The Man From La Mancha: Robinson Continues his Quixotic Odyssey

Jack E. Robinson pushed forward with his unconventional U.S. Senate campaign last night, telling a crowd of 22 at MIT that "anything is possible if you put your mind to it"--including a victory in his seemingly impossible face-off against six-term Democratic incumbent Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56.

Robinson said his long-sought debate with Kennedy--who thus far has not publicly responded to Robinson's request for two debates--will soon become a reality.

"There are movements afoot to make this thing happen, and hopefully in the next week or so we'll be able to announce it," said Robinson, who is running as a Republican.

After getting stuck in Boston traffic, Robinson arrived 15 minutes late and promptly delivered a 15-minute stump speech detailing his stance on nearly every major issue.

Robinson, whose primary issue is education, said public schools are a "disaster" and proposed increases in charter schools and vouchers to help improve their performance.

"How do you fix the problem? You bring competition to the system," Robinson said.

"Vouchers are the great economic equalizer to help people at the bottom of the economic ladder have the education that they want," he added.

On campaign finance reform, Robinson said he wants to ban soft money, increase personal contribution limits and mandate full disclosure of contributions on the Internet, and threw a jab at his opponent in the process.

"Sen. Kennedy is the biggest soft-money recipient in the Senate, and he's against education reform because he's in the back pocket of the teachers' union," Robinson said.

He also proposed streamlining Medicare, increasing military readiness, paying off the national debt by 2012, and adopting a flat, across-the-board capital gains tax cut.

In a half-hour question-and-answer session following his speech, Robinson--a Law School and Business School graduate--advocated several ideas that made him sound Democratic, not Republican.

"I'm probably one of the few Republicans that have faith in the U.N., if they're run correctly," Robinson said, adding that the U.S. should pay the $1 billion it owes in dues. "The U.N. is the best policeman in the world to deploy in these hotspots and the U.S. should do what it can to support the U.N."

He said he is pro-life, but added he supports the distribution of RU-486--assuming it is safe--and is against the repeal of the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade.

"After 25 years of Roe v. Wade, I think a sudden change would be a cataclysm in this country," Robinson said.

On other issues, Robinson sounded decidedly Republican, proposing a missile defense system and strongly supporting the death penalty.

"Anyone who would go out and commit a capital crime deserves, in my mind, to suffer capital consequences," he said.

The Q & A session was lively, as several audience members sparred verbally with Robinson on different issues. When one student said that an across-the-board capital gains tax would disproportionately favor richer Americans, Robinson responded, "Even bus drivers have stock portfolios these days. You're not going to tell me that they're rich, are you?"

Going Against the Grain

The success of Robinson's candidacy has been hampered by scandals almost from the start.

In March, after the press focused on a series of embarrassing personal details from his past--including allegations of a drunk-driving arrest and a restraining order issued against him by his former girlfriend--Robinson lost the endorsement of both the statewide and national Republican establishment.

During the summer, Robinson appealed to the state Supreme Judicial Court before his 10,000 nominating signatures were finally approved and his name was reinstated on the ballot.

And in August, Robinson was involved in an automobile accident while conducting a radio interview from his cellular phone and was also pulled over for driving almost double the speed limit in Connecticut.

Last night, Robinson blasted the press's coverage of his campaign.

"As soon as I announced, all heck broke loose," he said. "Over a course of two to three weeks, we were pummeled in the press."

His campaign has also featured a full tour of all 351 Massachusetts cities and towns in his red 2000 Cadillac DeVille, and a headquarters based in cyberspace.

After his speech, Robinson reaffirmed the unorthodox nature of his campaign. Since his lone paid staff member resigned in September, citing philosophical differences, Robinson has relied entirely on volunteers--and cyberspace--to get his message across.

Robinson told The Crimson that he has stopped fundraising and will not run any television or radio ads.

"I haven't really done any fundraising in the last month," said Robinson, whose estimates his personal worth at $2 million. "If I need money, I'll write myself a check."

In the absence of ads, Robinson said his campaign will hinge on a successful debate performance against Kennedy.

"We'll let the debate determine the extent to which they support us," he said. "I'm confident there will be a debate, and we'll announce it in the next week or so."

And despite a Sept. 28 Rasmussen Research poll giving Kennedy a 63 percent to 18 percent lead in the race, Robinson is certain he will prevail on Nov. 7.

"We're in this to win," he said. "We're not just in it to make a statement."