Markey shows up at every crappy Democratic Party function in the state to shake hands and give a speech. I don’t think there’s much chance he’ll pull a Martha.
Johnny Sack:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:38 pm
Shocking! Kerry’s seat is up again in 2014, so he would have to prepare for reelection immediately, basically (not unlike a Representative, but on a wider scale). I think if Kerry were just re-elected, he probably would have decided to run.
But anyway, he doesn’t want to go down in history as this sort of…accidental quasi-Senator, which he sort of already is. I mean, think about it. If he wins, he finishes Kerry’s term, and less than a third of it is left. So he’s up for reelection almost immediately in 2014 (not unlike a Rep, I guess).
If he lost reelection again? He goes down in history as the guy who, when you add together his years in the Senate, they don’t even add up to a full term. His historical footnote would be that he got into the Senate twice in two special elections to enjoy the professional sloppy seconds of Ted Kennedy and John Kerry (and I really mean sloppy seconds-the last remaining bits of two of the most famous and powerful, long-serving Senators from the opposing party. Wow). Two nonconsecutive terms of less than 3 years. He doesn’t want to risk the embarrassment. That’s even worse than Santorum-at least the guy was elected to two full terms in his own right before losing reelection by the widest margin in U.S. history.
snarkout:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:39 pm
I have to say, if I’m Brown, bailing on this one — a race against a competent politician with two million dollars in the bank, which would be followed by another race in 2014 that he would be less likely to win than the special — in favor of the governor’s race sounds like a smart proposition given Massachusetts voters’ demonstrated willingness to put Republicans in the state house.
Johnny Sack:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:39 pm
Good grief sorry, would have edited that if it were possible.
mpowell:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:42 pm
Frankly it makes sense for all concerned. State level Republicans in MA don’t behave like national Republicans. I can understand why MA voters would be more likely to support them at that level.
sharculese:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:43 pm
Over at Salon, Steve Kornacki ran down the GOP’s options now that Brown is out of the picture, and it’s not… inspiring.
I mean yeah, Brown came out of nowhere, but I just don’t see lightning striking twice. Which isn’t say that the eventual Democratic nominee gets to forgo actually campaigning.
John:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:48 pm
There actually has been a somewhat comparable case to that. John Sherman Cooper, a Kentucky Republican, ran in 1945 to fill out the term vacated by Happy Chandler, who had resigned to become Commissioner of Baseball. He won the election, but then in 1948 was defeated for re-election by Democrat Virgil Chapman. Chapman died in a drunk driving accident in 1951, and Cooper again won the special election to finish out the term in 1952. Then, in the election for the full term in 1954, ex-VP Alben Barkley was the Democratic nominee, and beat Cooper. Eisenhower appointed Cooper ambassador to India as a consolation prize, but then Barkley died in office in 1956, and Cooper for a third time won the special election to finish out the term. Then, finally, in 1960, he won election to a full term.
I can rather see why Scott Brown might not want to go through that, especially when he has a pretty good shot at winning the gubernatorial election next year.
It’s also because the MA Democrats often nominated guys–and I do mean guys–who were slightly to the right of Rick Santorum. The one and only time in my life I voted for a Republican was to keep John Silber the hell away from any elective office.
That said, I wonder if Mitt Romney may have screwed the pooch for MA Republicans in the governor’s chair.
sharculese:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:51 pm
Thanks for this neat tidbit of political history.
Johnny Sack:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:59 pm
Indeed, thanks for that bit of knowledge.
Anonymous:
February 1st, 2013 at 4:09 pm
Ladies and gentlemen, the new U.S. ambassador to China, Mark Brown!
Anon21:
February 1st, 2013 at 4:12 pm
I never thought it was a real possibility that the GOP would take the seat, even if Brown had jumped in. 2010 was a very weird perfect storm, and I never expected the Massachusetts Dems to be caught napping twice.
