Massachusetts 4th District Republican Debate: Bielat versus Sholley, Scheduled.

Earl Sholley 4th District Congressional Candidate - photo Steve Azzara PR Web

This blog has confirmed a debate between the two Republican Candidates for the Massachusetts 4th District Congressional Seat, will take place on August 11th at 7:00 am hosted on The Jeff Katz Show, Boston radio WXKS.


Sean Bielat Candidate for US Congress, photo Mass Beacon


The Debate is the only one confirmed schedule prior to the primary which takes place on September 14th, 2010. The winner of the primary will go on to face Congressional Representative, Barney Frank in November. Sholley, who ran a late-start campaign against Frank in 2008, had the opportunity to debate Frank at the time. Video of the debate can be found on YouTube here.

Mr. Beilat’s appearance at the debate is tentative, his wife is expecting their first child, should she be in delivery on the morning of the 11th, Mr. Beilat will, of course, not be available. It would be a service to both the voters of the 4th District as well as every citizen of the United States (given Mr. Frank is the incumbent), that should this occur, the debate be reschedule prior to the primary, either in this venue or any other available.

The debate, depending upon Mr. Beilat's attendance, will be available through streaming as well as podcast. As this debate is of such import (given Massachusetts newly found conservatism), it is suggested that readers tune in on August 11th at 7:00 am to the Jeff Katz program.

Barney Frank (D-MA) – Speaking to Young Democrats - Mistakes Should Be Rewarded with More Authority – Reminder Frank if Up for Reelection in 2010

From Real Clear Politics:
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA): "You can reach out to your fellow young people and make it clear to them, that when [sic] they may not be satisfied with everything we've done -- we're not satisfied with everything we've done. The way to cure that is to give us more authority and more ability."

The video below speaks for itself. Barney Frank, who is up for re-election this year, has held the office of 4th District Representative for eons. That said, up until recently (2008) Frank had gone basically unchallenged for his seat. In 2008, Republican Earl Sholley tested the waters in a late entry into the race – losing to Frank by a fairly wide margin. That said Sholley, with zero name recognition at the time, took 70,000 plus votes in the 2008 election in the 4th Massachusetts district, spelling trouble for Frank in 2010.

Frank will face Rachel Brown in the primary, and should he win the primary against Brown, he will go on to campaign against one of two Republican challengers, Sean Bielat, a Marine reservist, and Earl Sholley, who will face off in a primary in September.

For more information on the above referenced candidates:

Democrat
Rachel for Congress.com

Republican
Sean Bielat.org
Sholley for Congress.us

Frank, who has had control over our nation’s finances, specifically mortgage giants Freddie and Fannie should simply retire. (Rumors to that effect have circulated, however, to date; there is no specific confirmation from Frank). The comments made in the video below, speak to the sense of entitlement and the use of chicanery, specifically with the young Democrats, asking them to follow blindly and give Frank one more chance to “get it right”. (To be fair, Frank was speaking, not of himself, but the administration and Democrats in general).

PT Barnum mistakenly attributed quote is applicable here: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time."

Earl Sholley, Candidate for MA 4th District Running Against Barney Frank, When You’re Right, You’re Right

Ear Sholley Candidate Against Barney Frank - photo by former George Magazine Photographer - Steve Azzara

A recent piece in South Coast Today, by Jack Spillane, reports on Earl Sholley, Congressional Candidate for the 4th district. Sholley is running against incumbent Barney Frank, and the article, appears to be at first glance to contain backhanded complements, however in the end, praises Mr. Sholley for standing up for his beliefs. Earl Sholley is no stranger to running for office – and has, on multiple occasions – and likens himself to President Lincoln who made multiple unsuccessful bids for state and federal offices before his first election. In respect to Sholley’s last campaign against Barney Frank, he began late, worked with little to no staff, and managed to grab 70,000 votes in the 4th, obviously not a win, but a chunk of the electorate that had to include both independents and democrats (as there are hardly enough Republicans in that particular district to push anyone over the top, independents are outnumbered by Democrats, so logic dictates, a few must have found something in Mr. Sholley that was more appealing than sending Frank to Congress –again.

This campaign season is different in that Sholley began early, hired Lisa Camp, from the Huckabee Presidential campaign, as manager, and began an early Internet and radio campaign – establishing name recognition. Camp has since left the campaign, issuing a brief statement of a difference in management styles between herself and Mr. Sholley. Sholley, who when one meets he man, can hear strains of Frank Sinatra’s “I Did it My Way” playing somewhere in the distance. This would explain the exit of Ms. Camp as well as other staff member of past Sholley campaigns. That said, he is, if nothing else, persistent in his belief that he can and will succeed in ridding the 4th district and the nation of Barney Frank’s brand of legislating, thereby helping to put the nation and the district with 22% unemployment back on sound fiscal ground. He is, if nothing else, a staunch fiscal conservative.

