Before ‘Decoy Dan,’ There Was a ‘Decoy Joe’
Kim Strassel’s “ ‘Decoy Dan’ Is Peltola’s Alaska Plant” (Potomac Watch, Oct. 29) is a good reminder that history repeats itself. In 1946, two of John F. Kennedy’s opponents for the Democratic primary in the Massachusetts 11th district were both named Joe Russo. One was a city councilor and funeral parlor owner who was a formidable and popular opponent—and one of the first Italian immigrants to hold public office in Boston and elected to four terms. The other, a late comer to the ballot, a local school janitor.
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The 27-year-old Joe Russo janitor was hired and paid by the Kennedy campaigner Joseph Kane, according to the West End Museum. While the gambit had no material effect on the election as Kennedy beat both Joes handily, it was a harbinger of other tricks later on in JFK’s political career.