This. The guy’s more refined and genteel and less of a brawler type than his friend/neighbor/ally Capuano, but he works damn hard at all the thankless party-building stuff and is happy to get down in the dirt of politicking and campaigning.
(Markey is my current representative, Capuano is my former representative.)
Manju:
February 1st, 2013 at 5:01 pm
I hear that’s better then doing a drunk one.
efgoldman:
February 1st, 2013 at 5:28 pm
Jeebus. Now Dennis & Callahan will have to talk about sports, on the sports station. Probably not a bad idea, since the other sports station has been eating WEEI’s lunch and stuffing the brown bag up their ass.
efgoldman:
February 1st, 2013 at 5:32 pm
… sounds like a smart proposition given Massachusetts voters’ demonstrated willingness to put Republicans in the state house.
Except all the previously elected GOBP governors in MA were old-line, MA style Republicans. Whoever the Dem nominee is, s/he will do the best to tie Brown to the National GOBP and the crazies. They’ll use LePage’s Mucilage, which used to be made in MA.
Sev:
February 1st, 2013 at 5:33 pm
Well, if you’d like it to go ‘down’ a bit easier, there’s always butter, sour cream…
Manju:
February 1st, 2013 at 5:55 pm
Potatoes or walri?
jon:
February 1st, 2013 at 6:08 pm
Now, a ‘Potatoe’, now that’s a different story.
snoey:
February 1st, 2013 at 6:17 pm
How big is Gail Huff in DC TV News?
Since they already threw the carpetbagger tag at Markey she’d have to give that up if he ran again.
mattc:
February 1st, 2013 at 6:21 pm
I don’t understand what the problem for the MA GOP is, here. Just nominate the only other Republican to win statewide office in the past decade:
The Boston Globe has a list of five potential GOP candidates. Number five is Keith Ablow, a wingnut psychiatrist who once co-authored a book with Glenn Beck (judging by the cover, it’s about their experiences as a same-sex couple raising a child). He has approximately 0% chance of beating any Democrat with a pulse. The Mass GOP apparently doesn’t have exactly a deep bench.
The bigger worry for me is that Lynch beats Markey. I don’t think that’s likely, as Lynch’s anti-choice record is a serious drawback in a Massachusetts Democratic primary, but it’s not something to rule out. I hear that Mayor Menino has already all but endorsed Lynch.
John:
February 1st, 2013 at 7:46 pm
I will only say that you were one of the people repeatedly warning us that Scott Brown had practically already won Kerry’s Senate seat.
expatchad:
February 1st, 2013 at 7:49 pm
Need a BIG oven.
expatchad:
February 1st, 2013 at 7:56 pm
Need a BIG oven
commie atheist:
February 1st, 2013 at 7:57 pm
Keith Ablow, a wingnut psychiatrist who once co-authored a book with Glenn Beck (judging by the cover, it’s about their experiences as a same-sex couple raising a child)
That would have been first reaction too.
J R in W. Va.:
February 1st, 2013 at 8:29 pm
No, that’s OK. He’s a dick, and we all know that.
All you could have done to improve it was one more paragraph in the middle of that big paragraph.
J R in W. Va.:
February 1st, 2013 at 8:31 pm
Yes, but you’ve got to hold his right elbow really hard!
efgoldman:
February 1st, 2013 at 8:47 pm
The bigger worry for me is that Lynch beats Markey.
Agreed. The question is, how far and hard will the unions – especially police and fire – go for Stevie, who has been their friend since he was a state rep. These are the unions that went for Ronaldus Magnus, twice, and Bush1. My memory is a little hazy, but they’ve also endorsed at least a couple of the last few GOBP candidates. Whether “endorse” means “work hard ay GOTV for,: I have no idea. Also I’d guess SEIU would go for Markey.
