Blue Mass Group

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Tsongas repudiates remarks by Chet Atkins

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Just in from the Tsongas campaign:

Niki Tsongas released the following statement this morning concerning comments made by former Representative Chester Atkins as reported in the press today.

“I strongly disagree with what Chet Atkins said and did and his comments are not reflective of my views.  I’m the one running for Congress and he does not speak for me.

“This morning I spoke to Jim Ogonowski and I reached out to Peg Ogonowski.  Their family has suffered a terrible loss and that should be respected.

“This goes against the tone of politics I’ve established on my campaign.”

She’s talking about Atkins’ ill-considered comments on John Ogonowski’s views on immigration. 

This is the second time that Niki Tsongas has risen above day-to-day campaign chatter and has gone out of her way to reach out personally to Jim Ogonowski and his family.  The first was when Ogonowski wasn’t invited to the State House 9/11 ceremony.  Nice to see that winning isn’t everything.

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  1. Didn’t he lose to a large Ruben sandwich on American Idol or something?

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    (I don’t watch much television)

  3. Only flaw is that last night, on the air on WBZ with a VASTLY greater audience than Blue Mass Group (realy, it MIGHT be true), she was a GREAT deal more equivocal.  Only said that Cory and Chet had been divorced a long time, and she didn’t know anything about the remarks.  When Dan Rea READ the AP text to her, she just mumbled that she couldn’t respond.  Makes me a little sceptical of the heartfeltness of her disagreement – let it go by on the big stage, repudiate it on the smaller one.

          • Mealy mouthed is the best description I can offer of her.  (At least Donohue SEEMED like a human!).  She comes across as calculating, pompous, prissy, and overly confident in her own star-studded destiny.

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            I happened to be driving home from a GOP town committee meeting last night, and caught her on WBZ near the end of her hour.  The question about Atkins came up, and the caller seemed steamed.  When she denied knowledge, Dan Rea said – this is the statment, and she retreated into neutral-speak, until she could check in.  And this wasn’t rocket science – it’s do you repudiate a statement made by a political ally that your opponent is a racist and his brother would be ashamed of him?  All she had to say was IF Chet siad that, it was across the line, not dumb details about how she ENJOYS Cory’s support, but they’ve been divorced for a long time, and the dog ate my homework…

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            The SUBSEQUENT question was worse – a breathless female caller asking – Niki, WHAT are your plans for Lowell’s economic revival, prompting even Dan Rea to ask if she were calling in from campaign HQ.  But Niki launched into a plummy, non-specific gloss of how she would singlehandedly bring lakhs of rupees to Lowell.

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            Annoying, David.  That’s the best word.

            • and refusing to discuss the SCHIP override vote isn’t calculation?  if it isn’t, than it’s just pure gutlessness.  you choose.

            • public defender brings in a convicted felon with the reputation of a scumbag to attack an honest person; the prosecution objects and then the Judge instructs the jury to “disregard that”..yah right, like they hit the erase button in their memory and never heard it … please.. this is low life politics as bad as it can be. What’s particularly nauseating is how Nicki gets to portray herself as taking the high road regarding the remarks of her own campaign manager’s low life  husband…please someone hand me an airsick bag,quick …and then we have the partisan crowd here yesterday defending the comments, ie no big deal, why are you whining Eabo? and then suddenly today it’s “Nicki really showed class in denouncing these offensive remarks”… wow , sickening or what?

                • The last time I saw Corey Atkins was in 2004 and she was still married. Oh and Chester’s registered voting address is still the same house.  Sorry I don’t keep up with the Young and Restless portion of the Democratic Party.

                • What you just said translates into “I didn’t bother to check whether my basic assertions were correct before I trashed Mrs. Tsongas.”.  Then you go on to claim that Tsongas is running a negative campaign?  BWaaahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!  At best you’re sloppy, at worst you’re a deceiver.  Either way, EaBo, you bring dishonor to the Ogo campaign.

              • this is low life politics as bad as it can be.

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                Unless you’re referring to you and EaBo refusing to acknowledge it’s her EX husband, I’ve no idea what you’re on about.

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                Tip of the hat to wavemaker for the title, though:

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                http://www.redmassgr…

                • what this Atkins dirtbag was doing? Even if he is the “X” husband.. Why is he shilling for Tsongas and trying to trash her opponent in the crudest and most repulsive form possible? what’s in it for him? This is the oldest “good guy/bad guy” scam in politics. Obviously you don’t see it through your partisan lenses but thoughtful people will see it for what it is…just plain old dirty politics.Hopefully, voters will see at this late stage just what kind of morals the Dem party is exhibiting here in their anything goes  to hold power campaign. 

                • First off, EaBo’s RMG diary on this is nastier than anything Chet said.  EaBo even pretends Niki was directly involved:

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                  http://redmassgroup….

