Perdue Challenges Kemp in Georgia With Trump's Blessings

Former Georgia GOP Senator David Perdue, less than a year removed from his defeat at the hands of Jon Ossoff, today re-entered the political arena by formally challenging sitting Republican Governor Brian Kemp in next year's GOP primary. 

Perdue is doing so with the blessing of former President Donald Trump who remains bitterly angry for refusing to overturn the election results which saw Joe Biden become the first Democrat to carry Georgia since Bill Clinton in 1992. Back in February, Perdue signaled he would challenge Raphael Warnock but quickly decided against it. 

A Perdue-Kemp primary fight will make much of the race smooth sailing for Democrat Stacey Abrams. Regardless of which Republican faces Abrams, the independent variable will be Georgia's new voter law and how Republican appointed election officials could replace local election boards in Democratic counties overturn the will of the people in case Abrams prevails at the polls unless of course the DOJ is successful in its challenge to overturn the law. But chances are such a battle would make its way to the Supreme Court which has a 6-3 conservative majority.

Should Perdue prevail against Kemp and defeat Abrams the question becomes what Perdue does in the 2024 election. If Biden were to prevail again in Georgia there is a reasonable suspicion that Perdue and his allies could do for Trump what Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger were unwilling to do in 2020 and find him the votes he needed to win, if Georgia's election law doesn't do it for them first.

While Abrams has the luxury to sit back and watch Kemp and Perdue bloody each other she does have to prepare contingency plans for the Republican shenanigans which are sure to follow next fall. 

Hodges, Kaat, Minoso, Oliva, O'Neil & Fowler Finally Get Into Cooperstown

Today, six men finally gained their long overdue recognition with their election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Brooklyn Dodgers legend Gil Hodges, pitching great Jim Kaat, Cuban superstars Minnie Minoso and Tony Oliva plus Negro Leaguers Bud Fowler and Buck O'Neil are scheduled to be enshrined into Cooperstown on July 24, 2022.

Of course, there is certain bittersweet quality to this belated recognition. Only Kaat and Oliva are still alive and they are both 83. A lot can happen between now and next July. Bud Fowler has been dead for over a century while Gil Hodges has been dead nearly half a century collapsing of a heart attack right before the 1972 season was to begin while managing the New York Mets two days shy of his 48th birthday. Minnie Minoso passed away in 2015 having been repeatedly rejected by both the BBWAA and the Golden Era Committee in 2011 and again in 2014 shortly before his death as were Hodges, Kaat and Oliva. Buck O'Neil was rejected for Hall of Fame consideration in 2006 on a special ballot for Negro League players though he graciously spoke on behalf of the 17 players who were inducted at Cooperstown that summer. Less than three months later, O'Neil died at the age of 94. Still, better now than never.

Hodges finally gets to join his Brooklyn Dodger Boys of Summer compatriots Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella and Pee Wee Reese in Cooperstown. He had seven straight 100 RBI seasons, was named to 8 NL All-Star Teams in 9 years, won three Gold Gloves at first base and would have won more had the award been introduced earlier and, of course, played in 7 World Series earning one ring in Brooklyn in 1955 and a second ring in Los Angeles in1959. Hodges would return to New York to play with the expansion Mets in 1962 and 1963. Six years later, Hodges led the Miracle Mets to a World Series title as their manager. When Hodges ended his playing career, his 370 HRs were the most for a right-handed hitter in NL history. Hodges appeared on the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) ballot 15 times only exceeding 60% of the vote thrice including 63.4% of the vote in his final year on the ballot in 1983 but well short of the 75% threshold. Hodges attained the highest vote total of anyone not inducted into Cooperstown.

If Hodges was the heart and soul of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Minnie Minoso was the same for the Chicago White Sox in the 1950's and 1960's. The Cuban born Minoso got his first exposure to American baseball playing for the New York Cubans in the Negro Leagues from 1946 to 1948. Bill Veeck offered him a contract with the Cleveland Indians and he would become the first black Cuban to play in MLB on April 19, 1949 just over two years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. But Minoso would make his presence truly known in 1951 when early that season he was shipped to the Chisox in a three team deal with the Philadelphia Athletics. Minoso led the AL with 31 stolen bases and finished runner up to Gil McDougald of the New York Yankees as AL Rookie of the Year. Although Minoso never won the AL batting title he hit .300 or better eight times between 1951 and 1960. If not for coming out of retirement in 1976 and 1980 while in his 50's, Minoso's lifetime batting average would have been over .300 rather than .299. While known as Mr. White Sox, Minoso did not play with the White Sox team that won the AL pennant in 1959 as he had been traded back to the Tribe for Early Wynn and Al Smith prior to the 1958 season. However, Minoso would return to the South Side of Chicago in 1960 where he enjoyed two productive seasons before stints with the St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Senators before returning to the Chisox for a third time in 1964. Minoso collected 2,110 hits, led the AL in stolen bases thrice, won three Gold Gloves for his outfield defense and was named to 13 All-Star teams (MLB and Negro Leagues combined). He fell off the BBWAA ballot after receiving less than 2% of the vote in 1969. But because he returned as an active player, he was eligible to rejoin the ballot in 1986 and remained on it through 1999 although he only twice garnered more than 20% of the vote. 

