"In Democratic Party, some outsiders get their turn" by Jim O’Sullivan | Globe staff September 11, 2014
"Incumbents held on throughout the rest of the state, beating back contenders from within their own party."
Headline seems kind of misleading, doesn't it?
For all the rhetoric about togetherness at the Democrats’ traditional postprimary breakfast, much of the crowd looked bewildered Wednesday morning as candidates they knew little about, and in some cases had actively worked against, took their turn in the spotlight.
Governor Deval Patrick, Mayor Martin J. Walsh of Boston, Senate President Therese Murray, four former attorneys general, two sitting congressmen, and the state AFL-CIO had all endorsed former state senator Warren Tolman, who had run two previous statewide campaigns and who remains a popular figure on Beacon Hill.
Tolman wound up losing to first-time candidate Maura Healey by more than 24 points in the attorney general primary.
It was not the only race in which the establishment’s choice fell short.
In the Sixth Congressional District, newcomer Seth Moulton, a 35-year-old Iraq War veteran, unseated nine-term US Representative John Tierney, despite a crush of last-minute pleas on Tierney’s behalf from party luminaries like Senator Elizabeth Warren, US Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III, former congressman Barney Frank, and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi.
Moulton, whose victory was the biggest upset Tuesday, went largely unnoticed at the party’s breakfast. His contentious primary with Tierney may have opened wounds with party leaders that will need attention before the general election.
“It’s a new generation of political leaders coming along, and the public is very discerning,” said the state Senate’s majority leader, Stanley C. Rosenberg, himself expected to become Senate president next year, while leaving the Omni Parker “unity breakfast.”
“The public in general is open to new people, new ideas, new thoughts,” he said.
I am the pulse of the public.
The attorney general and congressional races were the most dramatic examples of primary elections that, by any measure, served notice to the state’s Democratic political hierarchy that the rank-and-file do not regard its preferences as binding.
But even in the race to succeed Patrick, much of the Beacon Hill crowd backed the losing candidate. Treasurer Steve Grossman had the support of much of the party heirarchy, but voters chose — albeit by a slimmer-than-expected margin — Attorney General Martha Coakley, a political veteran who had fallen out of favor with large swaths of the political establishment.
Oooh!
Related: The case for a Coakley victory
I think I just saw one, but the advice is she has to "draw out the troops" as Patrick's failure of a tenure is promoted.
Perhaps most ominously for party powerbrokers, Tuesday’s turnout was a paltry 16 percent, most likely dominated by party diehards, and even they bucked the party leadership.
“I haven’t figured it out yet,” said Steven Tolman, president of the state AFL-CIO and brother of Warren. “On the big picture, it was the women’s day.”
See: Women making progress in Mass. politics
Pretty easy to make progress when the record is so abysmal.
Indeed, female candidates account for four of the Democrats’ six nominees for constitutional office.
Secretary of State William F. Galvin ran unopposed, and Stephen J. Kerrigan, who, like Healey, would be the state’s first openly gay statewide officeholder, ran in a field of three men. Also unopposed was Auditor Suzanne M. Bump, while Deb Goldberg won the Democratic nomination for state treasurer.
Oh, no, I voted for another gay.
"Hundreds of volunteers stuffed sweat socks, foot powder, snacks, and letters of encouragement into care packages destined for active servicemen and women and veterans to honor those lost on Sept. 11 and the war against terrorism waged in its wake. Standing amid the swirl of activity on the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway in downtown Boston was Steve Kerrigan, president of the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting military families of those who have been killed in action after 9/11. The group had organized this day of service. On one of the country’s most somber days, Kerrigan, whose adult life has been steeped in politics, puts it aside to focus on the lives affected by the terrorists’ attack."
No discrimination when it comes to worshipping conventional myths and mind-manipulating trigger narratives.
Political insiders watched a disorienting scenario unfold last week after Patrick recorded an online video making the somewhat less-than-full-throated case for Tolman’s candidacy. Healey managed to package Patrick’s endorsement into her closing argument that Tolman was the insiders’ candidate, a far cry from how Patrick was characterized in 2006, when he ran, successfully, as the quintessential outsider.
