Arthur Schaper: Mark Inman for US Senate (Really?!)

Friday, February 21, 2014

Arthur Christopher Schaper, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

J Mark Inman has a better chance of landing a spot in the band Radiohead, than winning the GOP primary, believes Arthur Schaper.

The 2014 Massachusetts US Senate race was not looking too good, at least to conservatives. Selectman Brian Herr had all the trappings (or traps) of the prior Republican US Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez, except more liberal, since Herr is pro-choice, as well as pro-gun control. Herr for Senate: Him?

In the past week, however, two more candidates have stepped up to run against incumbent Ed “Maryland” Markey. Boston small businessman Frank Addivinola, who ran for the MA-5 last December, announced his run via Facebook.

And then there’s J Mark Inman, now known as Mark Inman. This guy is something else. I first learned about this candidate not from Facebook (where he has posted his campaign website), but from YouTube.

That’s right: he was a contestant on X-Factor in 2011, where he did a cover of “Creep” by Radiohead.

Creepy? Actually, he was pretty good! (And I’m no “Radiohead”)

But as for running for US Senate against Markey, the word that comes to mind is. . .quixotic.

“Or ‘Kee-How-Tic’!” Inman offered to me.

He also corrected the way I pronounced “Worcester”, but I digress.

About quixotic, though, Inman agreed that was as pretty good word to describe his campaign:

Meaning? Exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical.

Now, I didn’t write “impossible”, and he certainly doesn’t think so, either. In fact, he will be collecting signatures in Cape Cod later this February to get on the ballot. Besides, I must admit, he was the first Republican candidate I contacted and who responded to me. Still, I had no idea what to expect.

I asked him the obvious question:

Why run?

I think of the state of politics today. People like Markey are really not the best people in terms of accomplishments. He’s inexperienced, and he comes off as a teenager compared to me (Inman is 34, by the way. Markey? I won’t bother).

We don’t need a wheeler and dealer. We need someone who is ethical, and interesting.

Markey, inexperienced? Actually, I could argue that point (as could the residents of Malden, Medford etc.) As far as interesting is concerned, that definitely describes Inman, to an I.

I asked him about his political experience.

The candidate quite candidly answered:

I have no prior experience outside of high school. I was the Vice President my senior year. I graduated from Westborough High School in 1998.

An outsider, to say the least.

I wanted to know about his politics, why he was running as a conservative candidate. Sharing a personal account, he talked about his visits to his “Nanny” when he was a child, and from the ages of ten to thirteen, he learned a lot from her son:

Her son introduced me to Limbaugh.

Rush Limbaugh: conservative as it gets (no fluke). Will that admission make Inman the man to win the GOP primary?

As for being a registered Republican, Inman shared how that came later:

I had been an Independent who voted Republican or Libertarian. I registered Republican after Barack Obama took office.

Honestly, lots of people got active when Obama got elected, then Obamacare rolled out (or rather, rolled over) the masses.

About his values, he shared:

I am conservative because I believe in liberty, egalitarianism, and reason as the rule of law.

His views sounded off fiscally conservative, but socially liberal (or libertarian). On taxes, he was right on the money: Eliminate the income tax. On the Second Amendment, he didn’t shoot blanks:

I am absolutely for the second amendment. No republic can exist without the right to bear arms.

On abortion, he supported Roe v. Wade, as he honors the right to privacy rendered in the decision. Regarding marriage, he believes that issue should be left to the states, but he respected the status quo.

I asked him plainly, “Do you have a chance of winning?”

Telling in his self-confidence, Inman answered:

There is no chance of me losing at this point. Of all the candidates, I am the most qualified.

Inman earned a PhD in the Philosophy of Science from European Graduate School, he produces his own movies, writes his own music, but other than running for student council, this guy’s political experience is, well. . .quixotic!

He answered, nonetheless:

I have studied ethics – no one in politics is ethical, on the surface it seems.

Then offered:

I shouldn’t be the most qualified, but I am, and that is most unfortunate. I have acting skills, which translate to stage presence. That’s good for a candidate. I am an improvisational actor. I am an artist, I can produce my own advertisement campaign.

Great – but how does that measure up with running for US Senate? He acknowledged loaning himself ten thousand dollars, which will help him produce campaign videos, but he needs more money for air time.

So, about Mark Inman’s chances of winning the GOP primary, let alone besting Markey. . .Not that anyone’s tilting at windmills, mind you (anything that turns with the wind but produces rather than taxes would be better than Markey), but at this stage, Inman has a better chance of getting in. . .Radiohead!

Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance. Follow him on Twitter @ArthurCSchaper, reach him at [email protected], and read more at Schaper's Corner and As He Is, So Are We Ministries.