Lynch to Appear at Drinking Liberally

Drinking Liberally, the lefty drinking club, will be hosting Congressional candidate Bill Lynch at the Wild Colonial bar Wednesday nigt at 8 p.m. The event is free. Should provide an early glimpse of Lynch on the stump - and an early test of his appeal to the party's progressive wing.

Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, also in the race to succeed Patrick Kennedy, should have a natural purchase on this constituency given his history as a liberal legislator and broader progressive image. But Lynch has had the freedom as party chairman, in recent years, to speak robustly in favor of lefty goals like gay marriage, while elected officials like Cicilline - who is, of course, gay - have had to be a bit more circumspect.

Early indications are that Lynch will stick to a few strong progressive talking points. But he's also sought to tamp down his reputation as a partisan in the midst of public distaste with bickering in Washington. And moving too far to the left could alienate his relatively moderate geographic base in Blackstone Valley.

Cicilline will make a Drinking Liberally appearance in March or April, at a date still to be determined. Apperances before the club have generated buzz in the blogosphere and ProJo in recent months. Of particular note, an appearance by independent gubernatorial candidate Lincoln Chafee that fell rather flat.