For more than a decade, Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva were teammates on the Minnesota Twins. Kaat had signed with the organization when they were still known as the Washington Senators in 1957 making his big league debut in D.C. in 1959. Kaat became a regular member of the starting rotation when the team moved to Minneapolis in 1961. The following season Kaat won 18 games, led the AL in shutouts, was named to his first All-Star Team and won his first of 16 Gold Gloves. Kaat would be the ace of the 1965 club which won the AL pennant though his best overall season with the Twins was the following year when he led the AL in wins with 25. The Twins placed Kaat on waivers late in the 1973 season where he was quickly claimed by the Chicago White Sox. Kaat enjoyed back to back 20 win campaigns with the Chisox in 1974 and 1975. The White Sox traded Kaat to the Philadelphia Phillies prior to the 1976 season in a deal which included Alan Bannister and Dick Ruthven. Kaat would win his last two Gold Gloves in a Phillies uniform. During the 1979 season, the Phillies sold Kaat to the New York Yankees who less than a year later sold him to the St. Louis Cardinals. In his last five big league seasons, Kaat pitched predominantly out of the bullpen but during this period he became one of the few players to have ever graced the field in four different decades and also finally won a World Series ring with the 1982 Cardinals. Kaat finished his career after the 1983 season with a won loss record of 283-237 with a 3.45 ERA in 898 appearances over 25 big league seasons. He was on the BBWAA ballot between 1989 and 2003 but never earned more than 30% of the vote. 

Tony Oliva spent his entire professional career with the Twins. After cups of coffee with the big league club in 1962 and 1963, Oliva would win AL Rookie of the Year in 1964 in which he led the AL in hits (217), runs scored (109), doubles (43) while winning the AL batting title with a .323 average - the first rookie to ever do so. Oliva would win the AL batting title again in 1965 with a .321 mark while once again leading the league in hits (185) en route to an AL pennant. Over the next six seasons, Oliva led the AL in hits and doubles three more times and won his third AL batting title with a career best .337 average. Oliva was named to the AL All-Star Team every year between 1964 and 1971. A severe knee injury forced Oliva to miss nearly the entire 1972 season. Although he played four more seasons, primarily as a DH, Oliva was not the same player. He would retire after the 1976 season. In his 15-year MLB career, Oliva collected 1,917 hits for a lifetime batting average of .304. Oliva was on the BBWAA ballot between 1982 and 1996 but only exceeded 40% of the vote twice. 

Hodges, Kaat, Minoso and Oliva were elected by the Golden Era Committee while O'Neil and Fowler were elected by the Early Days Committee. O'Neil played in the Negro American League first with the Memphis Red Sox and then with the Kansas City Monarchs during the 1930's and 1940's eventually becoming the team's manager. O'Neil would later become the first African-American to be hired as a coach and a scout both with the Chicago Cubs. In the latter role, O'Neil signed future Hall of Famer Lou Brock. O'Neil was instrumental in establishing the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City and became a worldwide celebrity after his appearances in Ken Burns' PBS documentary Baseball. Bud Fowler is the first African-American known to have played professional baseball having done so between the 1870s and 1890s and primarily played on white teams. How the first African-American player known to have played professional baseball wasn't enshrined into Cooperstown until now I'll never know. But again better late than never.

These six men, both living and dead, may be joined by others. The BBWAA will announce its results on January 25, 2022. The ballot includes the likes of Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Curt Schilling, Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz. But for tonight this hour belongs to Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso, Tony Oliva, Buck O'Neil and Bud Fowler.

Bob Dole, R.I.P.

Former Senate Majority Leader and 1996 Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole passed away this morning of lung cancer. He was 98.

