The Sean Bielat campaign has declared themselves within reach of unseating Barney Frank in Massachusetts’ 4th CD, one of the presumed safest districts for Democrats in the nation. The poll, conducted for the campaign by OnMessage, shows Frank falling below the 50% mark despite the D 14 composition of his constituency. Bielat comes within nine points, even though the poll shows that he still badly trails in name recognition.
It seems the DCCC agrees that MA-04 is getting a bit too close for comfort; they've dispatched one of their highest-wattage stars up to the Bay State to campaign at Frank's side:
The 42nd president of the United States stumped for U.S. Rep. Barney Frank in the Taunton High School fieldhouse Sunday afternoon, warning a crowd of about 2,300 that if the Republican opposition gains power in November’s elections, they will increase the national deficit and weaken the American economy.
Former President Bill Clinton said voters need to give President Barack Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress enough time to undo the damage wrought by former President George W. Bush.
Try to set aside for a moment Clinton's risible comments about the deficit and his predictable paint-by-numbers Bush blaming. What's most significant here is not the substance of what Bill Clinton said at the Barney Frank rally. It's the mere fact that Democrats believe Bill Clinton is needed at rally for a Congressman who sailed to re-election in 2008 by a 2-to-1 margin, and ran unopposed in 2002, 2004, and 2006.