The Other McCain

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About 250 Sean Bielat Supporters Protest Bubba and Barney’s Boston Blowfest UPDATE: Text of Bielat Speech Added

Posted on | September 26, 2010 | 56 Comments

According to the Boston Globe:

TAUNTON, Mass.—Former President Bill Clinton is urging Massachusetts voters in the old industrial city of Taunton to re-elect Rep. Barney Frank and vote other Democrats into office.
As Clinton spoke Sunday at the Taunton High School, about 250 supporters of Frank’s Republican opponent, Sean Bielat (BEE’-ah-lot), gathered at the Taunton Green, urging Frank’s defeat.

Here’s video of Sean Bielat on local TV news, talking about Barney Frank’s refusal to debate him:

I’m sure there will be lots of blog coverage of today’s rally with photos and videos. If you see anything out there, please link it in the comments.

UPDATE: A video report from New England Cable News:

“We have enthusiasm. We have a campaign organization that they can’t match. . . . They don’t have the base of support that we do. They have one campaign office. It’s always empty. We have three. They’re always full.”
— Sean Bielat

UPDATE II: Welcome, Instapundit readers! I”ve been scouring the ‘net looking for blog coverage of this event. If anybody sees anything out there, please link it in the comments.

UPDATE III: OK, maybe you think no Republican could ever beat Barney Frank, who at last count had more than $1 million cash on hand. Let me remind you that (a) ever hear of a guy named Scott Brown? And also (b) Sean Bielat is a Marine.  When you tell a Marine to “take that hill,” he’s gonna by God take that hill, or die trying.

Think of this: That link from Professor Reynolds will probably be good for at least 5,000 visits in the next 10 hours. If just 500 of you guys who clicked the Instapundit link will also click here and give Sean Bielat $20, that’s $10,000 today!

C’mon: Are you gonna let a Marine die on that hill?

UPDATE IV: While awaiting blog coverage of the Taunton Tea Party, there is more encouraging Massachusetts news from Red Mass Group:

The National Republican Congressional Committee . . . is expanding their nationwide advertising buy to include supporting Jeff Perry in the Massachusetts 10th Congressional District.

More at Red Mass Group. And guess who thinks people in Massachusetts are stupid?

“We have an electorate that doesn’t always pay that much attention to what’s going on so people are influenced by a simple slogan rather than the facts or the truth or what’s happening.”
— John Kerry

Hey, Senator Kerry, if voters in Massachusetts are so ignorant, maybe that explains why you’ve been re-elected so many times. But maybe they’re starting to wise up.

UPDATE V: Sean Beilat speaks on Taunton Green:

“There’s a disconnect between the people in Washington and the people they serve,” Bielat said to cheers of “Go, Sean, Go.” “People 30 years in Washington and people in the state.”
Bielat said Frank had become arrogant, claiming he could hold onto a 20-point lead in the polls “no matter what we do.”
“There’s an arrogance of power when people stay in power too long,” Bielat said. “I found that offensive.”

UPDATE VI: Bill Clinton regains the lead in the “Blame Bush” Derby:

Former President Bill Clinton said that voters need to give President Obama and the Democratic Congress enough time to undo damage wrought in eight years of Republican leadership under former President George W. Bush.

Classic. As if the guy Clinton is campaigning for, Barney Frank, was not up to his neck in the mortgage meltdown:

“These two entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are not facing any kind of financial crisis. . . The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.”
— Barney Frank, September 2003

Yeah: When the Bush administration proposed reforming Fannie and Freddie, Barney Frank demagogued the issue to claim the GOP was against “affordable housing.” Now that all those homes are in foreclosure, I guess they’re really affordable, huh, Barney?

Fannie and Freddie gave $40,000 in campaign cash to Barney Frank. Won’t you give $20 to Sean Bielat?

UPDATE VII: Paul Kelleher was there: “Dueling rallies today for Sean Bielat and Barney Frank in Taunton. A few differences: Barney had Bill Clinton. Was late getting to the Bielat one so I can’t compare crowds but many more hand made signs at Bielat’s and lots of Barney signs went unused.” Kelleher has posted several photos.

