have argued that drastic measures like the stimulus bill and the bank bailout were needed last year; some economists said an even bigger stimulus bill would have been better. President Obama recently said unemployment might be 20 percent today had the bill not passed, and he criticized some Republican legislators for opposing the bill but then attending ribbon-cutting ceremonies in their districts for construction projects funded by the legislation.

Lest anyone think that the Hampshire Gazette was merely trying to be balanced, on that very same day elsewhere in the paper, an interview with Congressman Neal features quotes by Neal on the issues in a similar format. These are presented with absolutely no rebuttal paragraphs inserted after Neal's comments, as was done in the Fleitman piece. Apparently the Hampshire Gazette feels that the Republican challenger should not be allowed to present his views unless tempered by the insertion of rebuttals, but the Democrat incumbent is allowed to make any comments he wishes completely unchallenged.

The interview with Neal is the longest interview I've seen in any local paper with him in over a decade. It is also interesting that Neal's interview appears the same day as the Fleitman profile. Is that a mere coincidence? Just last week an incident occurred where someone representing Neal contacted the Jim Polito radio show, which is heard in the Worcester branch of the district, and demanded to be allowed on the air because the other one of Neal's challengers, social conservative Tom Wesley, had been on earlier. Did the Neal camp catch wind of the Fleitman article and demand to appear in the Gazette just as they did to the Polito Show? Whatever the case may be, it is certainly intriguing that both articles appeared on the exact same day.

Yet despite the Fleitman article's generally biased tone, it is important simply because it treats the race as what it really is - the biggest and most important local contest coming up this election year in Western Mass. It would be advantageous to Neal to keep this race below the media radar screen, the better to help him just glide back into office by voter's force of habit. The Hampshire Gazette's willingness to print such a high-profile article on one of Neal's challengers shows that Neal's re-election bid will apparently not be helped this year by the media black-out that Neal usually gets.



On the Bus

Great news from the Pranksters! Ken Babbs novel based on his experiences as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, 48 years in the works, is finally finished and been sold to a publisher. Here's the Captain himself to tell you all about it, as well as a little anecdote about the time he and Ken Kesey took the bus to Las Vegas. 

 

My friend told me once that he could tell what kind of a person somebody was by what kind of car they drove. I scoffed at that theory, saying, "What about me? I don't even own a car!"

My friend looked at me with a sly grin and replied, "Actually, that tells me a great deal."

The bus came by....

....and I got on, that was how it all began. 

Yellow Hamp peace-house out the bus window.

For a Laugh

Abe Lincoln himself showed up at the Longmeadow Republican Town Committee the other night. Here is the president greeting Mary and Dean Rogeness. 

This is a local satire of Wednesday's non-snow event.

 

The only answer that I have found
Above the sky or below the ground
Is that there are no answers
There never were any answers
There will never be any answers
That's the answer.
Now go out and stuff the universe into your eyes.