The Other McCain

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Barney Frank’s ‘Groundhog Day’ Sneer Inspires Sean Bielat Fund-Raising Pitch

Posted on | February 2, 2012 | 11 Comments

A derogatory comment by Rep. Barney Frank has been turned against him in a fund-raising e-mail from Republican Sean Bielat, who is running for the seat vacated by the Massachusetts Democrat’s retirement.

Frank used a Facebook posting to accuse Bielat, a Marine veteran and businessman, of moving to Massachusetts specifically to seek his 4th District seat, comparing Bielat — whose wife’s family lives in Pennsylvania — to “Punxsutawny Phil,” the nationally famous star of Groundhog Day.

Bielat, whose hard-fought 2010 challenge to Frank was credited with pushing the Democrat into retirement, replied to his erstwhile opponent with a fund-raising e-mail to supporters, pushing back at what he calls a “petty and juvenile” attack.

“Today is Ground Hog Day, and for the next six weeks, I’m asking my supporters to send ‘Barney and Friends’ a message by donating to my campaign,” Bielate wrote in the e-mail (full text below). “The movie Groundhog Day tells the story of a reporter who learns important lessons as he repeats certain mistakes over and over again. We as a nation also need to learn to stop repeating the same mistakes over and over again. It may be funny in the movie but it’s anything but funny in real life.”

Given that Punxsutawny Phil has forecast six more weeks of winter, Bielat anounced a goal of $100,000 in six weeks ending March 15. He is expected to face Democrat Joseph Kennedy III in the 4th District race.

* * * TEXT OF SEAN BIELAT E-MAIL * * *

Message to “Barney and Friends”:
Internet “Trolling” Has Consequences!

Although Barney Frank has (thankfully) announced his retirement, he still appears to be campaigning…not for himself, but for Joe Kennedy III. Recently, Barney took to Facebook to lob a metaphorical grenade at me and my campaign. Never one to let facts get in the way of a good argument, Barney added a strange egotistical twist in his petty and juvenile post, much to the amusement of his progressive “fans”. (Fortunately, my fans took over his Facebook page and let him know what they thought about his shameful remarks.) Read it for yourself here:

Shortly thereafter, John Walsh, the Chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party was quoted in The Hill using similarly outrageous talking points.

First, let’s set the record straight. My wife and I moved back to Massachusetts in 2007, a few years after graduate school at Harvard, because I was working for a Boston technology company and Hope was earning a PhD at Boston University. Unlike certain career politicians, we made our decisions based on my career in business and Hope’s career in education. Period. (Besides, how much sense would it make for a Republican to move to one of the most liberal towns in Massachusetts just to run for office? Barney sure must think a lot of himself if he thinks we would shape our life decisions around him!)

After the election, Hope and I did indeed move temporarily to Pennsylvania. That’s about all Barney got right in his post. (Of course, we made it easier for him to get his facts correct by publicly telling all our supporters about our move via Facebook and our campaign home page, so it wasn’t exactly a major secret!) Why did we move out of Massachusetts for a few months? Our son, Theo, had some medical complications at birth in 2010. We simply wanted to be closer to family when our second child was born, should similar health issues arise again. I am pleased to announce that Hope is doing great and Theo now has a happy, healthy baby sister named Seraphina who we all love dearly!

Barney’s post retirement announcement attack was irrelevant and his post was simply untrue. While Hope and I wish him all the best in his retirement and upcoming wedding, we’d hate to think that his complete lack of political integrity would translate over to his personal life. (Oh, and by the way, we promise not to “wedding crash” for the purpose of heckling, just as his partner Jim did at this 2010 campaign event.)

With all this said, I’d like to thank Barney for his ridiculous post because it gave me an idea. Today is Ground Hog Day, and for the next six weeks, I’m asking my supporters to send “Barney and Friends” a message by donating to my campaign. The movie Groundhog Day tells the story of a reporter who learns important lessons as he repeats certain mistakes over and over again. We as a nation also need to learn to stop repeating the same mistakes over and over again. It may be funny in the movie but it’s anything but funny in real life.