UPDATE VIII: The campaign just sent us the text of Sean Bielat’s speech at the Taunton rally:

Thank you for coming today! Thank you for taking the time and making the effort to show your commitment to this country and its future generations. We are here today to talk about how we can change this country’s direction, bring real leadership back to Washington, and return once again to the vision of general prosperity, individual opportunity, and citizen-led government on which this nation was founded.
Today, just two miles from here, a group has gathered together for a different purpose. They are reminiscing about the past. They have gathered to hear a leader of ten years ago, talk about an incumbent elected 30 years ago, and extol the virtues of a set of ideas first implemented 70 years ago. There is nothing wrong with looking backwards, with taking credit or assigning blame for things which happened in the past, but that should be the purview of pundits and historians, not politicians. We need leadership and representation that takes on the problems of today with a vision for tomorrow.
Despite what one of our Senators recently said, Americans are not dumb or easily fooled; they object strongly when government is out of touch with their needs and desires. Americans show a strong preference for responsible governance and an aversion to the type of highly partisan leadership we’ve seen over the past few years. It is deeply ironic that Barney Frank would invite a president whose greatest accomplishments came under divided government to campaign for him, even as Mr. Frank literally asks for more powerful single-party rule.
This year isn’t about Republicans or Democrats; it’s about finding the leadership we need to keep this nation great. It’s about finding the leadership we need to ensure that we will remain a land of freedom and opportunity. It’s about ensuring that America remains a nation in which each generation can do a little better than the last.
So what I want talk with you about today are the core principles around which so many Americans are rallying: a focus on setting the conditions for economic growth, spending reductions and fiscal discipline, strong national security and secure borders, and political leadership which understands that government should enable opportunity but that it can’t guarantee outcomes.
Two days ago Barney Frank said that the economy was “poised to take off.” Maybe people in Washington know things that people in Massachusetts don’t know but in all the hundreds and hundreds of conversations that I’ve had with people around this district, I’ve never, not once, heard anyone say that they felt like the economy was about to take off. What I have heard many people say is that they haven’t felt the effects of the stimulus and that they wonder when things will improve.
Some people in Washington argue that the American people just don’t understand. These people say that Washington has done such a good job spending our money that things would have been a lot worse if they hadn’t. But that’s a tough argument to prove.
The right type of stimulus would be a lot easier to assess. The right type of stimulus is to give back people their money through immediate, substantial, and sustained reductions in income tax withholding. Individuals and individual business will always do a better job allocating their money than the government can. Individuals will make better choices on whether they should buy a TV, pay down a credit card, or invest in a college fund, and the aggregate effect of these decisions will drive economic growth.
In addition, in order to get the economy growing, we need to freeze the regulatory environment and lift growth-inhibiting regulation where possible. Currently many businesses are reluctant to hire or invest because they are unsure of the implications and timing of coming regulatory changes. I have talked to numerous small business owners who have said they could hire right now but they just don’t know what’s coming next. And some recent changes are poised to add a huge and unnecessary burden on businesses. For example, under President Obama’s health care legislation, anytime a business spends more than $600 with a supplier, it must file an IRS Form 1099. This places an enormous paperwork burden on businesses with no discernible benefit to anyone besides tax accountants.
Once we turn the economy around, we must tackle spending. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents all understand that we are on an unsustainable course but there is a lack of political will to make the tough decisions necessary to cut spending.
For discretionary spending, step one is to freeze all spending at 2010 levels and not allow for inflationary growth; there may be some exceptions to this but those exceptions should be rare. Step two is to actively cut discretionary spending across the board. We should not spare defense spending as there are areas to trim such as streamlining procurement practices, cutting the defense civilian workforce, and eliminating weapons systems that the Pentagon doesn’t want.
Discretionary spending cuts are absolutely necessary but entitlement reform may be even more important. We must accept that there are no universally popular approaches to entitlement reform. Every good option from a policy standpoint is a poor option from a political standpoint, which is exactly why we need real leadership on the issue.
I favor means based testing for Social Security benefits, increasing the age of first benefit, and increasing the cap on Social Security payroll taxes. Put together, these three ideas will lose votes on both sides of the aisle but those are the tough decisions that we must make to save Social Security and to reduce the massive economic drag that will result from debt increases associated with entitlements.
National defense should always remain a priority. The U.S. should only act in its national interest and should never pay a dollar more than the amount it needs to secure those interests. However, arguing that because the world is relatively stable we should become isolationist, is like arguing that because crime is down we should cut cops. The argument misses the point.
Similarly, those who argue for immigration reform without first securing the borders also miss the point. There can be no true reform while we have something akin to open borders, nor can we be secure from terrorists entering if we are unable to secure our borders.
Finally, we as Americans must recognize that government is unable to ensure outcomes. No matter how talented, hard-working, and well-intentioned, bureaucrats can’t make better decisions than individuals—and they shouldn’t try. Some argue that opposition to unnecessary regulation is tantamount to being opposed to all regulation. It is not. Very few of us think that there are no appropriate areas for government involvement in the economy, but many of us believe that the burden of proof should be on those seeking new government involvement.
This country was founded on a set of ideals. The Constitution of the United States outlined a concept of limited national government led by citizen legislators. That vision proved to be so powerful that this nation flourished and became a beacon of hope for people around the world. Millions traveled far and worked hard to become part of our dream. We must never lose sight of the ideals enshrined in our Constitution, but we are at a crossroads. We can remain a nation of balanced and limited government led by citizens or we can continue to shuffle down the road to an over-sized executive branch that rapidly creates the type of debt-laden and regulation-bound government we see in Europe.
We deserve better and our children deserve better. This is a historic year and on November 2, we have the opportunity to make a choice between two visions. One vision, the prevailing vision in Washington, sees government as an institution to reform society, it believes that people in Washington are smarter and can make better decisions than the people. Because this vision sees a government solution to every problem, it presents no natural limitation on the growth of government or the resulting lack of individual economic freedom. On November 2, this vision will end.
The other vision, our vision, is predicated on a belief that people know what’s in their own interests and that, if presented with the opportunity to work hard and succeed, the vast majority of people will do so. Our vision is that of a land of individual opportunity, personal responsibility, and a government accountable to the people. It is a vision of a nation with secure borders and a strong national defense, a more limited government, an end to excessive spending resulting in lower taxes, and more individual financial freedom. That vision begins on November 3.
This year, across the country, we are witnessing a political revolution but if it is to be sustained, it must be about more than just changing which party controls Washington; it must be about changing from insider elite control, to citizen control. We need an end to party rhetoric and a return to real policy debate. And if this nation is to remain great, we need sustained citizen involvement and so I thank you for coming out today, for participating in the public debate, and for keeping America great!

