En route to CPAC, I was favored with a pleasant surprise in the form of a text message from my old “crony” Sean Bielat. It’s been one year exactly when I reunited with my old pal. Bielat had just announced his brash challenge to the sitting House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Barney Frank, continuously reelected easily in a safe Dem district. And he reached out to me. His politics had morphed, become more conservative than mine.
It had been a while since since those days in the late 90’s when Bielat and I palled around on weekends. He was studying at Georgetown, and though already reverent of the military, and slightly hawkish, he was then still a liberal, loyal to Bill Clinton. He relished engaging young ladies in conversation, but the chatter wasn’t idle; the topics were always substantive, usually political.
Back in those days, I was stuck in an office, off K St., and rarely met anyone in the world of politics and media, despite my passions for them. Since I last saw Bielat, via the magic of social media, I’d crossed paths with many folks in those circles, a number of whom traveled on the right side of the spectrum. I threw out any journalistic pretense and offered to help him meet some folks who might write or blog about this crazy idea of his.
Some were skeptical, but I wasn’t about to waste anybody’s time. I knew, even from those times hassling the gals in bars, that Bielat was substantive. He would make a perfect uber-respectable sacrificial lamb; the right profile for racking up credibility points to make it into office, even if he might not this time.
Bielat was perfect to create a buzz in the conservative media world as “Barney Frank’s first serious opponent.”
When the votes rolled in, Bielat was short, but every talking point I offered was confirmed. Bielat racked up over a hundred thousand votes, broke into the 45% range I’d estimated, and made Barney sweat it out at home, and deprived national Democrats of his fundraising prowess, to slather on other races. And he carried a number of towns.
Beilat and I reconnoitred in a corner at CPAC, and assessed his first electoral foray.
The initial skepticism at last year’s CPAC quickly dissipated and Bielat proved he was a formidable candidate. He started doing national conservative media. At the time I was shaking my head. Yes, that was crucial for fundraising – Barney Frank is about as polarizing figure as the House Dems had to offer – and exactly why I focused on conservative journalists. But he was trumpeting that in email blasts.
Not only is MA 05 a solidly Democratic district, but it harbors some of America’s most notorious redoubts of limousine liberals: Wellesley, Brookline, Newton. Bielat insists that the national conservative media was worth it. It did bring in the dollars he needed, although I reckoned it could have been much more.
Bielat said he found no evidence that hobnobbing with the Fox News crowd antagonized the persuadable independents he was targeting. As I let the journos know I introduced him to, MA05 went narrowly for the then-recent special election winner, Sen. Scott Brown. So, many folks had gotten over the hurdle of having voted Republican before.
That was the biggest impact Brown’s upset had in paving the way for Bielat’s run.
Bielat did get some “snarky” remarks questioning why he wasn’t focusing on the local, on voters who would see his name on the ballot, stumping with Portuguese-American fisherman in Fall River some more. When questioned, he concurs that he would have accepted an interview request from Boston’s influential NPR affiliate, WBUR, over Sean Hannity. But it was Sean Hannity’s producers who were knocking.
Other obstacles? The late primary, in mid-September, meant that many held out to see if he could win the primary, and stunted fundraising and delayed getting on voters’ radar. This helped the incumbent, who faced no primary challenge to speak of.
Not all that helpful? Scott Brown stayed above the fray. Tea Party activity “probably had not impacted” on the final result, Bielat suspects.
As Frank formally announced he would seek another term in 2012, Bielat has been answering media calls about his plans. I’m convinced he’s genuinely undecided, though curious.
Bielat really shouldn’t go away. Even if he hit a ceiling in Frank’s seat – with the big uncertainty of redistricting looming – he could win a primary for statewide office, like Lt. Governor. (That idea made Bielat cock his head and muse over it.) Keep an eye on Sean Bielat.
