Here's another big story that got lost in last week's breaking news overload: a survey shows retired Air Force Lt. Colonel Jim Ogonowski, a Republican, within striking distance of Dem Niki Tsongas in the upcoming Fifth Congressional District special election.
He's currently 10 points behind her, meaning Jim has a real chance of overcoming Tsongas, depending on how he runs his campaign. So far, I think he's done a good job. Red State also believes he has a chance. So does The Hill.
No wonder Deval was so worried about Ogonowski's presence at his now- infamous 9-11 ceremony! Governor Patrick must have seen similar internal polling data and panicked. Jim's brother John, a pilot, was murdered on that horrible day.
Apparently, voters are seeing through the sham candidacy of Niki Tsongas, which is merely based on who she married some years ago and not on any political experience or even past interest of her own. That's how the machine works here: it's all about the surname.
For local talkers who actually dare to believe our current one-party rule is an embarrassment to Massachusetts, this presents a dilemma. Ordinarily, the easiest route is to adopt the standard defeatist attitude. That keeps station managers happy.
Here, however, that's going to be a tough sell. If Ogonowski really takes off from this point, how will they ignore the race?
In the old days of Boston talk radio, hosts really did enjoy the freedom to state their own opinions, even if it resulted in occasional GOP victories.
Now, however, most local hosts are hired and fired based on either a partisan allegiance to Beacon Hill's power structure or because they serve a role as an ineffective, token "conservative", important for the station's overall imaging.
Here's the SaveWRKO challenge to local talkers: who will have the courage to admit Ogonowski has a bona fide chance of winning this special election? Who will devote some real time to this topic?
Look at it this way: if Jim does pull off a victory and you guys were too afraid to play a role, you will all look like fools. In addition, that will simply underscore how irrelevant our badly-damaged talk radio medium has become locally. Is that what you want?
BY THE WAY, the survey data is fascinating: it shows Fifth District voters are wildly unhappy with the Democrat-led Congress. Only 15% are pleased with Pelosi, Reid & Co. Survey USA believes the upcoming vote could be one where voters send Dems a message.
