Almost a Fairy Tale: Mr. B Goes to Washington
Only a few months ago, before he became a Republican of national importance courted by the party’s top power brokers in Washington, Kerry Bentivolio’s main goal was to make case for Reagan-style conservatism in a few debates in the primary election contest in the 11th Congressional District. And then he would go back to being a political nobody, because defeat was certain against long-time incumbent Congressman Thadeus McCotter. But then everything changed on May 25, the instant the Secretary of State announced that McCotter would not be on the ballot because his staff had submitted bogus signatures. That meant that rank political amateur was virtually guaranteed of victory both in the Aug. 7 primary as well as in the general election in November.
I first met Bentivolio three months earlier at a Republican fund-raising dinner in Troy, where we both wound up sitting at the same table and I was fascinated by what I consider something all too rare today: His raw courage and willingness to stand up for the best of America, just to do it with no prospect of financial reward. He knew – as does everyone else – that 90-plus percent of incumbent in Congress are re-elected.
I enjoyed hearing Kerry talk about how he was committed to genuine conservative principles: Limited government and free enterprise and how he was horrified at the rampant waste he saw in his many adventures in the military. He is,incredibly, a veteran of three wars and his deployment to Iraq was at age 56!