To which I can only add: Semper fi!

SEAN BIELAT for U.S. CONGRESS

Category: Congress, Election, Massachusetts

Comments

56 Responses to “About 250 Sean Bielat Supporters Protest Bubba and Barney’s Boston Blowfest UPDATE: Text of Bielat Speech Added”

  1. Instapundit » Blog Archive » BILL CLINTON STUMPS FOR BARNEY FRANK, 250 Sean Bielat supporters protest….
    September 26th, 2010 @ 6:13 pm

    […] BILL CLINTON STUMPS FOR BARNEY FRANK, 250 Sean Bielat supporters protest. […]

  2. Jay
    September 26th, 2010 @ 6:31 pm

    If the Republicans pick up seats, that’s enthusiasm.

    If the Republicans take the house, that’s a tsunami.

    If Barney Frank gets voted out, that’s a … what? What term goes beyond that?

  3. Rob Crawford
    September 26th, 2010 @ 6:52 pm

    “If Barney Frank gets voted out, that’s a … what? What term goes beyond that?”

    Vesuvius? Krakatoa? Hera?

  4. Jacknut
    September 26th, 2010 @ 6:57 pm

    So it’s Bielat vs. Bailout!

  5. Bill
    September 26th, 2010 @ 7:00 pm

    Re: your title — alliterative though it may be, Taunton (where I was born and raised) is not at all Boston — demographically, politically, nor culturally.

  6. bob loblaw
    September 26th, 2010 @ 7:05 pm

    “If Barney Frank gets voted out, that’s a … what? What term goes beyond that?”

    If you ask Joe Biden, I think he’d say it’s a BFD.

  7. PersonFromPorlock
    September 26th, 2010 @ 7:06 pm

    High colonic?

  8. M. Simon
    September 26th, 2010 @ 7:06 pm

    I was watching the MSM this evening and they featured “Barney Frank in trouble” with a subtext “Democrats in trouble”. The mantra? “No safe seats for Ds.”

    Then they spent two or three minutes running attack ads against Rs. Old habits die hard.

    But I think the anti-virus “I don’t believe none of it” is spreading.

  9. M. Simon
    September 26th, 2010 @ 7:08 pm

    “If Barney Frank gets voted out, that’s a … what?”

    A cryin thame. Bada boo. Bada bing.

  10. Roxeanne de Luca
    September 26th, 2010 @ 7:12 pm

    Three things:

    1. Thank you for covering this, Stacy! 🙂 🙂

    2. I heard that there were about 500 people present at the counter-rally. Not sure which is right, but I know that the Globe consistently under-reports Tea Party attendance.

    3. If Barney Frank gets voted out, it will be the second Massachusetts Miracle. Miracle #1 was Scott Brown taking Teddy Kennedy’s seat on a promise of filibustering universal health care.

  11. Roxeanne de Luca
    September 26th, 2010 @ 7:14 pm

    Oh… the Greater Boston Tea Party sent out an action alert on this, but I don’t know if anyone will be writing it up (greaterbostonteaparty.com, blog section).

  12. Adobe Walls
    September 26th, 2010 @ 7:20 pm

    Not only a Marine but he makes robots and is
    “The Politician of the Future” according to noted scientist Frank J
    http://www.imao.us/index.php/2010/09/the-politician-of-the-future/#comments

  13. Calvin Dodge
    September 26th, 2010 @ 7:37 pm

    C’mon, Stacy! Everyone knows his high school dating habits need to be vetted before anyone can consider voting for him!

