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Sometimes the world of politics creates such a bizarre sequence of events that the voters are left with a candidate that is more of a cartoon character than a potential statesman.
Such is the case in the 11th Congressional District where the eccentric Kerry Bentivolio, who raises reindeer on his Milford ranch and seems to occasionally believe that he is truly Santa Claus, is the frontrunner to win a House seat in November.
If not for the disintegration of former 11th District congressman Thad McCotter’s career due to fraudulent nominating petitions that have spurred criminal charges against his onetime staff, Bentivolio, at this point in the campaign season, would be nothing more than an asterisk in Michigan political history.
But, with McCotter’s resignation, he became, by default, the Republican nominee in the 11th District, which covers territory in neighboring Oakland and Wayne counties.
The only respectable response to this debacle is for the GOP voters in the heavily Republican district to resign themselves to vote for the Democratic candidate, Dr. Syed Taj. In fact, Macomb Republicans should be mounting a campaign to convince their 11th District GOP brethren to, well, just do the right thing.
Hold your nose, if you have to, but plunk down your vote for the Democrat. In two years, this mess can be straightened out and a field of reputable GOP candidates will surely emerge to vie for the seat.
Until then, for numerous reasons, a Bentivolio victory would be a national embarrassment for the 11th District and the Michigan Republican Party. The candidate and part-time Santa doesn’t have a closet full of skeletons -- he has an entire room.
Here are some of the highlights of Bentivolio’s background:
• Several years ago, despite experience in engineering and auto design, Bentivolio raised his hobby of playing Santa at community events to a new level. He created a company, Old Fashion Santa, began dressing in a green Mr. Claus outfit – not the traditional red – and started raising reindeer on his property.
• When facing a lawsuit and testimony before a jury (more on that later) he uttered some amazing statements about believing he lived a dual life and perhaps needed mental health treatment. In a legal deposition, he reportedly blurted out, “I have a problem figuring out which one I really am, Santa Claus or Kerry Bentivolio.”
• He appeared in a low-budget 2011 movie, “The President Goes to Heaven,” in which he plays the head doctor as the president, modeled closely on George W. Bush, is forced to account for his actions in Washington as he lies dying in a hospital. Worse yet, the film seems to back the “truther movement” claim that the 9/11 attacks were an inside job by the Bush administration.
• In the 1990s, Bentivolio tried his hand as a residential builder and plunged into a thicket of financial and legal troubles. He reportedly owed $620,000 to a bank and 30 contractors and, in 1992, just as the economy was beginning to boom, he declared bankruptcy. As a result, he faced 16 lawsuits for failing to pay his bills. He was so down on his luck that, at one point, he turned to selling Amway products.
• Bentivolio eventually took a stab at teaching but when he was hired in 2004 by Fowlerville High School, things went sour after a couple of years. According to news reports, his tenure was marred by one unsatisfactory evaluation, two reprimands for claims of intimidating and inappropriate behavior with students, and a settlement with the school district before he resigned last June.
• Bentivolio has been a no-show at numerous political events since the GOP nomination fell into his lap due to McCotter’s meltdown. The League of Women Voters organized an 11th District debate and his Democratic opponent and four third party candidates participated, but Bentivolio was the only contender to take a pass. Even a prominent Lansing-based Republican consultant, Tom Shields, conceded that Bentivolio is “being kept under wraps” so that he doesn’t do something that provides more ammunition for the Democrats.
• After the McCotter departure, election officials were faced, by law, with holding two special elections – a primary and a general – so that the final six weeks of the former incumbent’s term of office could be filled. Numerous local officials stepped up to urge no one to file so that the $650,000 cost of holding these nonsensical elections could be avoided. But Bentivolio, who portrays himself as a fiscal conservative, waded in and others followed. He won the primary election in a Sept. 6 vote in which turnout was just 7 percent. Next, he will serve as the GOP nominee on the Nov. 6 ballot to secure the final weeks of McCotter’s term and, at the same time, to win election to serve two years in the House beginning in January.
To be clear, Taj, the Democratic nominee for the 2-year term, is probably out of his league. He appears to be a well-meaning candidate, a physician with a good reputation, but making the jump from the Canton Township board (his current office) to Congress is quite a leap. Frankly, Taj was supposed to be the party’s sacrificial lamb – a Democratic candidate in a solidly Republican district who helps fill out the ballot and runs a quiet, respectable campaign.
But his role has changed dramatically.
Republican voters should recognize that Taj has not engaged in left-wing politicking. But Bentivolio, who has cozied up to the conservatives in the tea party movement, opposed the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, favors deep cuts at the Pentagon, and wants to repeal the Patriot Act.
Given those leanings, it should be no surprise that Bentivolio’s true loyalties seem to reside with the Libertarian Party, not the Republicans. When he beat back an 11th hour write-in campaign in the GOP primary launched by former state senator Nancy Cassis, he was bankrolled by a libertarian Super PAC, Liberty For All, which was founded by a 21-year-old Texas college student. Liberty For All flooded the district with direct mail, robo-calls, and television ads in support of Bentivolio.
And if you doubt what a circus Bentivolio will create as a congressman, consider that his candidacy and claims of being Santa have drawn a stern response from a man who goes by the name Santa Claus and has official status in 15 states as a write-in presidential candidate. He demands that he, not Bentivolio, earn recognition as the real Santa on the ballot.
While Bentivolio remains largely out of sight, recognizing what a gift he will likely receive on Election Day, it’s significant that he was known to love the limelight in his role as Santa Claus at Yuletide events.
On Capitol Hill, God knows what kind of stunts he might pull while in the glare of the Washington spotlight, especially at Christmastime.
Maybe congressional aides dressed as elves. Or orchestrating a reindeer entrance onto the House floor, ala “Miracle on 34th Street” (modern version).
Oh, boy. Michigan may never live this down.
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