SEPT. 19 PRIMARY DAY - SOME THOUGHTS

“I exhort therefore, that, ... prayers ... be made for all men;  For Kings, and for all that are in authority...” (from 1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Tuesday, September 19, 2006, is my 52nd birthday.  It’s also Primary Day in Massachusetts.  I’m a registered Republican, so my “primary” is really boring.  I may go to the polls “just so they know I’m still around” as radio talk show host Mo Lauzier says.  I DO have some thoughts on the people running for Governor, and I hope you’ll find my comments to be interesting.

This may surprise you (since I’m a pretty conservative Republican), but the person I like most in the Governor’s race is Democrat Deval Patrick.  Now, before you fire off any angry or confused e-mails, I want to make it clear that I said I “LIKE” him.  I did not say I’d vote for him.  But of all the people running, he’s easily the most likable and easy the most motivational.  Of all the people running for Governor of Massachusetts right now, he’s the one I’d most like to go to a ball game with or go out to lunch with.  He’s bright, articulate, has a vision for the state, and does a good job articulating his vision.  Unfortunately, Deval Patrick is ultra-liberal.  I LIKE him as a person, but he’s wrong on drivers’ licenses for illegal aliens, he’s wrong on in-state tuition at state colleges for illegal aliens, and he’s wrong on most major social issues.  (Why couldn’t a nice likable guy like that be a conservative Republican?! )

The person running for Governor that I like the LEAST is Tom Reilly.  I think of him as the personification of old-fashioned, “Democratic machine” , labor union, good ‘ol boy, backroom politics.  If the late Jerry Williams were still alive and on the air he’d have a “field day” trashing Tom Reilly.  In fact, Tom Reilly has done quite a job sinking his own campaign!

Chris Gabrieli is O.K. but just O.K.  He’s on the wrong side of embryonic stem cell research.  His T.V. ads which make Governor Romney sound like a cruel guy who wants little kids to die of diabetes really turn me off.  His “kids should be in school all day” ads really turn my kids off, even though they’re young adults now.  Gabrieli is the most electable of the Democrats but comes across as a know-it-all and he’s boring.

Ironically, the NOVEMBER election is on my sister’s birthday!  I am leaning toward Christy Mihos, but it’s certainly possible I’ll vote for Kerry Healey in November.  Mihos is for gay marriage, and that’s the part of him that I really DON’T like.  However, Christy Mihos is a “character” and is the second most likable person running for Governor.  He’s on the wrong side of the gay marriage issue, but he’s on the right side of many issues.  I think it takes ENORMOUS guts to run as an independent candidate and I respect him for that.  Kerry Healey is O.K.  She doesn’t really excite me, but I think she’s competent and would be an O.K. Governor.  

You may suspect that I’m a big Mitt Romney fan.  I’m really not.  Actually, I can take him or leave him, but he’s certainly been a better Governor than Shannon O’Brien EVER would have been!

Well, that’s my take on it.  If I do go to the polls on Sept. 19, my Republican ballot will list a lot of offices that have no Republican running.  Maybe I should write MY name in!  What do you think?