Born in Russell, Kansas, Dole served with distinction in the European theater in WWII earning two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star after sustaining a serious wound which nearly took his life and would limit the use of his arms for the rest of his life. Despite his wounds, Dole would earn a law degree and was elected to the Kansas State Legislature in 1950. A decade later he would be elected to the House of Representatives before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1968. In the early 1970s, Dole served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Dole came to further national prominence when Gerald Ford selected him to be his running mate in the 1976 presidential election which they would narrowly lose to Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale. In 1980, he made his first attempt to seek the GOP presidential nomination but dropped out following the New Hampshire primary during which he received less than 1% of the vote. In 1984, Dole became Senate Majority Leader when Howard Baker retired. When Republicans lost control of the Senate after the 1986 mid-terms, Dole became Senate Minority Leader. In 1988, Dole made his second attempt to attain the GOP presidential nomination. After winning in Iowa, Dole was soundly beaten by George H.W. Bush in New Hampshire and his campaign never recovered. Dole would regain the Senate Majority Leader title after the 1994 mid-terms which saw the GOP control both Houses of Congress for the first time in nearly four decades. 

In 1996, Dole resigned from the Senate in his third attempt at the GOP nomination. Dole finally got the brass ring despite being upset in New Hampshire by Pat Buchanan. However, Dole was soundly defeated as Bill Clinton breezed to re-election. Clinton graciously bestowed Dole with the Presidential Medal of Freedom shortly before his second inauguration.

Dole spent most of the past quarter century working as a lobbyist, writing books, appearing in TV commercials (including a Pepsi commercial with Britney Spears) and continuing the fight against world hunger which he started in the Senate no doubt influenced by a very different rock star in Harry Chapin. In 2018, he was bestowed with the Congressional Gold Medal. Dole was only the former GOP presidential nominee to endorse Donald Trump in 2016 and did so again in 2020. However, Dole firmly rejected Trump's claims of voter fraud and unhesitatingly recognized his longtime Senate colleague Joe Biden as the President of the United States. I leave you with Dole's speech from when he was bestowed with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1997. R.I.P.

U.S. Passes 49 Million COVID-19 Cases as Omicron Variant Spreads to a Dozen States

The United States has now passed 49 million COVID-19 cases. According to Johns Hopkins University, there have been 49,044,087 COVID-19 cases resulting in 788,180 deaths representing a mortality rate of 1.6%. 

After taking 11 days to go from 47 million to 48 million cases, it took 10 days to go from 48 to 49 million cases. There's a good chance it will take less than 10 days to get to hit the 50 million mark as the Omicron variant has now spread to a dozen states including Massachusetts, New York and Georgia. As it stands now, hospitals are facing nursing staff shortages. Some of it is a by-product of burnout and some of it is vaccine resistance among hospital staff themselves who would rather lose their jobs then get vaccinated. If hospital staff, who have seen the ravages of COVID firsthand, aren't prepared to get vaccinated then what are the chances of encouraging non-medical professionals who haven't already been vaccinated to get vaccinated?

At this point, if adding a million new COVID cases every 7-10 days is going to be the American way of life the only way I see being able to manage COVID is to have a proper regime of therapeutics. But you can be sure there will be resistance to therapeutics just as there has been resistance to vaccines, masking and social distancing measure. America, or at least a significant part of it, seems surely bent on committing suicide and ready to take down those of us who want to live.

Eddie Mekka is Gone But Carmine Raguso Lives On!!!

Actor Eddie Mekka, best known for his portrayal of Carmine Raguso on Laverne & Shirley from 1976 to 1983 passed away on November 27th. No cause of death was announced. Mekka was 69.

A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, Mekka earned a Tony nomination for starring in the Broadway production of The Lieutenant in 1975 before earning his breakout role on Laverne & Shirley the following year. Carmine Raguso was an Italian former Golden Gloves boxer who wanted nothing more to sing and dance and also involved in an on-again, off-again romance with Shirley Feeney. I didn't watch a lot of Laverne & Shirley but when I did I was most drawn to Carmine because he seemed like someone you would meet in real life. He looked like a Renaissance man you didn't want to fight. In particular, I remember his appearance on Happy Days when he and Fonz save Richie, Potsie and Ralph Malph from a street gang. It's not every fighter who sings Tony Bennett's "Rags to Riches" before he goes into battle. With Mekka's passing, Cindy Williams and Michael McKean (who played Lenny of Lenny & Squiggy) are the last surviving members of the original cast.

After Laverne & Shirley, Mekka worked primarily but appeared on TV sporadically with small roles in Moonlighting, Family Matters, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Crossing Jordan and ER. His onetime Laverne & Shirley co-star Penny Marshall cast him in a scene in A League of Their Own in which he danced with Madonna. I'm not sure why Mekka didn't get broader exposure after Laverne & Shirley but some people never get that kind of opportunity at all. At times we must be grateful for what we have. R.I.P.

