As a young progressive, there is a lot to like about Congressman John Tierney. He is often on the right side of key issues and has been for the duration of him time in Washington. That being said, he is extraordinarily fortunate that his closest re-election fight to date was during a presidential year, otherwise he would have lost and the 6th district of Massachusetts would be currently represented by Richard Tisei. Given news that Congress itself may begin investigating the Representative, and given that Tierney appears weak enough to garner two primary challengers already, it may be time for Congressman Tierney to do what is right for the district and for the party: retire.
I question the viability of Seth Moulton (and think Marisa DeFranco has no viability), but I believe with enough time to fundraise, a strong candidate could emerge in time to beat back Tisei, who is surely running again. I don’t believe Rich Tisei is the tea-partier that Tierney’s fundraising e-mails lead many to think he is, but I believe he is another vote for Boehner and Cantor in a Congress that has little motivation to govern. And with the power of being an incumbant, Democrats would have to fight even harder to knock off a hypothetical Representative Tisei. Incumbants enjoy a measure of security, but incumbants with the baggage John Tierney now carries are ripe for the picking.
I like John and think he has largely been a fine Representative for the North Shore and Cape Ann. But I think key Democrats in the area and in Washington need to sit him down and lay it out on the line. Loyalty is one thing. 2012 was out of loyaly. 2014 is a battle to keep the seat blue, and I am not at all convinced John Tierney is the best candidate to do that.
Tierney had been a loyal soldier, and the Dems should return the favor. As for the investigation, I don’t think there is anything to worry about or that can’t be explained away.