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                  The check-bouncing-unethical-former Congressman, and husband of Niki Tsongas’ camaign co-chair Chet Atkins is trying to  smear Jim Ogonowski using Jim’s brother John.  This is disgusting and a new low in politics.  For those that don’t know Chet Atkins was one of the check bouncing congressman bounced right out of office in 1992.  Now he and Niki Tsongas are trying to say that he had a relationship with Jim’s brother John and that Jim is “tarnishing” his brother’s legacy, because Jim doesn’t support Amnesty for illegal immigrants.

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                  http://redmassgroup….

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                  Second, even IF Niki or her campaign were somehow involved, why didn’t she have a statement prepared?

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                  Here’s Peter Porcupine on the subject:

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                  http://bluemassgroup…

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                  Hmmm….  (4.00 / 1)
                  Only flaw is that last night, on the air on WBZ with a VASTLY greater audience than Blue Mass Group (realy, it MIGHT be true), she was a GREAT deal more equivocal.  Only said that Cory and Chet had been divorced a long time, and she didn’t know anything about the remarks.  When Dan Rea READ the AP text to her, she just mumbled that she couldn’t respond.

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                  Third, the people disseminating the comments and trying to get political capitol out of them all appear to be part of the OGO campaign. It seems like a desperation move to me.

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                  http://www.redmassgr…

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                  Finally, this is a pretty sad example of “win at all costs” politics, if you ask me. It’s not like Ogo was even anti-immigrant before the campaign started.

    • …we’ve been waiting days for Ogo to tell us how he’ll vote on the SCHIP override.

      • “it’s a flawed legislation and needs to be revised “. Ogo, like so many others, doesn’t think that 25 year old “children” should be covered…that households with incomes in excess of $80,000 should be subsidized and that illegal aliens should have benefits. What is it about his position that you don’t understand…or should he say it in Spanish ?

        • Don’t be ridiculous, Tom.  What I don’t understand is whether he will vote to sustain or override the veto — because he’s been asked a dozen times, and he keeps refusing to answer. 

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          If he thinks the bill is so bad, why won’t he step up and just say he’d vote to sustain?  What is he so afraid of?

          • in the “Republik” won’t vote for him that aren’t going to vote for him anyway regardless if he sustains or not?
            Clearly, the responsible tact here is to extend the current 10 year old  law for 90 dyas ( incredibly easy to do) and then revisit the provision of the new “extended” bill with its current “giveaway” provisions with an eye to fixing it. Sounds intelligent and reasonable to me.

            • is to tell the voters what you’re going to do on an important vote that’s happening two days after your election.  Full stop.

            • … afraid of anything.  He can be as chicken$%(*$# has he wants to while running away from a simple question.  Its his prerogative to be as scared of his own answers as he wants to be.

  4. I predict that Og really blundered on this whole affair and that it will hurt him with those wavering voters. As many have noted, neither he nor Niki has been able to gather many new voters. Their followers are pretty steady, but the not-quite-sure types haven’t migrated to either camp.

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    Pulling his brother and his sad sister-in-law into his ad campaign was bad enough. Some people will be turned off by such cheap emotional tricks that don’t speak to substance. There are other examples of politicians trying to hitch a ride on dead heroes, but it often hasn’t ended well for them.

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    Next, Niki publicly apologizes to Jim and Peg, for remarks she neither made nor sanctioned. …Oh-Go-On’s responses?

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    –Name calling slurs about her campaign, its supporters and her.
    –Demands that she remove Atkins from her list of supporters and return any contributions he may have made.

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    He lets Niki remain to the public as classy and compassionate. In contrast, he looks petty and nasty.

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    OMG, Og.

    • a negative campaign that has twisted Jim Ogonowski’s words from the start.  If anybody believes that a former congressman who knows how these things work, acted on his own in this regard there’s a bridge in New York City I’d like to sell you.

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      If Niki didn’t know herself about this personal attack on Jim’s character it was most probably sanctioned by her campaign or the DCCC who is running her campaign at this time, because of her surprising lack of traction. This was not a “over-zealous volunteer” giving his take to the associated press. It was a hit job that was in all probability sanctioned by the campaign or the DCCC. 

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      Niki’s only true response is to publicly disavow Chester’s support and return his $2300 check, and any other money he may have helped raise. 

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      This is disgusting politics and you all know it.  What Niki has said so far isn’t enough.

    • Pulling his brother and his sad sister-in-law into his ad campaign was bad enough. Some people will be turned off by such cheap emotional tricks that don’t speak to substance.
      emphasis mine!

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      There’s only one reason that “Niki” (Nicki who?) is even a factor in the MA5 race – it’s spelled T-S-O-N-G-A-S.

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      Mrs. Tsongas’ only noteworthy accomplishment is being the widow of a popular U.S. Senator. It may be enough to win in the end. But let’s at least try to be honest about it.

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