by Eric Dondero

Well, this didn't take long. The Boston Herald, Red Mass and other Mass GOP-oriented sites are reporting on the strong likelyhood that famed libertarian Republican State Senator from the South Coast (Weymouth), might very well be preparing for a run for the US Congress.

From the Herald:

Last night was a great victory for Scott Brown, the Commonwealth and the Republican Party. Republicans are energized and believing that once again we can win at the ballot box.

At the victory party, there was one question that people kept asking over and over again. It was: Who’s next? There many people last night thinking that they should now run for office. I expect you will see at least a dozen new candidates for the Massachusetts legislature.

The biggest proclamation came from Senator Bob Hedlund. He is seriously considering running against Congressman Bill Delahunt (photo getting a hug from Hugo Chavez). If Bob can capture the momentum of the Brown campaign, we could be saying –Bye bye, Bill — next November. Hedlund has always been a maverick and voted his conscience. On the other hand, Bill Delahunt has the same condition that took down Martha Coakley.

I've known Bob for over 20 years. He flew down with a staffer in 1994, to attend our first real national Republican Liberty Caucus convention held in Gatlingurg, Tennessee. He was one of two state legislators in attendance (45 attendees in all). The other being Michigan State Rep. Greg Kaza. (Though, Leon Drolet, Kaza's then Legislative Aide was also there, who would later become a legislator himself.) Bob then attended our second RLC convention a couple years later in DC.

He's also a friend of the Massachusetts Libertarian Party. He's attended numerous LP meetings and has been a speaker at LP conventions.

He's closely affiliated with the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), and other local Hemp organizations. Bob has been honored by these groups as being the Number One Pro-Marijuana Reform Republican in the U.S. He has spoken to large Hemp rallies in the Boston area.

Bob is a diehard Rock 'n Roller. He's not only purely libertarian ideologicically. He is a cultural libertarian through and through. He "sort of" plays in a rock band at special events. He pals around with the likes of Boston-area Rock stars and enthusiasts, and never misses a big concert.

Bob and I probably don't see eye-to-eye on foreign policy. He's a solid Ron Paulist. And he's been a Ron Paul fan since the early 1990s. But foreign policy is not something he emphasizes. He served as Ron Paul's State Campaign Co-Chair in his 2008 Presidential run. He even flew down to Florida to campaign for Paul, at the spur of the moment, during the primary there. Though, he's probably more along the lines of a pragmatic Rand Paul/Peter Schiff mode, than hardline non-interventionist.

But Bob has a pragmatic side. He is friends with Mitt Romney, and worked tirelessly with the former Governor on legislation. He was also influential behind-the-scenes, in getting his buddy and State Senate colleague Scott Brown to run for US Senate originally, back in the fall.

There's little doubt that if Bob does decide to run, and a decision could come in a few weeks, maybe even a few days, this could become the most important political race for the entire libertarian Republican movement nationwide for 2010.

If elected Bob Hedlund would instantly become one of the top four hardline libertarian Republicans in Congress, joining his friend Ron Paul, of course, Tom McClintock of California and Jeff Flake of Arizona.

My hunch, based on some personal conversations I had with him two months ago, is that it's a go.

Hat tip to our alert Libertarian Republlican readers who spotted this developing news. Photo of Bob right, with lead guitarist of the Scorpions.