The Omnicron Variant Arrives in the U.S. as COVID Cases Surge Yet Again

The first Omnicron variant of COVID-19 has reached the United States. The individual in question is a resident of California who returned from South Africa on November 22nd. Three days later, South African doctors revealed the Omnicron variant. The individual developed systems was tested on November 28th with a positive test coming on November 29th. 

This news comes as COVID is once again on the rise with Massachusetts recording its highly daily case total since January while New York City is seeing its highest hospitalization and death rates in 7 months. How much worse will the Omnicron variant make things?

Will Omnicron spread as quickly as the Delta variant?

Will it affect people under the age of 65 as much as people over the age of 65?

Will it result in increased hospitalizations and once again overburden the health care system?

Will our current vaccine regime withstand Omnicron?

And what of the nearly 40% of the U.S. population which refuses to be vaccinated?

It is utterly appalling that Republican Governors who refused to participate in President Biden's enhanced unemployment benefits program are perfectly happy to boost unemployment benefits to those who were fired from or quit their jobs as a result of refusing vaccines. Republican Governors and legislatures are now incentivizing vaccine resistance and otherwise self-destructive behavior.

I would plead to God help us, but we are on our own.

Charlie Baker is Just About The Last Republican For Whom I Would Vote

Today, Charlie Baker ended months of speculation when he announced that he would not be seeking a third term as Governor of Massachusetts. Lt. Governor Karyn Polito also announced that she would not seek a third term in office either. I am sorry to hear this news because Charlie Baker is just about the last Republican for whom I would vote. If I lived in Wyoming I would vote for Liz Cheney, but there's no guarantee Republicans will nominate her. 

I voted for Baker in his unsuccessful attempt to unseat Deval Patrick in 2010 and again in 2014 when he bested former Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley to be elected Governor. I would also cast a ballot for him again in 2016. Baker was not running for any office that year, but I wrote him in along with Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse my presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the 2016 election when I could not bring myself to vote for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. I'm a lot less disappointed in writing in Baker than I am with writing in Sasse.

I would have voted for Baker's re-election in 2018, but moved to New York a little over a month before the election. I was hoping that he would run so that I could vote for him one last time. But it is not to be. It's not that I agree with everything Baker does. Rather it is what he doesn't do.

First and foremost, Baker steadfastly refused to worship at the altar of Trump. Back in September 2020, Baker was among the first to blast Trump for refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he have lost the election. Baker also took Congressional Republicans to task on January 5, 2021 for refusing to certify the election stating unequivocally, "President-elect Joe Biden won the election fair and square." This would be an unremarkable statement except for the fact that you would be hard pressed to find many elected Republican officials willing to utter those words. Well, Trump lost the election and we all know what happened on January 6th. 

I also admire Baker for not behaving like other Republican Governors during the ongoing COVID pandemic. I returned to Massachusetts from Georgia the day the Bay State dropped its COVID restrictions. Although Baker did not reimpose statewide mask mandates when cases began to surge over the summer he did not prevent municipalities from implementing their own measures much less threaten to sue or impose other sanctions like Georgia's Brian Kemp, Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida have done. My goodness!!! Baker is actually a Republican who believes in local control.

Massachusetts State Rep. Geoff Diehl is now the frontrunner in the GOP gubernatorial race, but recently re-elected Taunton Mayor Shauna O'Connell is considering joining the race. Unlike Baker, Diehl and O'Connell and anyone else seeking the nomination would have to kiss Trump's ring along with his ass.

The top candidates currently in the Massachusetts Democratic primary are State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, former State Senator Benjamin Downing and Harvard professor Danielle Allen. There is a very good chance Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey will throw her hat into the ring now that Baker is out of the picture. Then there's former Boston Mayor and current U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh who reportedly wants to return to the Bay State to run for Governor.

While I won't vote for the Republican nominee, I won't necessarily vote for the Democratic nominee. I'm not going to vote for someone I don't like. If such a Democrat were nominated they would not need my vote anyway and even if a Republican did win they would have to contend with an overwhelmingly Democratic legislature in both Houses. 

Let me put it another way. If I were still in Georgia I would have no hesitation in voting for Stacey Abrams who today made it official that she will make a second attempt to run for Governor. Abrams needed my vote as Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock did in order to pass the American Rescue Act. This is not the case here in Massachusetts. Still, I am open to voting a reasonable Democrat. With Charlie Baker gone, there's no way in hell I am voting for an anti-vaxxer, insurrectionist supporting Trumpified Republican.