First in a series
Though it is not difficult to convince political junkies to drool, the intriguing Westside-South Bay showdown this election season between U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, believed to have been the inspiration for the legendary television series “The Untouchables,” and retired businessman Bill Bloomfield Jr., a proud Independent, may force junkies to wear out a lifetime supply of baby-sized bibs.
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Or maybe it was “The Untouchables” who inspired Mr. Waxman’s career on the Congressional stage. It almost stretches back to the Founding Fathers, whom Mr. Waxman may have known.
Still to be determined is whether Mr. Bloomfield, his competition for the second or third safest seat in Congress, is authentically distinct from the lopsided losers who have dared confront Mr. Waxman on past Election Days.
He swears he is.
A shiny-headed peanut-sized Democrat giant, Mr. Waxman has been scaring off potential opponents since his hair was as prominent as his status. Re-elected 18 times, he never has won less than 61 percent. He has not faced a sober challenge since do-do birds competed in the Kentucky Derby.
Getting to Know Him
Mr. Bloomfield, a freshman politician, sometimes seems to be talking circularly because he regularly returns to his main theme – that he left his lifetime affiliation in the Republican party and registered as a trumpet-blowing Independent because he means to smother Washington hyper-partisanship and place the good of the country ahead of ideology.
“I am running because I am worried about the future of our country,” Mr. Bloomfield said yesterday at the dinner hour in a Manhattan Beach restaurant. “As you know, we have great problems. We always have had big problems. But what we haven’t had is a completely dysfunctional Congress, the first branch of government. Our solutions rely on a Congress that works. If Congress isn’t working, problems just get pushed off and grow, whether it’s the economic recovery or the budget deficit.”
A seemingly stout rival and getting acquainted with reconfigured territory might worry an ordinary Congressman, a label that fits Mr. Waxman the way a suit four sizes too small would.
Getting used to a newly redrawn district that brings him into the friendly, Democrat-dominated South Bay for the first time, Mr. (What, Me Worry?)Waxman turns 73 years old next Wednesday. No one has doubted for decades that when he leaves, it will be on his terms. And his present opponent is much too mature to be branded an upstart.
But this is a story about 62-year-old Manhattan Beach resident Bill Bloomfield (bloomfieldforcongress.com).
He presents as quite unlike anyone Mr. Waxman has encountered in this or other centuries.
The McCain Connection
A Westside native, Mr. Bloomfield, hugely accomplished in entrepreneurial and other areas, retired a few years ago. His most committed previous foray into politics came in 2008 when he played a recognizable role in John McCain’s Presidential campaign. Mr. McCain is scheduled to return the favor this time.
Still to be determined, however, is the precise fabric of Mr. Bloomfield’s threat – how prodigious is it?
Oh, he is serious enough about desiring to topple The Untoppable One.
How he is going about it, though, is not as clear as, say, your GPS.
Philosophically, he is on fire when he speaks – he speaks and speaks, rewinds and speaks more – about what he is going to do when he gets to Washington.
Tall, lean and handsome, his hair would make Mr. Waxman drool.
Specifics, though, are elusive.
(To be continued)
