Dozen Legs Race for Meehan's Spot

[Ian David]

Six of the seven pols aspiring to fill 5th Congressional District seat held by Marty Meehan attended the the New(s) England Revolution conference. They largely want to bring our troops in Iraq home -- with some spongy wording (no time tables and words about making sure they were safe). Likewise, they offered greater distinction in the way they described their backgrounds than in their positions on hot issues.

David O’Brien, Eileen Donoghue, Jamie Eldridge, Barry Finegold, Jim DiPaola and Niki Tsongas attended.

Donoghue referred to her school committee chair and her service as Lowell mayor. However, she spoke like a U.S. Rep. candidate. She wants to "bring the men and women home safely" from Iraq. She would work for health care for all. She would not support renewing the tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, but stopped short of saying where she'd draw the line.

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DiPaola was the odd man out. He was an 18-year Malden police veteran, much of that as an undercover narc. He sounded a bit like Tom Reilly in the past gubernatorial election. His tool chest seems to have two items -- enforcement and crime prevention. He attributes crime to a disproportionate amount of our troubles. That's understandable from his background.

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O'Brien said that his constituents reported that soldiers no longer understand why they are being sent or returned to Iraq. He wants the troops home.


More:
http://massmarrier.blogspot.com/2007/04/dozen-legs-race-for-meehans-spot.html