Fran Becker

As a general rule of thumb political candidates don’t run negative ads against their opponents unless they are feeling pressed. Negative ads, while often effective, turn off a lot of voters. Studies have shown that it tends to lower voter turnout especially among independents. Actually, some candidates want this as it will improve the chances of them being elected. Only their loyalists will turn out as everyone else is repulsed by the negativity.

Incumbents don’t usually want to resort to running negative ads against their opponent for another reason. It gives the challenger more name recognition and transforms a “nobody” into somebody.

The timing of negative ads gives a clue as to how the incumbent is feeling about his or her chances. The earlier the mud starts to fly, the more trouble the incumbent is in.

Carolyn McCarthy who is finishing up her 7th term of office must be feeling the heat. She has started to go negative against her opponent Fran Becker. With luck, instead of turning off the independent voter, it will piss them off and they will vote for Becker. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

Fran Becker is running this ad in his race against Carolyn McCarthy. I don’t know how they found the location but, damn!, that’s an effective ad.

H/T Sebastian

Sebastian of SnowFlakesInHell has a report on a poll showing Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Brady Campaign) in a statistical tie with her Republican challenger Fran Becker. McCarthy’s supports seems to be dropping more and more as the election approaches. As would be expected, McCarthy is dismissing the poll results saying it is a private poll and not reliable. They insist Becker is no threat to McCarthy.

So who is Francis X. “Fran” Becker, Jr.? He is a financial planner who owns a practice, Becker and Associates Planning Services, in Lynbrook, New York. He holds the Certified Financial Planner™ designation. Becker is an eight-term member of the Nassau County Legislature representing District 6.

Becker has been married to his wife Clementine for over 36 years. They have three grown daughters and six grandchildren. He has been active in community affairs ranging from the Knights of Columbus to raising money for the Cerebral Palsy Foundation.

Given that Carolyn McCarthy has always vied with Sarah Brady to be the Queen Bee of Gun Control, Becker’s position on the Second Amendment is, of course, of interest. Would a vote for Becker be just trading one gun controller for another given the proclivities of northeast Republicans? In a word, no. Becker is pro-gun and says this on the issue:

Second Amendment

I am a Constitutional Conservative. While we must keep guns out of the hands of children and criminals, the Second Amendment clearly states that every law-abiding citizen has the Constitutional right to bear arms for their own safety and protection.

In one of those weird quirks of fate, I know Fran Becker. He and I were participants together in the Financial Planning Association’s Residency Program back in 2004. This was an intense, week-long small group training program where we worked with some of the best and most experienced financial planners in the business. I remember Fran as strong in his faith, conservative, well-versed in financial matters, and anxious to get home to his family.

According to OpenSecrets.org, McCarthy holds a huge financial advantage over Becker. She has raised over a half million dollars from PACs such as the Brady Campaign’s PAC and numerous unions including the thugs at SEIU. If you want to help Becker out, you can make a donation here. I did and really encourage you to do so as well for two reasons. Fran is a good guy and Congress would be better off without someone who thinks a barrel shroud is “that shoulder thing that goes up.”