BRIAN HERR: DAVID verses GOLIATH

"So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David."  (I Samuel 17:50)

That sentence reports the results of the brave teenage boy David slaying the "giant" Philistine named Goliath.  Many of us learned that story as children.  I know my grandson Ben loves it.  Yet, it's not just a "story".  It's reality.  David and Goliath were no match for one another.  Mighty Goliath should have killed David in a matter of less than a minute.  That time the guy with everything going against him won!   (What he had going for him was his faith in God and his obedience to God, but that's a subject for another day!)

There's a great "David vs. Goliath" type political race going on in a New England state right now, and I suspect most who will read this piece are completely unaware of it and unfamiliar with it!   It's not the coming election for Massachusetts Governor between Coakley and Baker. It's not the coming election for U.S. Senator from New Hampshire between Jean Shaheen and Scott Brown.  It's not Question 3 on the Massachusetts ballot about whether casinos should be allowed in the state.  It's none of those.

How many of you know that there's an election in Massachusetts this November for a U.S. Senate seat?   I must admit that until very recently I did not know this!  A local radio station is running promotional pieces saying they'll have all the coverage of the elections for Governor and U.S. Senate.  I honestly assumed they were talking about the Shaheen/Brown race in New Hampshire- and it turns out they were not!    In fact, incumbent U.S. Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts is facing challenger Brian Herr on the ballot.  I had honestly assumed that Ed Markey was running unopposed.  I have heard almost nothing in the media about this election.  In fact, I did not know there was a Republican running against Markey until I voted in the Massachusetts Republican primary in September.  I was stunned to see a Republican listed as running for U.S. Senate.  I had never heard of Brian Herrr.  I figured he was just some party activist who'd agreed to be the "sacrificial lamb"- just putting his name down, not campaigning at all, and probably getting about 13% of the vote. 

It turns out I was dead wrong about that.

In the early days of writing my blog I wrote a fair amount about politics.  In more recent years, I've written very few political columns.  There are a number of reasons for that.  Twenty or more years ago, I was very much a "political junkie".  I was up to my eyeballs in politics.  I couldn't get enough of the stuff.  And, I was (frankly) an obnoxiously far right wing Republican.  Over the years, I've drifted much more toward the political center.  I've also become disillusioned with a lot of what makes up politics.  I've realized that America's hope is frankly in turning back to God in humility and repentance and not in electing any particular person or party.  Frankly, a lot of Democrats are nicer people than many Republicans are.  And, frankly, very few Republican or Democrat politicians are even close to being in the will of God.  I was very disappointed in the choice between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama for President.  I didn't like either one of them!  That's also what I'm going through regarding Martha Coakley and Charlie Baker for Governor this year in Massachusetts.  I honestly don't want either one!  If we put too much faith in politicians we will be very disappointed.  So, I did some real soul searching before writing this.  I don't agree with Brian Herr on all of the issues.  I know that most of my fellow evangelical Christians will be disappointed that he's strongly "pro choice" and that he strongly favors gay marriage.  I still think he's worth voting for over Ed Markey, however.

Brian Herr was a guest on Dan Rea's "Nightside" program on WBZ a few nights ago.  I expected to hear a boring, milquetoast sort of candidate.  Boy, was I wrong!  I did not know that Brian Herr had served for a number of years on the Hopkinton Board of Selectmen and Planning Board.  I did not know that he's a Marathon runner.  I did not know that he's a very articulate, energetic, and (dare I say it?) charismatic guy.  I did not know that he very seriously plans to win the election against Ed Markey!

I checked for publicity about Brian Herr on-line and I enjoyed seeing a photo of Brian and Dan Rea that was taken in the studio.  I have been a guest on "Nightside" in that very studio, myself!  And, I think the white casual shirt Dan is wearing in the photo is the same one he was wearing the night I was in there!  Honestly, I think Dan's lost a little weight, though!  I sent a short communication to Brian Herr about this, and was pleased to get a reply from a woman involved with his campaign.  She asked me to consider writing a piece on my blog about why I'm voting for him.  I wrote back that I'd "consider" doing it, and after a lot of thought, here it is!

Listen, I don't hate Ed Markey.  He seems like a nice guy.  I've shaken Ed Markey's hand at a Natick 4th of July parade.  Ed's done some good things, but he's been in Washington for way too long!   Ed Markey is a "Washington insider".   Frankly, Washington is broken.  I think it is time to send a bright, hard-working, "regular guy" like Brian Herr to Washington as our Senator. 

People who know me know that I'm a guy who believes in "underdogs" and who believes in "dreaming impossible dreams".  Some of you may know my favorite film is "Field of Dreams".  In my own life, many times I've been that Kevin Costner character sitting and watching my baseball field filling up with snow, wondering why Shoeless Joe Jackson did not show up.  Sometimes I think we are all too sensible.  Truly, a big part of me hates the notion that we have to "be sensible"!   No, it's not sensible for Brian Herr to give his all running for U.S. Senate against Ed Markey and actually think he can win.  It's a total "David vs. Goliath" thing.  But I admire what he's doing, and I'm planning to vote for him.

Whether you're liberal or conservative or somewhere in the middle...whether you're Democrat or Republican or independent:  I hope you'll do something that's not one bit sensible on Election Day.  I hope you'll cast a vote for Brian Herr.  Wouldn't it be cool if the "not sensible" people prevailed?!  Wouldn't it be cool if "David" won this time?!

Please check out:
www.herrsenate2014.com 
And, please pass this information on to your friends!