In a very short primary, in an off-season in an off-year, strange things can happen. See McDreamy, former Senator.
efgoldman:
February 1st, 2013 at 8:48 pm
Edit edit edit edit……
“they’ve also endorsed at least a couple of the last few GOBP candidates.” Should be “they’ve also endorsed at least a couple of the last few GOBP candidates for governor.”
Davis X. Machina:
February 1st, 2013 at 9:03 pm
Hey, what about Frank Hatch against Ed King? Thanks to that relic of BC football in the pre-helmet age, I’ve gotten to vote twice for Republicans in my life.
The one and only time in my life I voted for a Republican was to keep John Silber the hell away from any elective office.
I was at BU then. I voted for Silber solely to get him further away from me.
MAJeff:
February 1st, 2013 at 9:41 pm
The one and only time in my life I voted for a Republican was to keep John Silber the hell away from any elective office.
I know a fair number of MA liberals in that same boat.
I’ve voted for Republicans twice, both in the same year. (1994) The first was, during the early spring, in a GOP primary for Gov in Iowa, when Fred Grandy was running against Terry Braindead for governor. (for Gopher, against braindead). Shortly after that, I moved to MN and voted for Arne Carlson over Allen Quist in the GOP Gov primary there. (both states had open primaries). Never before or since have I voted for a Republican. Braindead has only moved farther right, and Quist remains one of the most odious Minnesotans alive.
I spent the first half of your comment thinking, “How is John Kerry and accidental Senator?”
heh
efgoldman:
February 1st, 2013 at 10:04 pm
I voted for plenty of Republicans in MA. Of course, I’m older than you. Leverett Saltonstall, John Volpe, Ed Brooke, Frank Sargent in ’72, would have been the last one, except I couldn’t vote for that cement head, Ed King. He was, after all “Ronald Reagan’s favorite Democrat” ::ptooie::.
Of course, if 10% of us hadn’t voted for Barbara Ackerman in the primary “to send Mike Dukakis a message,” Cement-Head king wouldn’t have been nominated. That’s why I never have done that since.
It’s also because the MA Democrats often nominated guys–and I do mean guys–who were slightly to the right of Rick Santorum.
OK, but that doesn’t explain why Jim Roosevelt or Scott Harshbarger lost.
My theory is this: everyone knows, before the first vote is counted, that the Democrats are going to have a veto-proof majority in both houses of the state legislature. This means that the Speaker of the House and Senate President set the agenda. People want a governor who will act as a check and balance on the Beacon Hill Democratic machine. If the Democratic candidate appears to be too weak, or too close to the state party bigwigs to fill that role, the voters feel perfectly comfortable voting for a Republican, because they know that there is no chance he will be able to implement an affirmative conservative agenda.
This is why Deval Patrick, a guy from Chicago who made his name in Washington and had no real political background in Massachusetts at all, was the one who finally broke the Republicans’ winning streak.
I’ve voted for Republicans in non-partisan city elections.
Lowell politics have evolved into a quasi-partisan divide between Good Old Boys and and outsider/reformer coalition, and Republicans count as outsiders.
Winchester:
February 1st, 2013 at 10:51 pm
I’ll always have a soft spot for Scott Brown. After Obama2008.President and Obama2012.President, ScottBrown2010 was my biggest winning ever on Intrade, over $40K. I began biuying him when he was a 10% dog.
I think this was a key factor and one often overlooked in the rush to slam Coakley. Not to let her off the hook, but more to be reasonable about Republican chances in this special election.
Scott Lemieux:
February 2nd, 2013 at 12:30 am
Hard to argue.
efgoldman:
February 2nd, 2013 at 1:40 am
Roosevelt I could understand. He was a good guy, a real liberal, and led a good ed reform effort, but he was also a backbench state legislator, without a real power base.
Harshbarger pissed off too many of the [whatever the MA equivalent is to good ole boys] by not only investigating them, but actually meaning it. They hated him for it. ‘Course it would never occur to them to do their jobs honestly. Hell no.
