For those of us who love to see public figures scuffling, superblogger Tom Devine has a juicy bit about a brewing battle between U.S. Rep. Richie Neal and Jim Polito, the former Channel 40 investigative reporter who now hosts a talk radio show in Worcester.
In truth, most of the scuffling this far has been done by Polito, a love-’im-or-hate-’im personality who apparently hasn’t softened up during his time in central Mass. As Devine reports, Polito alleged on his show that he had been contacted by a Neal staffer to request that he interview the congressman on his show, broadcast on WTAG. Polito had earlier interviewed Tom Wesley, a Hopedale Navy veteran and businessman who’s seeking the Republican nomination for the seat held Neal in the November election. (Please note that in this era of Scott Brown, i refrain from calling it "Neal's seat.") The staffer allegedly suggested that Polito had gone easy on Wesley and that “Congressman Neal also receive a ‘break’ during his appearance, seeming to imply that Neal should be served only softball questions.”
That inspired a spirited response from Polito, who slammed Neal on his show for “taking the voters for granted” and vowed that if he does interview the congressman, it will be to ask him tough questions about his “failed policies.” Meanwhile, Wesley—no fool—has seized on the issue, sending out a campaign press release about the dust-up, and features a clip from Polito's show on his campaign website.