Healey’s campaign was so strapped for cash and resources at the end of the primary that, to festoon the Omni Parker breakfast, her staff said they were forced to salvage campaign signs from their election-night party at the Fairmont Copley Plaza.
That's another reason to vote for her. $ee where the money, e$tablishment, and in$iders are not. She worked for Coakley, right? Don't get me wrong, that is not to say women can't be rolled by TPTB, but maybe a little le$$ able blackmail.
Longtime Patrick backers said the momentum Healey built against Tolman reminded them of the way Patrick overwhelmed Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly and longtime Democratic leader Chris Gabrieli in 2006. Starting with minimal name recognition, Patrick racked up support among the grass roots and soared to a resounding primary victory before beating the Republican lieutenant governor, Kerry Healey, in November.
Before Patrick became governor, Kerry Healey was the only one of the state’s six constitutional officers who was not a white male. Patrick’s army took great pride that year in the small measure of support he derived from the party’s powers-that-be, a sentiment echoed Wednesday by supporters of Healey and Moulton.
Troops, armies, politics, gotcha.
Party leaders were quick to dismiss the relevance of bold-name endorsements.
“I think sometimes there’s too much credence given to elected officials,” said Walsh, who invited Maura Healey to a conciliatory breakfast early Wednesday morning. Walsh’s embrace of Tolman did not prevent Healey from winning the capital city by nearly 11 points.
“I read in the paper yesterday about my predecessor, how he elected a lot of people,” Walsh said, referring to Thomas M. Menino.
“He didn’t elect them himself. No one elected me. I elected myself. We worked hardest. You need the whole team together.”
Yeah, yeah, you keep believing that, Marty. Just make sure you don't step on certain toes.
--more--"
"Gubernatorial campaigns put strategies in motion" by Michael Levenson and David Scharfenberg | Globe staff September 11, 2014
Coakley’s vanquished rivals among the Democrats quickly pledged their support at the party’s unity breakfast.
*****************
Steve Kerrigan, the nominee for lieutenant governor who is openly gay, touched on another important constituency when he said the Democrats who won contested primaries Tuesday could be known as “three women and a gay guy,” sparking loud cheers.
:-(
Democrats are worried about polls that show some voters who supported Coakley’s closest competitor in the primary, Steve Grossman, might back Baker in November.
Murray Vetstein, a 57-year-old sales representative from Middleborough, is one them.
He said he voted for Grossman Tuesday but will support Baker in the general election. He called Baker and Grossman “super intelligent and probusiness,” and said he doesn’t see those qualities in Coakley.
“I’m sure she’s intelligent,” he said. “I’m just not impressed with her.”
At the breakfast, a bleary-eyed ritual of forced smiles and crafted compliments, Grossman urged his supporters to stick with the Democratic nominee....
That's gross, man.
--more--"
Related: My Vote Mattered
It will not next time.
Also see:
Seth Moulton win forces Richard Tisei to run as insider
Seth Moulton picks up endorsements, hits the trail in US House race
Brown, Shaheen general election campaigns get underway early
"Charlie Baker, Martha Coakley try to win over disaffected Democrats" by Jim O’Sullivan and Michael Levenson | Globe staff September 13, 2014
QUINCY — Republican gubernatorial nominee Charlie Baker made a full-blown push Friday to secure backing from Democratic leaders who have shied away from supporting their party’s nominee, Attorney General Martha Coakley.
Baker courted two Democratic South Shore mayors and a Chinatown power broker, not winning their endorsements outright but hoping to flash the bipartisan appeal crucial to his chances for victory in November.
“We’ve worked very hard to not make partisanship a fundamental part of our campaign,” Baker said outside Quincy City Hall, standing with Mayor Thomas Koch and John Barrett, the former Democratic mayor of North Adams.
Coakley, meanwhile, worked both publicly and privately to demonstrate party unity on Friday. In Charlestown, her campaign sought to smooth over the appearance of a rift between her and US Representative Michael Capuano, a rival from the 2009 US Senate primary, by having them visit the Warren Tavern and then speak to reporters on the sidewalk outside.
