Beatty woos locals in bid for Kerry seat
April 2, 2008Related Photos
'I’m a proud member of the middle class’
By Shaun Sutner TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
ssutner@telegram.com
When Jeffrey K. Beatty marched in Worcester’s St. Patrick’s parade, he knew he was wading into a Democratic stronghold that has always been kind to the famous incumbent he is waging a somewhat long-shot campaign to unseat: U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry.
Mr. Beatty, a 55-year-old Republican from Harwich, claims he made some headway on that chilly March 9 with a few union workers who engaged him in some friendly chitchat.
His message on the economy, he says, ought to resonate among such working, middle-class voters. He wants to cut taxes, roll-back gasoline prices and trim government spending.
He said that, in contrast, his opponent is a globe-trotter who has proposed gas tax hikes.
“He doesn’t get it,” said Mr. Beatty, who is retired from a career in the U.S. Army, CIA and FBI and running a small security business. “He doesn’t have any contact with the lives most of us lead. I’m a proud member of the middle class.”
Mr. Beatty has also taken aim at the former Democratic presidential nominee’s foreign policy positions.
Mr. Kerry initially voted for the Iraq War. Mr. Beatty said he always opposed it because President Bush’s rationale for invading was based on faulty intelligence.
“John Kerry supported the war because he thought it would get him elected,” Mr. Beatty said.
Mr. Kerry, however, who has two other opponents besides Mr. Beatty, said through a spokesman that he isn’t worried about his latest crop of competitors. And, with a campaign war chest of more than $10 million, he probably shouldn’t have to.
“Senator Kerry is ranked the twelfth most powerful senator in the entire Senate because he’s been fighting effectively for a foreign policy that strengthens America’s role in the world, policies at home that honor our veterans, a clean environment, an energy future that breaks the stranglehold of foreign oil and combats climate change, funding to help families avoid foreclosure, and for fair economic policies that create good jobs that come with affordable health care,” David Wade, a Kerry spokesman, said in a prepared statement.
To earn the chance to take on Mr. Kerry directly, Mr. Beatty, who has raised nearly $1 million for his campaign and received donations from 27,000 individual contributors, must first overcome fellow Republican James Ogonowski of Dracut in a GOP primary.
On the Democratic side, Mr. Kerry faces a primary challenge from Ed O’Reilly, a criminal defense lawyer from Gloucester.
Mr. Beatty says he’s confident going up against Mr. Ogonowski, who lost to Democrat Niki Tsongas in the Oct. 16 special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Martin T. Meehan.
Mr. Ogonowski got 47,000 votes against Mrs. Tsongas in the contest for the open seat, while Mr. Beatty won 78,000 votes when he took on incumbent U.S. Rep. William D. Delahunt, D-Quincy, in 2006.
Mr. Beatty has been actively courting support in Central Massachusetts.
He has sought the endorsement of the Worcester County Republican Club and has met recently with several influential area Republicans, including state Reps. Lewis G. Evangelidis of Holden, George N. Peterson Jr. of Grafton, and Karyn E. Polito of Shrewsbury.
“We’re getting good support,” he said.
Contact Shaun Sutner by e-mail at ssutner@telegram.com