I’m pretty sure the deciding factor in breaking the Republican streak was Mitt Romney’s governorship. That and his failed efforts to remake the Mass. GOP. I don’t think the Dems majority was actually veto-proof until after Mitt poured a bunch of time and money into getting Republicans elected to the legislature in 2004. Scott Brown won a special election to replace Cheryl Jacques in the State Senate in advance of the rest of the elections, and it looked like a bad omen for the Democrats (and for same-sex marriage, which was facing the threat of a constitutional amendment at the time). But they actually went on to gain seats.
I still wonder how different things would be if Robert Reich beat Shannon O’Brien in the 2002 primary. Could he have spared the world Mitt’s future political endeavors?
Erik Loomis:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:32 pm
I will only say that we thought the same about Kennedy’s replacement. Let’s hope Ed Markey runs a real campaign.
mark f:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:35 pm
Markey shows up at every crappy Democratic Party function in the state to shake hands and give a speech. I don’t think there’s much chance he’ll pull a Martha.
Johnny Sack:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:38 pm
Shocking! Kerry’s seat is up again in 2014, so he would have to prepare for reelection immediately, basically (not unlike a Representative, but on a wider scale). I think if Kerry were just re-elected, he probably would have decided to run.
But anyway, he doesn’t want to go down in history as this sort of…accidental quasi-Senator, which he sort of already is. I mean, think about it. If he wins, he finishes Kerry’s term, and less than a third of it is left. So he’s up for reelection almost immediately in 2014 (not unlike a Rep, I guess).
If he lost reelection again? He goes down in history as the guy who, when you add together his years in the Senate, they don’t even add up to a full term. His historical footnote would be that he got into the Senate twice in two special elections to enjoy the professional sloppy seconds of Ted Kennedy and John Kerry (and I really mean sloppy seconds-the last remaining bits of two of the most famous and powerful, long-serving Senators from the opposing party. Wow). Two nonconsecutive terms of less than 3 years. He doesn’t want to risk the embarrassment. That’s even worse than Santorum-at least the guy was elected to two full terms in his own right before losing reelection by the widest margin in U.S. history.
snarkout:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:39 pm
I have to say, if I’m Brown, bailing on this one — a race against a competent politician with two million dollars in the bank, which would be followed by another race in 2014 that he would be less likely to win than the special — in favor of the governor’s race sounds like a smart proposition given Massachusetts voters’ demonstrated willingness to put Republicans in the state house.
Johnny Sack:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:39 pm
Good grief sorry, would have edited that if it were possible.
mpowell:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:42 pm
Frankly it makes sense for all concerned. State level Republicans in MA don’t behave like national Republicans. I can understand why MA voters would be more likely to support them at that level.
sharculese:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:43 pm
Over at Salon, Steve Kornacki ran down the GOP’s options now that Brown is out of the picture, and it’s not… inspiring.
I mean yeah, Brown came out of nowhere, but I just don’t see lightning striking twice. Which isn’t say that the eventual Democratic nominee gets to forgo actually campaigning.
John:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:48 pm
There actually has been a somewhat comparable case to that. John Sherman Cooper, a Kentucky Republican, ran in 1945 to fill out the term vacated by Happy Chandler, who had resigned to become Commissioner of Baseball. He won the election, but then in 1948 was defeated for re-election by Democrat Virgil Chapman. Chapman died in a drunk driving accident in 1951, and Cooper again won the special election to finish out the term in 1952. Then, in the election for the full term in 1954, ex-VP Alben Barkley was the Democratic nominee, and beat Cooper. Eisenhower appointed Cooper ambassador to India as a consolation prize, but then Barkley died in office in 1956, and Cooper for a third time won the special election to finish out the term. Then, finally, in 1960, he won election to a full term.
I can rather see why Scott Brown might not want to go through that, especially when he has a pretty good shot at winning the gubernatorial election next year.
