I can’t resist putting in my two, maybe even four, cents on the Senate question. I can’t resist because all of Larry’s friends feel as if we have a stake in his life: What he does with it seems important not only to him, but to us. I acknowledge Chris Gacek’s intelligent and heartfelt view, but it is both myopic and defeatist.
1. If Larry were to run against Chris Dodd, he would make the case that the mainstream media refuse to make on their own — not just the case against Dodd, Frank, Raines and Co. for gross mismanagement of the public trust, but the timeless case for the bounty and clarity of the free market.
2. In the media capital of the world, with his well-honed rhetorical skills, and up against a tired opponent untested for more than a decade, Larry would attract national attention to the views he now projects so effectively to a devoted but small audience. He would reach more people, not fewer. Just as important, he would provide a template for the kind of pro-market campaign that Republicans will have to learn how to run again.
3. If you took a poll today, it would undoubtedly show Dodd winning in a landslide. But it’s likely that Dodd has peaked already. It’s likely that his record, finally revealed under the pressure of a competitive campaign, will show even more serious lapses, both personal and financial. It’s also likely that voters will cool on Obama’s damn-the-torpedoes spending initiatives. And it’s almost certain that the voice of freedom, articulated with verve and passion by Larry, will sound as it always does to people who haven’t heard it in awhile — fresh and hopeful and full of life-changing potential.
4. Even if Larry were to lose, his television prospects would be brighter than ever. I’m probably as responsible for Larry’s television career as anybody, and I can assure you that he bounces back, he moves on, he grows. He’ll be bigger than ever. Think Buckley for Mayor.
5. And should Larry win, the Senate would not be adding another Voinovich, another Martinez, not even a couple of Nelsons. The Republican caucus would be adding a member who remembers what they used to stand for and has the forensic skills to project those views across the party and the nation. Think Obama.
Run, Larry, run!
Neal B. Freeman
Jacksonville, Fla.
