Bill Delahunt, now in his 80s, is one of the most interesting Massachusetts electeds of this era.
Many don’t realize this because his style was to deflect, spread credit, search for common ground across the spectrum (something sorely missed). He held to a pragmatic idealism, projecting a misleading good-old-boy persona that made his many radical positions less alarming to opponents. He believed that trusted personal relationships, created in a space apart from ideology, could lead to better policy, and a better nation.
He also celebrated his profession, invoking the word some employ as a stinking pejorative:
“Politician,” and proud of it.
Bill cared less that right-wing talk show hosts railed about his unabashed friendship with Venezuela’s then-“dictator” Hugo Chavez, his late-night engagements with Cuba’s Fidel Castro, his denouncing the war in Iraq from the get-go.
Just as revealing were his spontaneous moments, no headlines, no posturing. Here’s a podcast so you can hear what I mean, and how one of those moments made for a lifelong memory:
Haven’t subscribed yet? Might I ask, with all due respect, “Why not?” Keep seeing a Voice (a cool trick), and hear podcasts too. For less than a cup of coffee, you get an offering like this (or not at all like this) every week. So please, keep me going, subscribe:
Podcast: Meeting the Dalai Lama, thanks to an irreverent Congressman