A seat at the table
By Boston Herald Editorial Staff
Thursday, October 25, 2012

It’s a better than even bet that when the votes are counted on Nov. 6 Republicans will retain control of the U.S. House. But for too long here in Massachusetts having an all-Democrat House delegation has meant that this state is often on the outside looking in. Well, it’s time for that to change.

And three highly qualified Republican candidates for Congress make that an easy thing to do.

In the 6th District, it’s not just that incumbent John Tierney has overstayed his welcome. It’s not just that he has had an utterly lackluster 16-year career. It’s not just that he has failed to offer up any credible explanation for the blind eye he turned to the criminal activities of his wife’s family — and the obvious benefits that accrued to his own household. It’s not even that he has run one of the sleaziest campaigns for Congress in the state’s history. Although all of that is true, the simple fact is that in former state senator Richard Tisei the district would at long last get the smart, committed representative it deserves.

Tisei is a member in good standing of the Bill Weld wing of the Republican Party who believes, as he put it, “that government should be off your back, out of your wallet and away from the bedroom.” That works for us. As a state lawmaker — and Senate minority leader for a time — he worked across the aisle, something we could use a little more of in Washington these days. But he also led the opposition in 2010 against the hike in the state sales tax.

In short, Tisei has an excellent track record on Beacon Hill and would be a solid supporter on Capitol Hill of responsible measures to curb the deficit and jump-start the economy by relieving small business of the curse of over-regulation. He would bring just the kind of fresh new attitude that is needed in D.C.

In the 4th District, where Rep. Barney Frank has finally decided to retire (and that day can’t come soon enough), Sean Bielat is making his second bid for the seat. That kind of persistence alone earns him points in our book. The 37-year-old Marine Corps Reserve officer has spent his career in the private sector and knows what it means to start a small business and what it will take to turn around this nation’s flagging economy. That will require “tax relief and making the regulatory environment more predictable,” he said in a debate — one of the few debates his opponent, Joe Kennedy III, would agree to. Kennedy is a nice enough fellow, but lacking any experience in the real world of business — which explains his affection for tax hikes, a government-knows-best philosophy and his trust-me-I’m-a-Kennedy school of campaigning.

Bielat has maturity and business smarts to spare (he started his career as a management consultant at McKinsey & Co. and prior to his 2010 run led a $100 million defense robotics program at Bedford’s iRobot Corp.). The U.S. House — and the state’s delegation — would benefit from his expertise.

Also making his second run for the House this year in the newly reconstructed3rd District is Jon Golnik, a Carlisle businessman and former foreign currency trader and an indefatigable campaigner in his effort to unseat incumbent Niki Tsongas.

He describes his philosophy this way: “Liberals have faith in the government. I have faith in the people.”

Golnik could be counted on as a solid vote to repeal Obamacare, to lower the corporate tax rate and to maintain the Bush-era tax rates.

Or as he put it in debate this week, “Only in Washington, D.C., could keeping current tax rates be considered a tax cut. That’s like someone not robbing your house and then telling you they gave you money.” Well said.

What Richard Tisei, Sean Bielat and Jon Golnik have to offer is that they would give Massachusetts a seat at what is quite likely to be the majority table. The Herald is pleased to endorse their candidacies.

Original article available here.