Former Red Sox ace and current 38 Studios honcho Curt Schilling is apparently considering a bid for the Senate seat left vacant by the recent death of Massachusetts Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy.
You wouldn’t think, at first blush, that a career as a professional baseball player – even a very good professional baseball player – would prepare a person for the demanding, high-pressure world of federal politics. But I suppose the same could be said about transitioning from pro sports to running a videogame development company and Schilling seems to be doing alright with that, so while he’s playing his cards close to the vest for the moment, the possibility of a leap into the political milieu doesn’t seem entirely implausible. A special election to fill Kennedy’s seat will take place in January.
“While my family is obviously the priority, and 38 Studios is a priority, I do have some interest in the possibility,” Schilling wrote on his blog. “That being said, to get to there from where I am today, many many things would have to align themselves for that to truly happen. I am not going to comment further on the matter since at this point it would be speculation on top of speculation.”
“My hope is that whatever happens, and whomever it happens to, this state makes the decision and chooses the best person, regardless of sex, race, religion or political affiliation, to help get this state back to the place it deserves to be,” he added.
While Schilling may be better known for his splitter than his ability to build consensus among disparate factions, he has espoused some rather firmly-held political views in the past. And although he’s eyeballing Kennedy’s seat, there’s very little chance that anyone will mistake him for the late Senator: In the previous election he actively supported the campaign of Republican candidate John McCain and in an interview posted earlier today he expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the current state of the country.
“The status quo sucks. The status quo is not working. This country is a mess,” he said. “I really don’t enjoy talking in broad generalities, but there’s so much wrong, and so much going on, that we are in desperate need of new blood and people who can walk in and make change and not have connections and ties to the old guard, and the old school, and be beholden to them.”
Source: GamePolitics
Published: Sep 3, 2009 05:04 pm