Marty Meehan: Losing it, not Using it

Political Wire is relaying a report from CQ Politics that has Rep. Marty Meehan retiring from the House to become the president of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.  The special election which would follow is not one of particular concern, it's a solidly Dem district.  However, as of the last federal report, Martin Meehan has $5,119,677 Cash on Hand.  Where's it gonna go?

You may remember Marty Meehan from the Use It Or Lose It Campaign, when he kept more than $4 million on hand when he could have transferred unlimited amounts to the DCCC.  You may also remember his endorsement of an editorial calling the Use It Or Lose It campaign "a nasty shakedown by rotten political scoundrels." Now it looks as though that money wasn't even being saved for a rainy day.  I don't know about you, but I can think of a few congressional campaigns that would've been a better use of that money than absolutely nothing.

So maybe Marty Meehan just had a change of heart and decided that academia was his true calling.  Or perhaps he doesn't like the idea that he isn't about to become a Senator and he's packing up his ball and going home.  First Matt Stoller threw down the gauntlet for Meehan, vowing to fight any Senate campaign.  Then John Kerry decided maybe he'll stick around the Senate for a while anyways.  So now that he can't buy himself a Senate seat with all the money that he's squirreled away, suddenly Meehan has better things to do with his time.

So here's Meehan's last chance if the reports are true and he's on the verge of retiring.  If I understand the rules correctly, all of that money can still be transferred without penalty to the DCCC.  Contact Marty Meehan and find out what he plans to do with the $5,119,677 that he won't be spending on another campaign.  And ask him whether he still thinks that not wanting to waste money is still "a nasty shakedown by rotten political scoundrels."  And if he's still so vehemently opposed to helping his party and his country, then it's been nice knowing you Marty, enjoy Lowell, and don't let the door hit ya.

Cross-posted from Withthelidoff

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Re: Marty Meehan: Losing it, not Using it (none / 0)

I bet you $5M that Marty Meehan keeps that cash for a couple of years...waiting out Kerry or Kennedy doing something other than continuing to be Massachusetts' two fine Democratic senators.


Help build a stronger and more progressive Democratic Party from the grassroots on up
by Peter from WI on Tue Mar 13, 2007 at 07:14:59 PM EST

Re: Marty Meehan: Losing it, not Using it (none / 0)

I think he's pretty bitter in general.

Think about the Campaign Finance Reform bill (that actually ended up putting MORE money in the system).  What was it called?  McCain-Feingold.  But what was the House version?  Shays-Meehan.


The sharpest criticism often goes hand in hand with the deepest idealism and love of country. ~RFK
by Vox Populi on Wed Mar 14, 2007 at 12:53:59 PM EST

Re: Marty Meehan: Losing it, not Using it (none / 0)

Point being that was supposed to be his "launching pad" when Kerry or Kennedy retired, but nobody knows it as Shays-Meehan and few people care about CFR anymore.


The sharpest criticism often goes hand in hand with the deepest idealism and love of country. ~RFK
by Vox Populi on Wed Mar 14, 2007 at 12:54:45 PM EST
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