The public embrace between Coakley and Capuano came after the Somerville congressman raised eyebrows by speaking warmly of Baker and offering only lukewarm praise for Coakley about a week before Tuesday’s Democratic primary.
Wow.
“Look, I said it before: Charlie Baker is a friend of mine for 35 years,” Capuano said, sporting a Coakley campaign sticker on his lapel, as she stood by his side. “I met him when I was staff at the State House. I haven’t anything bad to say about him. That doesn’t mean I agree with him on policy and philosophy. It means I agree with Martha Coakley on policy and philosophy way more often. And if you’re looking for me to say something mean and nasty and dirty about somebody else, you’re not going to get it.”
Ooooh, damage done.
While both nominees hit the campaign trail, Treasurer Steve Grossman, who finished second in the Democratic primary, and some of his inner circle met with Coakley and her finance team at a the Boston law firm Mintz Levin, said one of the people who attended the meeting.
Governor Deval Patrick and former senator Mo Cowan also attended the confab, which was scheduled to integrate Grossman’s fund-raising and field operations with that of the Coakley team. Top Grossman advisers Shanti Fry, Barry White, and Josh Wolf also attended.
Related: Mo and the Massachusetts Military Industrial Complex
They do not di$criminate, either.
Preprimary polls showed that many likely Grossman voters would be inclined to get behind Baker in the general election if Coakley won the Democratic nomination.
Coakley’s camp has also met with members of Donald Berwick’s team. Berwick placed third in Tuesday’s primary, and Coakley strategists are hopeful to coopt his field organization, which they believe helped Berwick secure 21 percent of the vote.
Also on Friday, a super PAC supporting Baker released a television ad faulting Coakley for not prioritizing welfare reform. Baker has targeted welfare abuse as one of the pillars of his campaign. At his Quincy campaign stop, Baker said Coakley plans to raise state spending by as much as $3 million through her education and economic proposals.
“I think what we need to do at this point in time is cinch our belt a bit on Beacon Hill,” he told reporters outside Quincy City Hall.
In response, Coakley campaign manager Tim Foley said in an e-mail, “Charlie Baker has a documented history of hiding the facts from the public during the Big Dig, so it’s no surprise he is misleading the public once again about Martha Coakley’s plan to grow the economy.”
After huddling with Koch in Quincy’s City Hall and touring its downtown, Baker appeared later in Chinatown with local political boss Frank Chin and met privately in Braintree with Mayor Joseph Sullivan.
He took a pass however on weighing in on Coakley’s prosecution of former state treasurer Timothy Cahill, a Quincy resident, on corruption charges. Elected as a Democrat, Cahill ran unenrolled for governor in 2010, failing to place first in any cities or towns but garnering enough support that some Republicans still blame him for Baker’s loss.
“To tell you the truth, I was kind of busy then,” Baker said. “I had a day job.”
Cahill’s case ended in a mistrial in 2012, but Coakley’s prosecution of the former state treasurer and two of his allies hurt her politically in Quincy.
After losing the 2010 gubernatorial election to Governor Deval Patrick, Baker worked at a Cambridge-based venture capital firm.
I'm sure I could go looking for links, but maybe you should do it.
Coakley and her running mate, Steve Kerrigan, will barnstorm the state Saturday, appearing with Senator Elizabeth Warren and US Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III. Baker and running mate Karyn Polito are splitting the state, with Baker campaigning at the Eastern States Exposition, or the Big E fair, in West Springfield and Polito focusing on the eastern half of the state.
--more--"
Related and even more important than who runs this state:
“The only workable solution is for Roger Goodell to resign. New leadership must come in with a specific charge to transform the culture of violence against women that pervades the NFL.”
Related: Roger Goodell’s fate should be determined by outside probe of Ray Rice case
So they appoint a former FBI director and cover-up specialist (who was on the job for about two weeks just before 9/11 hit)?
Also see: Ray Rice Should Face Firing Squad
Thanks a lot, Ray. 1,800 players tarred (and all of us?) with domestic abuse now.
Also see: Adrian Peterson charged with injuring child
Gave the boy a whipping, did he?