Barney Frank’s ideas were bad for Massachusetts and bad for the country. All signs indicate that young Joe Kennedy III, (who, ironically, just moved into MA-4 from another district and is the grandson of Robert Kennedy, who moved to New York to run for the US Senate) will parrot those ideas…and he’ll have the entire progressive Democratic Party apparatus behind him.

Do we want more of the same or do we want some “change” that actually makes sense? If you believe the latter, please donate today.

Our goal is to raise $100,000 by March 15th. I will be updating our progress toward that goal via Facebook and Twitter posts and my team will soon post a “meter” on our donation landing page that you can share with your friends across various online networks. Visit our Facebook page and follow me on Twitter.

Einstein said that “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and our own Elizabeth Warren, and all their progressive minions have cast a shadow over our liberty, security and prosperity for far too long. Electing another liberal to replace Barney Frank will do nothing but continue our national decline and make the American Dream even less attainable for our kids and grandkids.

Let’s change how this movie has played out for the last 30 years. Let’s stop the endless spending. Let’s rein in big government. Let’s end “nanny state” policies that stifle individual freedom and economic growth. Let’s put America back to work and restore the American Dream for Massachusetts residents and all citizens of this great nation!

Thank you for taking the time to read this note and please donate today!

Sincerely, Sean Bielat

Let’s do this together. Please donate what you can and, even if you can’t, please share this email with your friends. Please donate today.

Category: Election 2012, Massachusetts, Sean Bielat

Comments

11 Responses to “Barney Frank’s ‘Groundhog Day’ Sneer Inspires Sean Bielat Fund-Raising Pitch”

  1. Chip Jones
    February 2nd, 2012 @ 10:02 pm

    What interested me about Barney’s retirement is how quickly the Boston mainstream media jumped off his bandwagon. Within 5 minutes of his announcement to retire, a press that previously never had a bad word to say about him, went completely negative, telling stories of his famous lack of social skills and penchant for hostile and insulting comments. I see retirement hasn’t improved his manners.

  2. irishgalartist
    February 2nd, 2012 @ 10:19 pm

    Full disclosure, I am a distand Kennedy cousin and yet I donated to you!!! Good luck!!!

  3. irishgalartist
    February 2nd, 2012 @ 10:20 pm

    I meant distant, sorry for the typo!

  4. irishgalartist
    February 2nd, 2012 @ 10:20 pm

    http://www.lityler.com!

  5. John LaRosa
    February 2nd, 2012 @ 10:42 pm

    I may have to “raise my personal debt ceiling”, but I will find a way to donate again to Sean Bielat. He tormented Barney into retirement, got another progressive (Joe Kennedy III) to quit his day job and now, with a more GOP-friendly district, he’s poised to finish what he started in 2010. Please join me in supporting this talented US Marine and businessman. The last thing we need is another “Kennedy Seat”!

  6. Adjoran
    February 3rd, 2012 @ 12:58 am

    In any just world, Barney Frank would be in a prison cell for the rest of his natural life.

    And not allowed to participate in communal showers, either – of any color.

  7. Bob Belvedere
    February 3rd, 2012 @ 8:40 am

    Methinks he’s always been a cretinous jerk – at least as far back as the late 1960’s when he was working for Kevin ‘Deluxe’ White.

  8. Bob Belvedere
    February 3rd, 2012 @ 8:42 am

    And JKIII is a Ginger!

    No Gingers! / No $^@&* Kennedys!

  9. Bob Belvedere
    February 3rd, 2012 @ 8:42 am

    Why do you hate prison guards???

  10. Quartermaster
    February 3rd, 2012 @ 1:12 pm

    That’s OK. God has a special place reserved for his type.

  11. Updates in the Race « Replacing Barney
    February 9th, 2012 @ 3:59 pm

    […] campaign then went on to capitalize on Frank’s post with a sharp fundraising e-mail.  The Other McCain Blog covered this exchange well–I urge you to take a […]