Free Republic

BOSTON— A Republican who qualified yesterday to challenge Sen. Edward M. Kennedy said the longtime Massachusetts Democrat should be ousted from office because he is responsible for the Persian Gulf and Iraqi wars, despite voting against congressional authorization for each. Kenneth G. Chase, a language school owner from Belmont, said Kennedy — and not the Republican presidents who launched each war — was responsible because he had not insisted on an energy policy that weaned the United States from its dependence on foreign oil. “The nation’s at war, and the war was easily avoidable,” Chase said. “If we didn’t...

Last week, he introduced himself to 15 Republicans at Reading Public Library, 20 at ParkView Specialty Hospital in Springfield, and 12 assembled over slices at Caruso Pizza in Melrose. Thursday brought a welcome treat: 100 Republicans in a ballroom in Pittsfield, rapt and ready for his pitch. No crowd is too small, no event too far-flung for Kevin P. Scott, Wakefield Republican on a mission. The former selectman and member of the town Board of Public Works has been barnstorming the state hoping to be more David than Don Quixote. Despite the odds, he wants to unseat US Senator Edward...