Darkrose:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:50 pm
It’s also because the MA Democrats often nominated guys–and I do mean guys–who were slightly to the right of Rick Santorum. The one and only time in my life I voted for a Republican was to keep John Silber the hell away from any elective office.
That said, I wonder if Mitt Romney may have screwed the pooch for MA Republicans in the governor’s chair.
sharculese:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:51 pm
Thanks for this neat tidbit of political history.
Johnny Sack:
February 1st, 2013 at 3:59 pm
Indeed, thanks for that bit of knowledge.
Anonymous:
February 1st, 2013 at 4:09 pm
Ladies and gentlemen, the new U.S. ambassador to China, Mark Brown!
Anon21:
February 1st, 2013 at 4:12 pm
I never thought it was a real possibility that the GOP would take the seat, even if Brown had jumped in. 2010 was a very weird perfect storm, and I never expected the Massachusetts Dems to be caught napping twice.
jon:
February 1st, 2013 at 4:14 pm
It’s still possible to fuck up a baked potato.
mark f:
February 1st, 2013 at 4:15 pm
Oh thank goodness there’s an “up” in there.
NonyNony:
February 1st, 2013 at 4:22 pm
Potato. Not walrus.
Decrease Mather:
February 1st, 2013 at 4:28 pm
Fuck a baked walrus?
JL:
February 1st, 2013 at 4:46 pm
This. The guy’s more refined and genteel and less of a brawler type than his friend/neighbor/ally Capuano, but he works damn hard at all the thankless party-building stuff and is happy to get down in the dirt of politicking and campaigning.
(Markey is my current representative, Capuano is my former representative.)
Manju:
February 1st, 2013 at 5:01 pm
I hear that’s better then doing a drunk one.
efgoldman:
February 1st, 2013 at 5:28 pm
Jeebus. Now Dennis & Callahan will have to talk about sports, on the sports station. Probably not a bad idea, since the other sports station has been eating WEEI’s lunch and stuffing the brown bag up their ass.
efgoldman:
February 1st, 2013 at 5:32 pm
Except all the previously elected GOBP governors in MA were old-line, MA style Republicans. Whoever the Dem nominee is, s/he will do the best to tie Brown to the National GOBP and the crazies. They’ll use LePage’s Mucilage, which used to be made in MA.
Sev:
February 1st, 2013 at 5:33 pm
Well, if you’d like it to go ‘down’ a bit easier, there’s always butter, sour cream…
Manju:
February 1st, 2013 at 5:55 pm
Potatoes or walri?
jon:
February 1st, 2013 at 6:08 pm
Now, a ‘Potatoe’, now that’s a different story.
snoey:
February 1st, 2013 at 6:17 pm
How big is Gail Huff in DC TV News?
Since they already threw the carpetbagger tag at Markey she’d have to give that up if he ran again.
mattc:
February 1st, 2013 at 6:21 pm
I don’t understand what the problem for the MA GOP is, here. Just nominate the only other Republican to win statewide office in the past decade:
MITT ROMNEY FOR SENATE…AGAIN!
Surreal American:
February 1st, 2013 at 6:24 pm
Who?
Manju:
February 1st, 2013 at 6:28 pm
Ketchup’s an easy vegetable to fuck up too.
Joe:
February 1st, 2013 at 6:29 pm
Who’s the attractive Scott Brown-like competition in this fear scenario?
arguingwithsignposts:
February 1st, 2013 at 6:34 pm
Wow. Is that even possible?
joe from Lowell:
February 1st, 2013 at 6:51 pm
If the Kerry pick was going to be a problem for the Senate – that is, if there was a good chance of Brown winning again – he’d be running.
joe from Lowell:
February 1st, 2013 at 6:52 pm
Martha Coakley’s crappy Democratic campaign would have beaten Scott Brown’s skillful Republican campaign in Massachusetts any time except early 2010.
joe from Lowell:
February 1st, 2013 at 6:55 pm
Did you ever look at your flipper?
