Marty Meehan: Losing it, not Using it

Political Wire is relaying a report from CQ Politics that has Rep. Marty Meehan retiring from the House to become the president of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. The special election which would follow is not one of particular concern, it's a solidly Dem district. However, as of the last federal report, Martin Meehan has $5,119,677 Cash on Hand. Where's it gonna go?

You may remember Marty Meehan from the Use It Or Lose It Campaign, when he kept more than $4 million on hand when he could have transferred unlimited amounts to the DCCC. You may also remember his endorsement of an editorial calling the Use It Or Lose It campaign "a nasty shakedown by rotten political scoundrels." Now it looks as though that money wasn't even being saved for a rainy day. I don't know about you, but I can think of a few congressional campaigns that would've been a better use of that money than absolutely nothing.

So maybe Marty Meehan just had a change of heart and decided that academia was his true calling. Or perhaps he doesn't like the idea that he isn't about to become a Senator and he's packing up his ball and going home. First Matt Stoller threw down the gauntlet for Meehan, vowing to fight any Senate campaign. Then John Kerry decided maybe he'll stick around the Senate for a while anyways. So now that he can't buy himself a Senate seat with all the money that he's squirreled away, suddenly Meehan has better things to do with his time.

So here's Meehan's last chance if the reports are true and he's on the verge of retiring. If I understand the rules correctly, all of that money can still be transferred without penalty to the DCCC. Contact Marty Meehan and find out what he plans to do with the $5,119,677 that he won't be spending on another campaign. And ask him whether he still thinks that not wanting to waste money is still "a nasty shakedown by rotten political scoundrels." And if he's still so vehemently opposed to helping his party and his country, then it's been nice knowing you Marty, enjoy Lowell, and don't let the door hit ya.