Chomping at the Bit....A Preview of the Massachusetts Governor's Race from a Mom's Perspective.

I was looking at a beautiful horse yesterday as I waited for my daughter to finish her horseback riding lesson. He was literally chomping at the bit. And then that saying stuck in my head. And it suddenly reminded me of the Governor's race.

We have all heard that saying, "chomping at the bit". But what does it actually mean? According to an on-line search, it means to be very keen to start an activity or to go somewhere. Just like our new Governor-to-be-determined candidates. So, it wasn't the horse's arse that reminded me of politicians, it was actually the head. And that is a good start.

Kind of.

Now, Charlie Baker, Harvard-Pilgrim's turnaround guy, is actually already out of the gate. And he has already made his first big mistake, as reported today in the Boston Globe. He claims some mysterious $5 billion dollar surplus, then corrects himself by saying, and I quote;

“I tried to come up with a term that a Joe Q. Citizen could recognize,’’ he said. “I may have called it a surplus yesterday. I didn’t call it a surplus today.’’

And that was his first big mistake. First of all, it sounds awfully pompous to call us "Joe Q. Citizen". I hate that. Secondly, he is backtracking, and that means he floated something out there that was not the truth. So, his second big mistake already, he lied. And we John Q. Citizen folk, we hate liars.

There are only 3 major candidates that I can really see as contenders. Our current Governor, Democrat Deval Patrick; Republican Charlie Baker, and Independent Tom Cahill. I do not personally know any of them. So I have to rely on what I actually see. And I am closely following all of them because I am, right now, undecided.

So far, I have not seen Tim Cahill at all. He is out there, though. I see his Facebook page and I get a few emails from his campaign. But that is about all. I have read from his tweets that he is running an ad tomorrow during the Super Bowl. Not sure if his opponents are as well, but I know he is. So here is what I think of that.

Not a good move.

Why? No one will notice. You may think they will. But it is doubtful much will come of it. Now, if you had stirred up some controversy first, people may have paid more attention. They may have said, "Hey, that's that __________ (fill in the blank) that said ________________(fill in the blank). That is when bad publicity becomes good publicity. People are talking about you. And he has not stirred up any controversy that I am aware of. Not yet, anyway.

Also, I do not think that anyone who is a fiscal conservative, not necessarily a Republican, but simply cautious with money, will like this much. It appears to be reckless spending. And in a deficit weary Massachusetts, we will notice this. If all three candidates do it, then it becomes a "me,too" fest. Again, not well liked.

And we are all still fatigued from the whole Scott Brown/Martha Coakley ad war. We just don't care right now. We just want to eat nachos and watch football and drink beer. And, of course we will be looking for the now famous Super Bowl Budweiser commercials, as they are always a blast. And maybe that talking baby will make an appearance, too.

As for Deval and Baker, they are in the news all of the time lately. And now Charlie is being taken to task by a Democrat's best friend, the Boston Globe. Although it is hard to take the Globe too seriously lately; they are still showing Senator Brown as a model. (Note to Boston Globe: you are only making him look better and yourself foolish. Stop it.)

Anyway, I am sure we are in for some fun this fall. I am asking a variety of people to tell me their thoughts so that I can view and blog about this race from different perspectives, which is always fun. I have a few staunch Republicans, many bleeding heart liberals and people like myself, caught somewhere in the middle, who are looking for a shred of decency and an open-mindedness to do what is right. We know you are all qualified, but who stands out as a true leader? Who is really listening? And who is not swayed too much by special interest groups. Or party lines.

I, personally, am also looking for something else. A good person.

No lying, no mean-spiritedness, no nonsense. The one who can stay honest, stay focused, who stays on message and who can stay out of the mud will probably get my vote. It is not a party thing, it is a people thing.

Buddha once famously said, "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense."

Best. Advice. Ever.

Stay tuned.


P.S. I know that some will say that I wrote nothing about our current Governor, Deval Patrick. Well, his actions for the past few years speak louder than any words that I could possibly write.