The media and the DNC are still reeling from the election of, not yet officially seated, Senator Elect Scott Brown of Massachusetts. Brown, who ran as a Republican, was more than qualified for the Senate, given his background having served in State Senate for 3 terms, but more to the point, Scott Brown was not “one of those elitists”. In the early stages of the campaign, it was doubtful that he had support from the Mass GOP let alone the RNC – and more to the point, although the help did come, once it was determined that Brown was going to clock Coakley, he continued to be Scott Brown.
Suddenly, there appears to be a slew of GOP politicians’ comparing themselves to Scott Brown, specifically from satirical media reports, aimed at diminishing the Brown win and its impact on the GOP. The problem for those who would tag every GOP candidate as “wanting to be anther Scott Brown”, especially in Massachusetts, is that many who were raising funds, and had filed with the FEC to run against incumbent Democrats that have been entrenched for years (specifically the 4th district: Barney Frank and the 2nd Hampden, Richard Neal), were on the campaign trail long before Brown made his decision to run (or as he was making it).
Buyers beware: Take a good look all incumbents and all challengers for any given house seat in Massachusetts, especially. The reason, Brown did inspire the conservatives to come out of the proverbial closet, yet, those that already had established campaigns, did so on their own, several of them are easily identified as populist in nature. Many have no legislative experience, rather educated, degreed, and carrying a deep and abiding love of country. Some have run before, as Republican’s, only to lose due to lack of branding.
Case in point is Earl Sholley, the Republican candidate running against Barney Frank in the Massachusetts 4th.
Newspaper articles from the last election cycle when Sholley ran, such as the Boston Globe’s "Sholley Presses Lonely Battle against Frank without GOP Support" note that the Frank seat is safe, because the candidate (Sholley) is flawed and does not have party support. That said, the Globe does not highlight the fact that the incumbent is also flawed (half dozen of one, six of another), which lends to the impression that somehow Sholley is not to be taken seriously.
One has to question why then, would Sholley run? Is he some dedicated GOP insider? No. Did he enter the race to ride the wave of dissatisfaction brought to the forefront by Scott Brown? No. Sholley has been running, without backup (until recently), simply because he felt he had to do something, and it appeared no one else was going to put their lives on hold to run against a deeply entrenched U.S. Congressman in one of the most egregiously gerrymandered districts in the country. Earl Sholley is a populist.
Sholley has learned from his past campaigns, and although one can bet the house that Frank’s seat is considered “Safe”, at the present time, one can also bet the house that this designation regarding the 4th district will change. Sholley made his move to social networking sites a year ago or more, volunteers are showing up daily from both inside, but most importantly outside the Commonwealth, (financial and phone banking support). Should any comparisons be made between Sholley and Brown, it is that they both understand the power of the Internet, and how imperative it is to grassroots support, but that’s where the comparison ends.
While many of the Mass. GOP faithful were busy campaigning for Brown in MA to get as much attention as possible in the press, Sholley took the high road (so to speak) suspending his campaign and quietly working for Brown, until the results were in. Immediately following, Sholley Ads began appearing on the Drudge Report, and the tactic used in the last election which allowed a virtual unknown who had entered the race in the last quarter, going door to door, throughout the district, will certainly have a greater impact for Sholley this election, as time is on his side.
Sholley’s pluses: A strong fiscal conservative, well versed in the Constitution, Strict Constructionist, has a keen sense of history, (important knowledge used by some not to repeat failed policies). He’s not in it for the money, for the ego, or for any other reason that love of country.
Sholley minus: He’s no rock star, he is who he is (move that to the plus column), he has baggage, but that has already been recycled more often than not and expect to see articles regarding Sholley’s foibles (all personal in nature), again and again, without one mention of Frank’s foibles, which some can say, may be more egregious. He can be boring, at times, a lecturing on government can put many to sleep, that said.
The question to those Independent, Republican and Democrats who are living in the 4th - Who would you rather support in a 4th district election? Someone who has single handedly destroyed out financial system, or some sometimes dull, frumpy Republican who has a handle on finances, and actually thinks outside the box?
The question to those pundits who believe all is safe: With Brown taking the majority of the votes in Frank’s district, a good percentage of votes were cast because of Brown’s personality, but also because of voter frustration with the current system of entrenched politicians.
The fact that Sholley took 30 some odd percent of those votes prior to Frank (meaning that he did indeed have Democrats cast votes for him) as a virtual unknown) is a fairly good predictor of things to come.
The money: From from Open Secrets To Date, Sholley has raised a little over $32,000, compared to the $40,000 he pulled in the entire 2008 campaign, one can do the math. These numbers may be a drop in the bucket (1st quarter filings), but Sholley has time on his side, and as a populist, who’s message is one of fiscal conservatism, one might find the unimaginable happening in Massachusetts. The shocking revelation that a little known, landscaper, Army Veteran, who is just fed up with the status quo, giving Barney Frank the boot. He’s not Scott Brown, he’s Earl Sholley, and one can hazard to guess that there are more than a few just like Earl Sholley’s running against the entrenched politicians that do more harm than good for their districts and the nation.
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