Sissy Willis
sisu
8/23/2010
“As a red-state tea partier behind enemy lines here in deep-blue Taxachusetts, I like what you’re saying about fiscal responsibility, limited government, free markets and other Contract from America aspirations,” we wrote Barney Frank challenger Sean Bielat last week, “So let me skip the ‘what‘ and focus on the ‘how.'” Here are the five questions and answers of our email interview with one of the “rising stars in the resurgent Massachusetts Republican party” (Earlier phone interview here):
1. Sissy Willis: How will you win? Your primary opponent Earl Sholley is no doubt unelectable in the general, but could he damage your candidacy with dirty tricks? Please discuss your strategy for winning the September 14 primary.
Sean Bielat: We have a clear path to victory in November. The key is going to be activating supporters and raising the money we need to get our message out. Barney is going to have plenty of funding from the entrenched special interests he protects from his powerful seat in Washington. We have to generate a lot of enthusiasm from regular folks who are fed up with the way Washington works. We’re going to make sure to explain that Barney has been a big part of why our economy collapsed in the first place, and why we continue to have trouble creating jobs. From pushing Fannie and Freddie to make bad loans and blocking reform of those companies, to bailing out Wall Street executives and pushing our country deeper into debt, there are a lot of reasons for people to join our campaign to oust Barney from office. We’re not overlooking the primary, but by focusing on what we need to do to defeat Barney and making a forceful case that our campaign can win in November, we’ll do just fine on September 14th.
2. Sissy: How about the general election? Polls suggest a majority of Massachusetts voters are ready for what I call “term limits by other means,” and anecdotally we’ve all heard stories of life-long Democrats and others who are beginning to wake up to the deleterious effects of the Democrats’ big-government power grabs. The Brown Revolution has certainly been an inspiration for fresh new candidates within the Bay State and beyond, but among many of Brown’s supporters, his voting record has taken the sheen off the golden boy’s image. What is your strategy vis-à-vis Brown to distinguish your own path from the direction his incumbency has taken? Please discuss Brown’s influence on your own candidacy and how any past or current association with our junior senator could be a negative.
Sean: It’s great that Sen. Brown won the Fourth District. It means that people in the Fourth aren’t afraid to support Republicans and that there is a significant number of people out there who are fed up with entrenched politicians who support policies that have a lasting negative effect on our families. But I’m not Scott Brown and we’re running our own campaign. For example, I would not have supported the Dodd-Frank Financial Regulation Bill. It’s not difficult to find people in and out of state who would like to see Barney Frank head for early retirement. He has been central to many of the problems that caused and exacerbated the economic collapse. We’re getting that message far and wide and have been successful attracting volunteers and financial support. We’re going to continue to reach out to people seven days a week through social media, mainstream media, events, door-to-door, mail and phone calls.
The interview continues at sisu.
