By Brian Wright O’Connor
John Deaton understands underdogs. He grew up as one in an impoverished family, surviving on food stamps and welfare, in a tough Detroit neighborhood. His mother was stabbed. He survived years of sexual abuse, was held up at gunpoint on his first day of high school, and, like his siblings before him, became a drop-out.
But life took a turn for the better when a small Catholic school in the suburbs gave him a break on tuition and he became the only one in his immediate family to earn a high school diploma. College, law school, the U.S. Marines and business success eventually followed.
In spite of building a lucrative career and raising a family, Deaton, 59, now finds himself in the underdog role once again as the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate against longtime Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey.
La Hora Del Café interview
During a 90-minute appearance on El Mundo Boston’s award-winning “La Hora del Café” livestreamed morning news and feature show last week, Deaton shared his life story and political views with a lively studio crew and internet audience.
Running in a blue state where President Trump rates lower than the New York Yankees, Denton made clear from the outset of the show that he’s independent-minded and no fan of the White House occupant.
“MAGA voters don’t like me because I’ve never voted for Trump,” said Deaton. “I’ve never bent the knee to Donald Trump.”
Deaton, with his head smoothly shaved and sporting a goatee and an American flag pin on the lapel of his windowpane-patterned blue jacket, smiled amiably as show host Alberto Vasallo asked how the candidate expected to overcome the association of the GOP with the president in a state where Trump’s approval rating stands at an anemic 24% — driven down by the war with Iran and rising energy and household costs.
“People ask when will a Republican stand up to Donald Trump and I say here I am,” answeredDeaton. “But then they say, ‘Don’t vote for him. He’s a Republican.’”
Deaton vs Markey: Differences
Markey, 80, a sound-bite machine, is coming off a decisive Democratic primary victory over U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, whose campaign centered on the incumbent’s age, an issue Deaton largely ignores.
Deaton is fighting headwinds against a seasoned opponent and an electorate disinclined to give the GOP another vote in the 100-member chamber when Democrats have a shot of flipping Senate control – no matter how appealing they may find Deaton’s personal story, political stances and policy ideas.
The daunting odds haven’t kept him from showing up across the state, including over eight separate stops in Lawrence, where he has sought to boost his standing among Latino voters in his “People over Politics” campaign.
Latinos account for about 8% of total registered voters in the Bay State and about 13% of the population. “I served with many Latinos in the Marine Corps,” Deaton said, identifying with their values of “family, hard work, and faith”, which are staples of the Republican party.
Deaton’s journey: “Food Stamp Warrior”
While Deaton addressed his stances on health care, immigration, housing and other issues, he also spent the interview segment talking about his life story and how it relates to anyone who has suffered through poverty, family dysfunction and mental health challenges, which he detailed in his 2023 autobiography, “Food Stamp Warrior.”
“I grew up in Detroit. A single mother on welfare and food stamps. In extreme poverty. Had some challenges. If you look up where I grew up, it’s ranked in the top five worst neighborhoods in America the last 50 years,” he said.
“Unfortunately, I got raped for a period of two years by a child predator. My best friend died in my arms in a drive-by shooting by gang-bangers. I was a high-school dropout.”
But his mother, who bore six children by four different fathers, never stopped fighting for the family, he said. The Catholic school he eventually attended cut his tuition in half, but he had to play football and basketball, keep his grades up and work after school.
He earned a scholarship to Eastern Michigan University, survived testicular cancer and attended New England School of Law while living in Roxbury and working at Legal Sea Foods.
Enlisting in the Marine Corps during law school, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and served as a defense counsel and later as a chief prosecutor. He launched a private law practice in New England and successfully represented asbestos victims and cryptocurrency customers, building a multi-million dollar practice that he’s used to help finance his campaign.
“I am the American dream,” said Deaton, “and I’m running because I think it’s dying, it’s dying.”
A Republican who is willing to vote Democrat
Deaton blamed career politicians like Markey – first elected to Congress 50 years ago – for failing to address the nation’s challenges with bipartisan solutions that appeal to all Americans.
“I’m going to vote with Democrats on some issues and I’m going to vote with Republicans on some issues.”
He cited energy costs, saying nuclear energy should be in the mix as an efficient, reliable, emissions-free source. “But Markey doesn’t support it,” he said. “Even Maura Healey opened the door to nuclear.”
Deaton said that on health care, he would channel President Teddy Roosevelt’s trust-busting reforms at the dawn of the 20th century, breaking up the economic oligarchies that control 95% of health care and 85% of prescriptions to infuse more competition and lower prices into the marketplace now dominated by the oil barons and railroad tycoons of our era.
“My problem with Republicans is that they criticize Obamacare but don’t offer an alternative,” he said. “Your policy can’t be just to complain. My plan is to break it up.”
Immigration policy and ICE
Immigration, he said, “is one of those issues that career politicians don’t fix because if they fixed it, they couldn’t run on it.” Trump is guilty of that, he added, citing the president’s demand that senators working out a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill abandon the effort.
Deaton said he opposed ICE sweeps in the streets and would prefer to focus on deporting violent felons and protecting the borders.
“I support the policy that Barack Obama had,” he said, “of secure communities where the local law enforcement…worked with federal authorities to focus on people with final deportation orders who had committed felonies.”
Deaton added that Temporary Protected Status should be made permanent for Haitians and Venezuelans, among others, and Congress should follow the example of Ronald Reagan’s leadership in creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
“We need to give them legal status,” he said, praising the late Republican president.
Addressing the housing crisis and other issues
On housing, Deaton said using public lands and expanding the low-income housing tax credit could help create five million new homes in five years.
Unlike Markey, he added, he would work with whoever was president to achieve the goal, even, he added, with “AOC if she becomes president” – referring to fiery left-wing Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Deaton said he supported Capitol Hill reforms to limit senators to two six-year terms, ban insider stock-trading by federal legislators and limit lawmakers to single issues when they file bills.
Deaton, who moved from Rhode Island to Swansea, Mass., on the Southeast Coast, shortly before running against Warren, now lives in Bolton, a small Worcester County town along Route 495.
A U. S. Senator that is more accessible to Latinos than Markey
Deaton’s campaign initiated and enthusiastically pursued the La Hora del Café interview and his team also arranged for him to attend the Hispanic Heritage Breakfast, two places completely foreign to his opponent.
“The only way you can serve people is to understand what they’re going through and the only way to understand what they’re going through is if you’re talking to them and if you’re communicating with them,” said Deaton. He committed to doing one-one one interviews with any and all Latino media outlets on a consistent basis, if elected.
His goal, he said, is “to give people a voice”.
LL Cool Jay, Larry Bird and Rocky…
During a quick-answer survey at the end of the show, Deaton called Dr. J his favorite basketball star as a kid, but Black childhood friends told him it had to be a white player – so he chose Larry Bird.
Musically, he favored the country stars his mother listened to, like Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn, and the music of his predominantly African-American neighborhood, like LL Cool J and Tupac Shakur.
To no one’s surprise, he cited “Rocky” as his favorite movie. “I like underdogs,” said Deaton.
