THAT Whitman’s state representative, Geoff Diehl, a
candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by
Elizabeth Warren, yesterday found a novel way of distinguishing himself from
the incumbent by vowing not to write a book if he’s elected to the Senate. Reacting to the
news that Warren, in 2017, earned $430,379 in royalties from her book, “This
Fight Is Our Fight,” Diehl asserted that a senator should be so busy working
for his or her constituents that he/she does not have time to write books.
THAT Geoff Diehl, in my humble political view, may be
overlooking the possibility that Senator Warren, while undoubtedly a capable
wordsmith, may have had some help in penning “This Fight Is Our Fight.” I had my mind on such matters permanently
altered many years ago by something told to me by a gentleman who had been a
manager in John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign. This was around the time a book or article
had been published, in which it was asserted that Ted Sorensen, not Kennedy,
was the main author of Kennedy’s bestseller, “Profiles in Courage.” Said I to this Kennedy hand, “That can’t be
true, can it? Kennedy was an excellent
writer, right?” Said he to me, “Kid, you
have to understand, rich people would hire someone to go to the bathroom for
them if they could.”
THAT Geoff Diehl and Scott Brown, a former Wrentham state
representative who earned a surprise victory over former Attorney General Martha Coakley in
the 2010 special election for U.S. Senate, only to lose the seat two years later to
Elizabeth Warren, have much in common. They’re both from humble backgrounds. They’re both Republicans. They’re both good looking and honorable. And they both perplex me out of my mind because
they adore Donald Trump. Brown’s
Trump-love got him the ambassadorship to New Zealand, the best job on the
planet. I can’t help but wonder: what
good deal could the cheddar-colored billionaire (thanks, Maureen Dowd) have in
store for Diehl should Diehl be dealt defeat?
THAT sometimes I can't help but conclude that Charlie Baker got the guy who’s challenging
him for the gubernatorial nomination in the Republican primary, the Rev. Dr.
Scott Lively, from Rent-a-Candidate.
There’s no possible way Baker can lose to a guy who, the day after Trump’s
ex-personal lawyer/fixer pleads guilty to various crimes, puts out a press
release with this opening paragraph: “The Fake News bloc is simply giddy over
the betrayal of President Trump by his snake-in-the-grass former lawyer Michael
Cohen (whose sleazy demeanor suggests he would give his own mother to cannibals
to save himself from the ruthless Mueller political death squad) and the
concurrent guilty verdict of former campaign manager Paul Manafort (whose
years-old supposed financial crimes have absolutely nothing to do with Trump,
the 2016 election, or Russian collusion).”
THAT, even though the Rev. Dr. Lively may be dwelling in an
alternative political universe, I am beguiled by his verbal flair. I wish I could come up with something as neat as Cohen would “give his own mother to
cannibals to save himself from the ruthless Mueller political death squad.” Were I so dexterous as to devise that,
however, I wouldn’t waste it on the little problem, Cohen, when it applies so
well to the big one, Trump.
THAT the Rev. Dr. Lively’s press releases are so much my
guilty pleasure that I can’t help but quote now the last sentence of his “Fake-News-bloc-is-simply-giddy”
masterpiece of the imaginative arts, which was: “In any case, whatever
President Trump might have done in his past life as a New York liberal, he is
today quite obviously a changed man with solid conservative principles and a
deep respect for God and our constitution, and as such he deserves our full
support in his role as Chief Executive of the United States.”
THAT the Mahhty Magic appears to be rubbing off on young Dan
Koh, who aspires to succeed Niki Tsongas in the U.S. House of
Representatives. According to a UMass
Lowell poll out today, Koh, who served as chief of staff to Boston Mayor Martin
Walsh before being infected with the electoral virus, has a narrow lead in the
10-person race for the Democrat nomination in the state’s 3rd Congressional
District. The poll indicates that Koh, with less than two weeks to go to the
September 4 primary, has the support of 19 percent of likely voters. Tied at second place, with the support of 13
percent of likely voters, were Rufus Gifford, a former ambassador to Denmark (second-best
job on the planet) and State Senator Barbara L’Italien. Is it just me, or does it seem to everyone like
this race has been going on since the Clinton administration? I cannot wait for September 5 to arrive.
THAT the Massachusetts House, near the end of its brief informal session today, held a moment of silence in honor of and respect for two
valiant young men from Saudi Arabia, Jaser Daham Al-Rakkah and Theeb Al-Yami,
who drowned in the Chicopee River on June 29 while helping to save several
children who were caught in an overpowering current.
Rep. Paul Donato of Medford, the presiding officer, said, “Both men
selflessly put themselves in peril to try to save the children, and while the
children were rescued, both Mr. Al-Rakah and Mr. Al-Yami perished. Mr. Al-Rakah
was a student in the engineering program at Western New England University and
Mr. Al-Yami was studying engineering at the University of Hartford. Both will receive posthumous degrees from
their respective universities.” How can
pessimism ever overtake optimism when there are human beings as good as Jaser and
Theeb in this world? The motion for the moment
of silence/respect was made by Rep. Angelo Puppolo of Springfield. 
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