  14. Dave G
    September 26th, 2010 @ 7:42 pm

    If Barney Frank gets voted out . . . .

    It’s an enema.

  15. Neil
    September 26th, 2010 @ 7:47 pm

    Clinton got “hundreds” of people to turn out in New Haven at a rally for Senate candidate Dick Blumenthal. Hundreds is the best this supposedly beloved former president could get?? Hard to believe. This city is like 80% Democrat. Looks like yet another sign that the Dem base is unenthusiastic.

  16. jdkchem
    September 26th, 2010 @ 7:49 pm

    Bawney Fwank and Bubba in a blowfest! Were any cigars involved?

  17. Fred
    September 26th, 2010 @ 7:51 pm

    Bielat or BailoutBarney..?

  18. jeff shapiro
    September 26th, 2010 @ 8:12 pm

    i gave yesterday as soon as I heard Frank was “in trouble”

    go Bielat!!

  19. Phil in Englewood
    September 26th, 2010 @ 8:14 pm

    “If just 500 of you guys who clicked the Instapundit link will also click here and give Sean Bielat $20”

    Done.

  20. Formerly known as Skeptic
    September 26th, 2010 @ 8:39 pm

    I was there! I would put the crowd on Taunton Green at “Hundreds.” 250 is probably not a bad estimate. It might have been 3, but probably not 5. Enthusiastic crowd and drivers honking as they passed by.

  21. Andy
    September 26th, 2010 @ 8:55 pm

    Stacy, don’t forget Ace’s campaign slogan: Sean Bielat – When he’s not killing terrorists, he’s making robots ahat kill terrorists!

    Also, see this: http://thehostages.wordpress.com/2010/09/25/new-seanbielat-ad/

  22. HesOutInNovember
    September 26th, 2010 @ 9:24 pm

    Jay at 6:31 PM. The word you’re looking for is Armageddon…..

  23. Am I the only one who thought of this bit? Probably. | Mister Pterodactyl
    September 26th, 2010 @ 11:08 pm

    […] this bit? Probably. Posted on September 26, 2010 by misterpterodactyl Via Instapundit, via RS McCain: Bill Clinton and Barney Frank spent some time campaigning together today.  In Taunton, […]

  24. waylay
    September 27th, 2010 @ 12:25 am

    The premature ejaculation erupting on this TOM-comment thread while fantasizing over Barney Frank’s electoral lynching is a sight to behold.

    Tea bag Barney Frank before he tea bags you!

  25. wombat-socho
    September 27th, 2010 @ 2:34 am

    #24: 0/10, complete lack of originality, humor and obligatory gratuitous sexual reference. What a pitiful attempt at trolling.

  26. bandit
    September 27th, 2010 @ 8:55 am

    Barney’s Boston Blowfest

    C’mon – there’s no need for that.

  27. scott
    September 27th, 2010 @ 10:45 am

    Bill Clinton: “What make sense among other things is to keep people like Barney Frank in the house of representative.”

    Oh Yeah? Keynesian economics, government statism and culture of corruption. Make sense?

    Hotair: We are paying attention. My own take on the financial meltdown http://www.blrag.com/blog/2010/8/29/the-george-sorosing-of-the-american-economy.html William Amos on September 26, 2010 at 6:26 PM

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2010/06/25/GA2010062501970.html?sid=ST2010082606934
    June 17 Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, speaks during a House-Senate conference committee meeting. After a marathon overnight session, members of the conference committee agreed Friday morning to name the legislation the Dodd-Frank bill.

    http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42680.html
    Barney Frank: Economy ready to ‘take off’ subprime mortage crisis, government statism, Keynesian economic.

    The garrulous Frank, who helped pass the Troubled Asset Recovery Program (TARP) and the sweeping financial regulatory overhaul, defended the federal government’s broad intervention in the economy, calling the auto bailout “the single most effective thing the federal government has done” to help bolster American manufacturing.

    Culture Of Corruption http://justpiper.com/2010/08/jp-piece-on-corrupt-socialism-barney-frank-all-up-in-waters-ethics-problems/

    http://www.therightscoop.com/charlie-rose-would-this-financial-reg-bill-have-prevented-the-mortgage-crisis
    We need to get this criminal out of office for good. He’s done enough damage.

  28. Andre
    September 27th, 2010 @ 10:50 am

    Waylay is riding his horse to death. Save bandwidth for adult conversation.

  29. Support Sean Bielat | novatownhall blog
    September 30th, 2010 @ 8:17 pm

    […] More about Sean Bielat here. Sean Bielat Campaign 2010 Barney Frank, Sean Bielat […]