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Here is my Sunday column …
Sometimes the world of politics creates such a bizarre
sequence of events that the voters are left with a candidate that is
more of a cartoon character than a potential statesman.
Such is
the case in the 11th Congressional District where the eccentric Kerry
Bentivolio, who raises reindeer on his Milford ranch and seems to
occasionally believe that he is truly Santa Claus, is the frontrunner to
win a House seat in November.
If not for the disintegration of
former 11th District congressman Thad McCotter’s career due to
fraudulent nominating petitions that have spurred criminal charges
against his onetime staff, Bentivolio, at this point in the campaign
season, would be nothing more than an asterisk in Michigan political
history.
But, with McCotter’s resignation, he became, by default,
the Republican nominee in the 11th District, which covers territory in
neighboring Oakland and Wayne counties.
The only respectable
response to this debacle is for the GOP voters in the heavily Republican
district to resign themselves to vote for the Democratic candidate, Dr.
Syed Taj. In fact, Macomb Republicans should be mounting a campaign to
convince their 11th District GOP brethren to, well, just do the right
thing.
Hold your nose, if you have to, but plunk down your vote
for the Democrat. In two years, this mess can be straightened out and a
field of reputable GOP candidates will surely emerge to vie for the
seat.
Until then, for numerous reasons, a Bentivolio victory would
be a national embarrassment for the 11th District and the Michigan
Republican Party. The candidate and part-time Santa doesn’t have a
closet full of skeletons — he has an entire room.
Here are some of the highlights of Bentivolio’s background:
•
Several years ago, despite experience in engineering and auto
design, Bentivolio raised his hobby of playing Santa at community events
to a new level. He created a company, Old Fashion Santa, began dressing
in a green Mr. Claus outfit – not the traditional red – and started
raising reindeer on his property.
• When facing a lawsuit
and testimony before a jury (more on that later) he uttered some amazing
statements about believing he lived a dual life and perhaps needed
mental health treatment. In a legal deposition, he reportedly blurted
out, “I have a problem figuring out which one I really am, Santa Claus
or Kerry Bentivolio.”
• He appeared in a low-budget 2011
movie, “The President Goes to Heaven,” in which he plays the head doctor
as the president, modeled closely on George W. Bush, is forced to
account for his actions in Washington as he lies dying in a hospital.
Worse yet, the film seems to back the “truther movement” claim that the
9/11 attacks were an inside job by the Bush administration.
•
In the 1990s, Bentivolio tried his hand as a residential builder and
plunged into a thicket of financial and legal troubles. He reportedly
owed $620,000 to a bank and 30 contractors and, in 1992, just as the
economy was beginning to boom, he declared bankruptcy. As a result, he
faced 16 lawsuits for failing to pay his bills. He was so down on his
luck that, at one point, he turned to selling Amway products.
•
Bentivolio eventually took a stab at teaching but when he was
hired in 2004 by Fowlerville High School, things went sour after a
couple of years. According to news reports, his tenure was marred by one
unsatisfactory evaluation, two reprimands for claims of intimidating
and inappropriate behavior with students, and a settlement with the
school district before he resigned last June.
• Bentivolio
has been a no-show at numerous political events since the GOP
nomination fell into his lap due to McCotter’s meltdown. The League of
Women Voters organized an 11th District debate and his Democratic
opponent and four third party candidates participated, but Bentivolio
was the only contender to take a pass. Even a prominent Lansing-based
Republican consultant, Tom Shields, conceded that Bentivolio is “being
kept under wraps” so that he doesn’t do something that provides more
ammunition for the Democrats.
• After the McCotter
departure, election officials were faced, by law, with holding two
special elections – a primary and a general – so that the final six
weeks of the former incumbent’s term of office could be filled. Numerous
local officials stepped up to urge no one to file so that the $650,000
cost of holding these nonsensical elections could be avoided. But
Bentivolio, who portrays himself as a fiscal conservative, waded in and
others followed. He won the primary election in a Sept. 6 vote in which
turnout was just 7 percent. Next, he will serve as the GOP nominee on
the Nov. 6 ballot to secure the final weeks of McCotter’s term and, at
the same time, to win election to serve two years in the House beginning
in January.
To be clear, Taj, the Democratic nominee for the
2-year term, is probably out of his league. He appears to be a
well-meaning candidate, a physician with a good reputation, but making
the jump from the Canton Township board (his current office) to Congress
is quite a leap. Frankly, Taj was supposed to be the party’s
sacrificial lamb – a Democratic candidate in a solidly Republican
district who helps fill out the ballot and runs a quiet, respectable
campaign.
But his role has changed dramatically.
Republican voters
should recognize that Taj has not engaged in left-wing politicking. But
Bentivolio, who has cozied up to the conservatives in the tea party
movement, opposed the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, favors deep cuts at the
Pentagon, and wants to repeal the Patriot Act.
Given those
leanings, it should be no surprise that Bentivolio’s true loyalties seem
to reside with the Libertarian Party, not the Republicans. When he beat
back an 11th hour write-in campaign in the GOP primary launched by
former state senator Nancy Cassis, he was bankrolled by a libertarian
Super PAC, Liberty For All, which was founded by a 21-year-old Texas
college student. Liberty For All flooded the district with direct mail,
robo-calls, and television ads in support of Bentivolio.
And if
you doubt what a circus Bentivolio will create as a congressman,
consider that his candidacy and claims of being Santa have drawn a stern
response from a man who goes by the name Santa Claus and has official
status in 15 states as a write-in presidential candidate. He demands
that he, not Bentivolio, earn recognition as the real Santa on the
ballot.
While Bentivolio remains largely out of sight, recognizing
what a gift he will likely receive on Election Day, it’s significant
that he was known to love the limelight in his role as Santa Claus at
Yuletide events.
On Capitol Hill, God knows what kind of stunts he
might pull while in the glare of the Washington spotlight, especially
at Christmastime.
Maybe congressional aides dressed as elves. Or
orchestrating a reindeer entrance onto the House floor, ala “Miracle on
34th Street” (modern version).
Oh, boy. Michigan may never live this down.