I mean really look at your flipper?
Jeremy:
February 1st, 2013 at 7:07 pm
The Boston Globe has a list of five potential GOP candidates. Number five is Keith Ablow, a wingnut psychiatrist who once co-authored a book with Glenn Beck (judging by the cover, it’s about their experiences as a same-sex couple raising a child). He has approximately 0% chance of beating any Democrat with a pulse. The Mass GOP apparently doesn’t have exactly a deep bench.
The bigger worry for me is that Lynch beats Markey. I don’t think that’s likely, as Lynch’s anti-choice record is a serious drawback in a Massachusetts Democratic primary, but it’s not something to rule out. I hear that Mayor Menino has already all but endorsed Lynch.
John:
February 1st, 2013 at 7:46 pm
I will only say that you were one of the people repeatedly warning us that Scott Brown had practically already won Kerry’s Senate seat.
expatchad:
February 1st, 2013 at 7:49 pm
Need a BIG oven.
expatchad:
February 1st, 2013 at 7:56 pm
Need a BIG oven
commie atheist:
February 1st, 2013 at 7:57 pm
Keith Ablow, a wingnut psychiatrist who once co-authored a book with Glenn Beck (judging by the cover, it’s about their experiences as a same-sex couple raising a child)
That would have been first reaction too.
J R in W. Va.:
February 1st, 2013 at 8:29 pm
No, that’s OK. He’s a dick, and we all know that.
All you could have done to improve it was one more paragraph in the middle of that big paragraph.
J R in W. Va.:
February 1st, 2013 at 8:31 pm
Yes, but you’ve got to hold his right elbow really hard!
efgoldman:
February 1st, 2013 at 8:47 pm
Agreed. The question is, how far and hard will the unions – especially police and fire – go for Stevie, who has been their friend since he was a state rep. These are the unions that went for Ronaldus Magnus, twice, and Bush1. My memory is a little hazy, but they’ve also endorsed at least a couple of the last few GOBP candidates. Whether “endorse” means “work hard ay GOTV for,: I have no idea. Also I’d guess SEIU would go for Markey.
In a very short primary, in an off-season in an off-year, strange things can happen. See McDreamy, former Senator.
efgoldman:
February 1st, 2013 at 8:48 pm
Edit edit edit edit……
“they’ve also endorsed at least a couple of the last few GOBP candidates.” Should be “they’ve also endorsed at least a couple of the last few GOBP candidates for governor.”
Davis X. Machina:
February 1st, 2013 at 9:03 pm
Hey, what about Frank Hatch against Ed King? Thanks to that relic of BC football in the pre-helmet age, I’ve gotten to vote twice for Republicans in my life.
Davis X. Machina:
February 1st, 2013 at 9:05 pm
“Walri” is an incorrectly formed plural, since ‘walrus’ is not Latin. The real, correct plural of ‘walrus’ is ‘octipodes‘.
Malaclypse:
February 1st, 2013 at 9:12 pm
The one and only time in my life I voted for a Republican was to keep John Silber the hell away from any elective office.
I was at BU then. I voted for Silber solely to get him further away from me.
MAJeff:
February 1st, 2013 at 9:41 pm
I know a fair number of MA liberals in that same boat.
I’ve voted for Republicans twice, both in the same year. (1994) The first was, during the early spring, in a GOP primary for Gov in Iowa, when Fred Grandy was running against Terry Braindead for governor. (for Gopher, against braindead). Shortly after that, I moved to MN and voted for Arne Carlson over Allen Quist in the GOP Gov primary there. (both states had open primaries). Never before or since have I voted for a Republican. Braindead has only moved farther right, and Quist remains one of the most odious Minnesotans alive.
joe from Lowell:
February 1st, 2013 at 9:52 pm
I spent the first half of your comment thinking, “How is John Kerry and accidental Senator?”
heh
efgoldman:
February 1st, 2013 at 10:04 pm
I voted for plenty of Republicans in MA. Of course, I’m older than you. Leverett Saltonstall, John Volpe, Ed Brooke, Frank Sargent in ’72, would have been the last one, except I couldn’t vote for that cement head, Ed King. He was, after all “Ronald Reagan’s favorite Democrat” ::ptooie::.
