Brown can't seem to stay out of the limelight Date: 4/10/2013 By G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com
Hankering for a return? Is Scott Brown infected with the worst kind of political fever? I guess he simply can't get enough of it once he had a taste.
The New York Times reported recently Brown might run for the Senate in New Hampshire since he passed on trying to return to a Massachusetts Senate seat.
Katherine Q. Seelye wrote on April 5, that Brown might consider such an effort. He said, "I don't think I'm done with politics, but I'm not going to rule out anything right now because I really haven't thought a heck of a lot about it."
Brown added, "New Hampshire's like a second home. I was born at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. My mom and sister and family live here. Spent summers here growing up. Have a house here. Been a taxpayer for 20 years."
Oh Scott, Scott, Scott – the smell of the grease paint and the roar of the crowd are just too irresistible.
There are few things worse in politics as someone who is so interested in regaining a spot in Congress that he or she is willing to move to an adjacent state to do so.
I know his defenders will be upset with my words, but the difference is that I don't subscribe to a cult of personality, as do too many people on the right or left.
If he actually cared about serving the people of Massachusetts, he would be in the Senate race right now. His answers in this story show that his real interest isn't about something as mundane as public service to his home state. Instead it's about his finding a way back onto the Congressional gravy train and re-assuming the mantle of the great bipartisan leader.
A moment of your time I didn't receive this telephone poll, but I wish I had. Did you? Apparently a polling firm has been calling folks in Springfield about the casino. The questions themselves say a lot.
Many of the questions follow and the responses the marketers wanted were very favorable, somewhat favorable, unfavorable, and very unfavorable.
"Questions: What do you think about casino gaming? What do you think of Paul Picknelly? What do you think of labor unions? What do you think of Peter Pan Buslines? What do you think of the New North Citizens Council? What do you think of MGM? What do you think of Mayor [Domenic] Sarno? What do you think of the Springfield Newspaper?"
Next set of questions is about the siting of the casinos: "Do you like the location in the North End of Springfield? Do you like the location adjacent to the MassMutual Center? Are you opposed to the North End Site?"
Other questions included: "Are you opposed to a casino in the North End? Do you think that Penn National will follow through on their proposal? What percentage of jobs do you think MGM will give to Springfield residents? Penn says they will commit 90 percent of jobs will go to residents. Will the Penn Casino help the local economy? Will the Penn proposal bring in additional tax revenue? Will the Penn proposal revitalize downtown? "Various groups will speak out. Will you trust them or not? They are: Unite Here,
SEIU, Teamsters, NAACP, City Council, Firefighter's Union, Springfield Newspaper, Peter Picknelly, Local small business, Herbie Flores, Penn National CEO, Puerto Rican Cultural Center and Mayor Sarno.
The final list of questions was statistical: "Are you a registered voter in Massachusetts, (not Springfield)? Are you a registered Democrat, Republican or Independent? What is your age? Are you white, Black, Latino? Would you consider yourself middle class, upper middle class, or higher income bracket? What is your zip code?"
How would you have answered?
An amazing flyover If you have ever been to a prestigious event, you know how impressive a flyover can be. At the groundbreaking for the new senior center in Chicopee, there was a great flyover during the proceedings.
No, it wasn't from Westover Air Reserve Base.
As Barbara Fields, the regional administration for the Department of Housing and Urban Development spoke, a bald eagle came circling over the site. Riding the wind, the bird barely moved his wings as it made broad circles over the site of the former Facemate plant.
I've been to a seeming million of these events, but this one will stand out.
Agree? Disagree? Drop me a line at news@thereminder.com or at 280 N. Main St., East Longmeadow, MA 01028. As always, this column represents the opinion of its author and not the publishers or advertisers of this newspaper.
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