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.

Barney Frank to White House – Fight GOP Attacks on Freddie & Fannie – Lenders Immediately Report Losses – Will Barney go the Way of Obey?

Freddie Mac went to the public trough again this quarter asking for yet another bailout of 10.6 billion dollars. The mortgage lender, which has been under the protection of Barney Frank (D-MA) (See May, 2006 Bloomberg Article here where Frank clearly states there is no crisis re: Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae:

``I don't think we are facing any kind of a crisis'' or ``threat to the Treasury,'' Democratic Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts said. At the same time, investors in the two companies shouldn't assume the government guarantees the companies' ability to pay debts, he said.”

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In his variety of rolls on the House Finance Committee, Frank has covered Freddie and Fannies back - they are also currently exempt from new financial regulatory rules being proposed by Democrats.

Frank, just prior to the report of additional massive losses on the part of his favorite lender, (which in essence started the entire financial disaster vis a vis mortgage meltdowns see 2006), zipped of a two page memo to the White House demanding that the Administration defend Freddie and Fannie against Republicans who would have them adhere to the same rules as other financial institutions. in his memo, Frank again stated that his favorite lenders were doing just fine, especially since the government had taken over.

From Politico: ”Frank made the case that Freddie and Fannie are being managed responsibly, and aren’t doing further economic damage to themselves now that they’ve been taken over by the government.”

Immediately following Franks memo, the government run, responsibly managed Freddie and Fannie reported losses of 6.69 Billion according to Market Watch.

There should be a restraining order against Frank’s ability to meddle further in the financials of this nation, if the man is not coherent or lucid enough to understand that his pet projects are massive failures, especially when managed by the “government”.
Frank, who is up for reelection in 2010, has been rumored to be considering following in the footsteps of his close ally, Chris Dodd (D-CT) who decided not to seek reelection in 2010. Several months ago, sources in Massachusetts had indicated that Frank may, effectively, ‘retire’. In fact, the “rumor of Frank’s retirement” hit the airwaves recently through right-wing talk show hostess, Laura Ingram, who "Tweeted" the rumor, making for quick denials from Frank. That said, those particular sources also indicated that should Frank not run in 2010, he would pass the torch to an individual seen by local Democrats as very electable, a charismatic South Coast Mayor.

Frank is still denying a retirement, however, so were many other incumbents who have announced they will not seek reelection, most recently, David Obey who announced yesterday that he would not be returning to Congress in 2010. This left Wisconsin Democrats scrambling for replacements. (Obey was nationally known as the father of the Stimulus - Frank as the Father of the Mortgage Meldown.) One would hazard to guess that Frank would make sure that his successor would be able to at least make a decent attempt to fend off GOP opposition.

Running against Frank in the 4th District: Earl Sholley (www.sholleyforcongress.us) who has already launched a media campaign and Sean Bielat (www.seanbielat.org)is running against Sholley in the Republican primary. When was the last time Frank faced not one, but two GOP candidates? Never. Sholley a fiscal and social conservative, and Bielat who is a moderate conservative, will keep Frank’s name out in front of the 4th District voters from now until September, (when one or the other will be sent by local Republicans and Independents through to the November election against Frank). This blog has had contact from both the Sholley Campaign, as well as directly from Sean Bielat immediately following his announcement to run. Both men are committed to the campaign, although Sholley entered the race immediately following the 2008 election, Bielat entered after Scott Brown carried the district. In that particular race it will be all about the ground game, and name recognition in the district. In any event, having a primary with two Republicans knocking on doors throughout the district may make Frank’s summer unbearable – which would be reason enough to pass the torch onto a younger man. However, that in itself would, at this point in the game, may be a tactical error on the part of the State DNC (see Martha Coakley), which will then hand the seat held so long by Frank to the GOP.

Nancy Pelosi Not Sure How Long She’ll Remain Speaker of the House – Is the Speaker Considering Retirement Options? Analysis

Pelosi unsure of her role as Speaker - Image: Time

A rather glowing article on House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, from the WashingtonPost yesterday included a somewhat unusual statement from the Speaker at the end of the article:

"If you're asking me how long I intend to stay here, I don't know. I don't know. I just don't know. I have certain issues that I want to accomplish, but what's more important to me is that we have a strong Democratic majority," she said. "That's more important than who is speaker."

Some may argue that her national favorability rating standing at 11% would give her reason to muse over losing the speakership, however, it is the approval rating in her own back yard that would give Pelosi pause. A Field Poll conducted last October 2009, shows Pelosi with an overall approval 34% in California, with Democrats, at that time, giving the Speaker a 51% rating, with 21% of the Party Faithful having no option, and 23% disapproving of the Speakers performance. In the same poll, Senator Boxer, who is now in a battle for her Senate Seat, has a higher rating, 66% in this particular poll. According to Real Clear Politics Polls Boxer is now within the margin of error in most California polls, giving her Senate Seat the websites “Toss up” status.

The 8th district may not be representative of the balance of California, however, if one looks at the California Secretary of State’s registration statistics, in 2008, 56.49% or 269,664 registered voters identified themselves as “Democrats” , the latest figures show a slight decline in registered Democrats – dropping to 251,516, with the overall percentage remaining basically the same.

Interesting, however, is that 17% of those Democrats voted for Cindy Sheehan, of Code Pink fame, in 2008. What would an approval poll in Nancy Pelosi’s district look like now? See Barbara Boxer.
Nancy also faces opposition from Dana Walsh, the Republican candidate who ran against Nancy in 2008, in a year where the Republican Brand was as bad as the Democrat Brand is today. At that time, Walsh received only 8% of the vote.

However, fundraising in 2010 is telling. Both Walsh and Pelosi have filed approximately the same amount in dollars: Pelosi: 1.7 million to Walsh: 1.4 million. Cash on hand: Pelosi: 172,000, Walsh: 123,000. Both women are not being funded by their political parties. Walsh, however has a primary fight with John Dennis, while Pelosi has recorded a total of $2500 from her Party. That fact, in and of itself, maybe due to the fact that the Speaker’s district seat is considered a “lock” for the Party, but then again, so was the Senate Seat referred to by Democrats as the Kennedy Seat.

One also understands that Dana Walsh is no Scott Brown, nor does she have to be, (or any other challenger with fiscally conservative credentials in 2010), and one would hazard to guess that Pelosi, is watching this more closely than any other race she has faced in the district. Given her popularity nationwide, as well as the statistics favoring a change in majorities – thereby ousting Pelosi as Speaker, the real possibility exists today, that she may also be looking at forced retirement in her own district. Nancy Pelosi's Statement, in the post article, directly stating that it is not important who the speaker is, as long as the Democrats maintain a majority, appears to be forced bravado on her part. Perhaps like Dodd, and others who have “fallen on the sword” so to speak, for the sake of the Party and outright retired, Pelosi maybe thinking along the same lines. It would prevent her from losing face: first by losing the majority, and secondly by losing in her own backyard.