Of course, if 10% of us hadn’t voted for Barbara Ackerman in the primary “to send Mike Dukakis a message,” Cement-Head king wouldn’t have been nominated. That’s why I never have done that since.
joe from Lowell:
February 1st, 2013 at 10:09 pm
OK, but that doesn’t explain why Jim Roosevelt or Scott Harshbarger lost.
My theory is this: everyone knows, before the first vote is counted, that the Democrats are going to have a veto-proof majority in both houses of the state legislature. This means that the Speaker of the House and Senate President set the agenda. People want a governor who will act as a check and balance on the Beacon Hill Democratic machine. If the Democratic candidate appears to be too weak, or too close to the state party bigwigs to fill that role, the voters feel perfectly comfortable voting for a Republican, because they know that there is no chance he will be able to implement an affirmative conservative agenda.
This is why Deval Patrick, a guy from Chicago who made his name in Washington and had no real political background in Massachusetts at all, was the one who finally broke the Republicans’ winning streak.
joe from Lowell:
February 1st, 2013 at 10:13 pm
I’ve voted for Republicans in non-partisan city elections.
Lowell politics have evolved into a quasi-partisan divide between Good Old Boys and and outsider/reformer coalition, and Republicans count as outsiders.
Winchester:
February 1st, 2013 at 10:51 pm
I’ll always have a soft spot for Scott Brown. After Obama2008.President and Obama2012.President, ScottBrown2010 was my biggest winning ever on Intrade, over $40K. I began biuying him when he was a 10% dog.
James E. Powell:
February 1st, 2013 at 11:00 pm
I think this was a key factor and one often overlooked in the rush to slam Coakley. Not to let her off the hook, but more to be reasonable about Republican chances in this special election.
Scott Lemieux:
February 2nd, 2013 at 12:30 am
Hard to argue.
efgoldman:
February 2nd, 2013 at 1:40 am
Roosevelt I could understand. He was a good guy, a real liberal, and led a good ed reform effort, but he was also a backbench state legislator, without a real power base.
Harshbarger pissed off too many of the [whatever the MA equivalent is to good ole boys] by not only investigating them, but actually meaning it. They hated him for it. ‘Course it would never occur to them to do their jobs honestly. Hell no.
Jeremy:
February 2nd, 2013 at 2:44 am
I’m pretty sure the deciding factor in breaking the Republican streak was Mitt Romney’s governorship. That and his failed efforts to remake the Mass. GOP. I don’t think the Dems majority was actually veto-proof until after Mitt poured a bunch of time and money into getting Republicans elected to the legislature in 2004. Scott Brown won a special election to replace Cheryl Jacques in the State Senate in advance of the rest of the elections, and it looked like a bad omen for the Democrats (and for same-sex marriage, which was facing the threat of a constitutional amendment at the time). But they actually went on to gain seats.
I still wonder how different things would be if Robert Reich beat Shannon O’Brien in the 2002 primary. Could he have spared the world Mitt’s future political endeavors?
Jeremy:
February 2nd, 2013 at 2:47 am
I don’t actually believe you, but bqhatevwr.
jon:
February 2nd, 2013 at 1:55 pm
Where is Jane Swift in our time of need?
Lynch is a fairly good guy and he’s willing to do the work, but he’s remarkably conservative for a Mass Dem.
Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko and Kazimierz Michał Wacław Wiktor Pułaski:
February 2nd, 2013 at 3:19 pm
I though the plural of walrus was tons of fun