In reviewing the issues (or baggage if one will) that have followed Sholley in previous campaigns, one wonders what the problem might be. For example: a domestic issue involving Sholley’s ex-wife and 14 year old daughter, has gotten a lot of play in the media. Specifically as Sholley was arrested and spent time in jail for refusing to enter a batters program. Sholley is old school – straight out of the 1950’s and when his daughter was in trouble, and in danger of harming herself, Sholley in desperation, did what parents in that era would do – he spanked her. Since most readers today do not recall being taken out to the woodshed by ones parents (normally carrying a belt), the horror, or feigned horror if one is working for an opposition team), is somewhat understandable. After all, when Sholley was in school, teachers had the right to discipline students with a belt or ruler for that matter. Some voters, especially those over the age of 50, can sympathies with Sholley on that point. In refusing to go through the batterers program, Sholley obviously felt he was not a batterer, but a parent, who was trying to get a message across to a child who had endangered herself. The result of the case, it caused a rift in his marriage. He was acquitted of the case involving his wife and a restraining order.

He also was involved in an incident in a court house where he was in an altercation with an up and coming Democrat DA, by the name of Cahill. In reading the case on findlaw, one gets the sense that Sholley, a known Republican, was railroaded.

Do the aforementioned make Sholley a flawed candidate, of course; however, he is also running against a flawed incumbent, lest one forgets the multiple ethics charges that Frank has faced in his past. Which is, in essence, the point – both men have issues that had been resolved (or in Frank’s case, faded away) which are over 20 years old - Therefore maybe not an issue as far as the average voters are concerned.

One can imagine that, given the amount of press Sholley has received to date in the district, his name is fast becoming a household word, which will make it difficult for his Republican primary challenger, Sean Bielat, to overcome without a huge war chest and a ton of advertising. As of the last FEC filing, Sholley and Beilat were even in individual contributions, while Beilat had taken out loans three times the amount of Mr. Sholley's (Sholley only after an apparent discourse with then campaign manager, Camp.) which gives Mr. Beilat an edge, on paper.

The ending of the article (which aligns Sholley with the Tea Party Movement from the get-go, and with Paul’s recent victory in Kentucky, that may bode very well for Sholley, as that particular movement has a strong presence in Massachusetts):

He knows how he'd solve the problem and it's about getting back to basics, he says.
"I think everybody is happiest when they're working on a job, rather than receiving money," he said.
It may be a tea party-sounding solution but with Earl Sholley, it seems to be what he believes. And what he's offering the Fourth District.

Therefore, should one wish to divest the nation of Barney Frank, one has to look critically at the candidates, and understand that Sholley, although somewhat “flawed”, is the one best positioned to beat Frank in November. In the interest of fairness, Sean Beilat, also running as a Republican, is more of a moderate conservative, but he is new to politics and as a first run, will be well positioned, with experience to take a Massachusetts state or congressional seat in the 2012 elections. It is not crime to run multiple times. Neither man, as far as extensive research, has received any support from the State GOP.

Can Earl Sholley succeed in besting Barney Frank, despite the negative press, despite his alleged affiliation with the Tea Party (which is, often to the media’s surprise, a plus) – absolutely. Sholley, obviously, must win the primary, and it’s a long way between now and September (again, name recognition in the 4th will be key), and with mounting pressure on Democrats nationwide, Frank may find himself faced with a loss to an educated, quirky, somewhat eccentric, former military man, turned small businessman, who in retirement, is trying to do his best to help his country. Better than Barney Frank? You Betcha. To learn more about the Sholley Campaign visit sholleyforcongress.us

Barney Frank Opponent Sean Bielat, First of GOP Hopefuls to File Signatures with Statehouse

Sean Bielat for Congress, image Libertarian Republican. net

Yesterday, Sean Bielat turned in sufficient signatures to place his name on the ballot in the State of Massachusetts in order to run against incumbent Barney Frank in the 4th District.. According to Bielat’s “Facebook” page, he dropped off 2756 “certified
signatures” at the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office. Bielat was the first of several candidates to announce his trip to Beacon Hill. Signatures are not officially due until May 25th, according to the Secretary of State’s office. In addition the process allows for opposition candidates to challenge signatures, so it is imperative that that candidates collect above and beyond the 2000 certified signatures required for those running for U.S. Congressional Seats. Candidates can expect that a minimum of 500 signatures will be challenged, and those will be reviewed by the Registrars of Voters by May 28th. Once a candidate runs the gauntlet of the certification process, they are then officially on the ballot.

Beilat, formerly of Canandaigua, NY, was married in New Hampshire in October of 2009 He is expecting his first child. An Active Marine Reservist, Bielat worked with I Robot’s Military division, and lists his current occupation as “consultant”. He has been described as a Libertarian Republican by the website Libertarian Republican.net

The other Republican Candidate, Earl Sholley, is expected to bring his signatures to the Statehouse next week with little fanfare. Sholley will face Bielat in the September primary. The winner of that primary will go on to challenge long-time incumbent Barney Frank of Fannie and Freddie fame. Although the district did vote for a Republican, Scott Brown, in the January 19, special election, either Sholley or Beilat will have to win over Democrats in order to defeat Frank. The district, due to gerrymandering, has several larger urban populations that are predominantly Democrat. A great deal will depend upon how alienated Barney Frank has become from the rank and file moderate Democrats. Those are the individuals the winner of the September Primary must attract in order to defeat Frank and it is not out of the question.