Many of us in Red Sox Nation remember this week ten years
ago as being the greatest in sports history. After securing the AL wild card
spot in the playoffs, the Red Sox beat the Angels in the American League Division
Series before facing the Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
After being down three games to none, the Red Sox came back to win four games
in a row and beat the Yankees for the American League title. By October 27,
2004, the AL wild card Red Sox were World Series Champions and the
generations-long streak of gut-wrenching losses was over.
Since the baseball gods did not smile on the Red Sox this
year, I’m forced to reminisce and focus on political races instead of baseball playoffs.
In RI we have a wild card in the race for governor. Local attorney Bob Healey
was a last minute entry for the Moderate Party, dropping the Cool Moose label
and swapping positions with another candidate who was too ill to run. Mr.
Healey is well-regarded as a smart man who reflects the common-sense values of
our area, so I am puzzled by why he would allow himself to used as a spoiler in
such an important race. He insists that his campaign is a serious one but in my
opinion, using a loophole to join a race less than eight weeks from Election Day
is a stunt, not what one would expect from a person who wants to move Rhode
Island forward.
From a constitutional standpoint, Rhode Island’s governor is
weak. There is no line-item veto and a governor cannot place a referendum on
the ballot. However, the job is nevertheless an immense responsibility as the
governor serves as the administrator for state government and the public-facing
representative of our state. For most candidates, the decision to run is a
difficult one because the campaign — and serving in the office — is an
incredible commitment and requires an investment of time and money. I’m sure
many candidates would like to slide into the race after the primary, saving
money and an entire summer on the campaign trail.
And while I certainly understand Mr. Healey’s dislike for
the influence of money in politics and respect his decision not to raise any
money or to self-fund, it shows that he’s not in this to win. The simple truth is that one needs to spend
some money to compete in politics. A serious hockey player would never try and
play without skates, pads, a stick and ice time and a serious candidate for
public office needs basic campaign infrastructure — and that requires money. This
is not a revelation: Bob Healey has been running for statewide office over the
course of the last 30 years and he has yet to do two things: raise money and
win.
While I respect anyone willing to put his or her name on the
ballot, I think it’s important to do it the right way and to respect our
democratic process. While finding the loophole, dropping the Cool Moose banner
and sliding in as a Moderate has been okayed by the lawyers, it still won’t sit
well with many voters. Rhode Island needs serious candidates for these
difficult days and fewer wild cards on the ballot.