I'd be remiss if I didn't post a link to this Esquire profile of Eric Massa. It's full of equal parts sadness and crazy talk, and unfortunately it looks like Massa is thinking about writing a book about his whole experience.
My take is that nobody will be interested in a book full of fanciful conspiracy theories and implausible denials. If Massa decides to be honest about his personal struggle, perhaps that book will attract some readers.
Comments
Wow, what a read. I love this line referring to his asking for a "secret meeting" to tell the press about his knowledge about a coup d'etat being planned by Dick Cheney: "He also managed to impress upon us something else: Congressman Eric Massa was a little bit crazy."
Oh, and for a guy who at fundraisers would make fun of Randy Kuhl for his drinking problems, this was interesting... one night after "drinking with some staff members," then-Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) "took an Ambien and ended up" at the Washington Monument at 4 am "before texting his guys that he couldn't find his way home."
If you can't find your way home from the Washington Monument in DC... you're pretty effed-up.
Apparently Massa isn't familiar with Ike. That wasn't exactly the end of democracy.
I wonder to what extent Massa was being hounded by the press, as in the whole can-you-get-our-mail bit at the end. If so then it's much more understandable. If not... wow.
Thanks so much for pointing out this piece. Actually, near-melodramatic as it's presented (by Massa himself, natch) the notion of him "doing something to himself" has crossed my mind many times during this ordeal. I just can't imagine what life must be like, right now, for him and his family. He was such a spectacular figure, doing the unimaginable by winning a seat in Congress from our district...and during a Presidential election year, no less. A "short" 40 years ago that would have been unimaginable. Even Stan Lundine, prior Democrat to represent the district, was elected in a special election (prompted by resignation of then-Rep. James Hastings). Massa did it in a general.
And it would appear that Massa did it by lying his way to the end... who knows what to believe. You can't just say he was amazing prior to March 2010 and crazy afterwards. In retrospect, I really wonder how much of what he said was actually true, ever?
One thing about that article is that it's a magazine, so the events it covers happened a couple of months ago. Who knows what crazy stuff he's doing now.
It sort of, well...makes you feel "saddened" for Randy. Can you imagine having to carry around the realization that you, after so many years of public service and as a native of the area no less, were defeated by THIS guy?!?
Sort of, and he certainly had issues of his own to contend with, but did so arguably much better than Massa. 29th District elections in the Kuhl v. Massa years were the choice between two sad choices -- Randy won the first and Massa won the second. Let's hope the trend doesn't continue and some more dynamic candidates emerge. Although looking at the state of our state budget, redistricting, and the acrimony of the last two elections, the atmosphere now in Washington -- especially the Congress -- its no wonder better people don't want to do it.
I've known Eric Massa for the better part of 30 years as our paths crossed more than once during our mutual naval careers. I even served in the same ship with him for a year. Not to put too fine a point on things, but he's always been the loosest of canons; period. This sounds so typical, except that instead of making a wardroom of fellow officers roll their eyes, he's got an entire country doing it; and well they should. He needs to show the good grace to just fade away.
That's a really funny misuse of words in this case -- canons instead of cannons. Funny on a few levels...
Weird siting, Eric Massa, in a Yankees ball cap, jeans, sneakers and a blue plaid shirt is sitting right now in the Starbucks on the 600 block of Monroe Ave, pecking away at a laptop with what appears to be a nervous twitch.
To make it more bizarre, Bob Vanwicklin, former Chief of Staff to Randy Kuhl and Amo Houghton, is sitting in the easy chair next to Massa's, pecking away on a blackberry in a black suit, white shirt, purple tie, and sunglasses on his head (without a nervous twitch).
They seem to be oblivious of each other's presence, which is shocking to me.