by Lonnie Brennan
Only in Massachusetts can you have this much fun in politics.
On the one hand, we have a long-time Democrat who has endorsed seemingly every extremist Democrat over the years suddenly trans-party his way into becoming a Republican (see related story), and on the other hand, we have a Trump hater. Yet, I repeat myself.
Senatorial candidate Ian Cain has made a name for himself as a mid-profile Democrat who calls it an “honor” and a “pleasure” to be in the presence of shower-with-his-daughter Joe Biden and fake Indian Elizabeth Warren. His e-mails proclaim that he is “gay and black.”
Meanwhile, we have an apparent multi-millionaire by the name of John Deaton who jumped over state lines just in time to establish residency to also run against the fake Indian. It’s estimated he dropped $200,000 paying signature gatherers to get him on the ballot. (“We’re getting $7 for every signature we collect,” one lady shared outside a local Market Basket; “usually, it’s only the unions who spend big money pushing their petition.”)
A Deaton surrogate told a local Cape Cod Republican committee that Deaton will not support Donald J. Trump. For his efforts, the guy got booed and cat-called, then retreated and was seen cowering in the corner trying to recover from the unexpected reaction. Shortly thereafter, Deaton headlined a fundraising event for the North Andover Republican Town Committee alongside MassGOP Chairwoman Amy Carnevale.
A State House News Service article suggested that Deaton would be Charlie Baker 2.0 (the former Democrat-enabling RINO governor and leading Trump hater of the state). Deaton touted his years at law school in Massachusetts, and prior residences in Roxbury, East Boston, and Malden as state creds to the News Service, which noted Deaton’s book, Food Stamp Warrior, which details the candidate’s impoverished upbring in Detroit.
While self-confession might be good for the soul, it’s rarely good for the reputation. A quick read through the book might not give Deaton the leg-up he may seek. Deaton related:
- How he was born with the gift of aggravation: he can get under the skin of even the calmest, most patient person. He can tease or irritate them until they can’t take it anymore. (And you thought Trump’s mean tweets were bad?)
- How he enjoyed walking naked past his college roommate to take a shower to drive the somewhat homophobic guy nuts.
- How he spent time in his 40s with cocaine and taking home 4-5 women a week: “After my divorce, I went on a coke-fueled sex bender that made Scarface look like a kid’s movie.”
- Childhood rapes – Shared the horrors of being raped eight to 10 times between the ages of nine and 11 by a black man who threatened him and his family.
- How he was a good flirt, and a good liar.
- Basketball rage when he was in law school. Shared how he egged on a steroid guy, who lost it and put him in a headlock. Deaton’s response: “My goal was simple: get both fingers deep enough into his eye socket, curl my fingers into a hook, and pull out his eyeball.” Fortunately, Deaton got tackled and pulled off the guy (whom he kicked in the face). He shared how he “looked around and said for everyone in the gym to hear, any motherf__er that touches me better be ready to die.” When the guy, nicknamed Woody, showed up at law school on Monday “with his face completely busted and with an eye swollen shut and looking like he had been in a car wreck, “I didn’t’ feel guilty one bit. I still don’t. All I did was talk s__t on the basketball court. He assaulted me twice. After the shove in the air, I gave a stern but fair warning. He chose to start the fight with me…”
Deaton has been described as a very powerful, high-energy, deep pockets lawyer whom one should never try to challenge. In his book, he makes a case that his rough upbringing made him what he is, pushed him to become better, pushed him to take no grief, pushed him to push back. He notes that the tattoos on his back say “No Fear” and “Never Quit” and “they are the two mottos that most define me and this crazy life I have led.” ♦
