Blowout at the Biltmore by John DePetro
Friday, July 02, 2010
It is always startling to witness the end of a dynasty and the proceedings at the Biltmore Hotel Monday night represented an ending of great significance for the storied Lynch family of Pawtucket. The endorsements of the Rhode Island Democrat party were being given out and the party's own former chairman turned congressional candidate Bill Lynch and his brother, Attorney General Patrick Lynch were at the losing end of a political blowout at the hands of their own party.
It is beginning to look like the Lynch brothers are the political Siamese twins of 2010, inextricably conjoined at the hip for better or worse, and Monday night was definitely for worse. Bill Lynch had said early on that "nobody knows how the public will respond" to the Brothers Lynch, but if Monday night is any indication of the primary voting public's preferences, the campaigns of both brothers look to be in trouble.
Start with Patrick, who seems to be the only person left in Rhode Island who believes he will be the next governor. Frank Caprio gave him the beating of his life in a blowout not seen since the first round of the NCAA tournament in 1987, when Syracuse had Lynch and Brown beat at half-time.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIt was very revealing that Patrick Lynch had Frank Montanaro introduce him for the endorsement. Frank Montanaro? Was Mayor Moreau of Central Falls unavailable? Tapping a decades-entrenched old-school union boss like Frank Montanaro to introduce oneself at such a pivotal moment spoke volumes about Patrick Lynch's reliance on the old (and tired) Democratic machine as his power base. It would have been better if the Attorney General had the crew from the landfill get up on the podium and speak highly of the man who allowed them to steal $75 million. The aging union boss who stayed a little too long (Montanaro) introducing the young aspiring gubernatorial candidate (Lynch) whose political future seems perhaps already long gone.
The evening further revealed that an arrogant Patrick Lynch apparently failed to call local town chairs to ask for their support, and then seemed surprised when he did not get it. Looks like the party faithful feel the boarded up homes of Central Falls could be a problem this campaign season.
The saddest face of the night belonged to the brother of the Attorney General, Bill Lynch. It is hard to imagine the former chairman of the party, the ultimate insider, could not pull out an endorsement over Providence Mayor David Cicilline. The only reason Cicilline is running for Congress is because he knew he could not get elected governor. Bill Lynch always stood by the troubled Patrick Kennedy, yet Kennedy was nowhere to be found Monday night when his loyal chairman and friend Bill needed him most.
The Irish mafia of Pawtucket got crushed by the Italians from Narragansett, and it was not even close. The message was heard loud and clear by all attending Monday night that the days of power may be numbered for the dynasty from Pawtucket.
John DePetro can be heard weekday mornings 6-10 am, on GoLocal media partner 630WPRO & 99.7, and podcasts of show highlights are found at 630wpro.com.
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