Left In Lowell

Some interesting caucus analyses from around the blogs and papers:

The ineffable Charley of BMG:

Furthermore, we seem to be seeing the continued effectiveness of a “progressive” web of organizations, showing up and getting counted. The seeds planted by Reich and Dean seem to be sprouting even further. Yesterday was a display of statewide organizing power — exactly the kind of thing that Mike Dukakis and the MA Dem Party have been talking about.
…
In politics, winning begets winning. These days in Massachusetts, the progressives are winning, and not by magic. They are enthusiastic for a candidate, for sure — but more importantly, they’re showing up. This is why I grit my teeth when folks discuss “electability” as synonymous with ostensibly “moderate” ideology: Ideology cannot be reduced to a one-dimensional continuum between “liberal” and “conservative”; and “electability” is dependent on a larger constellation of factors, not least of which are 1. genuine, infectious enthusiasm for the candidate, and 2. ability to organize. Any candidate is going to need folks to pound the pavement and get out the vote; right now the Deval Patrick folks are doing it, and the Reilly folks are not. Reilly seems to be so concerned about getting the swing voters that he’s forgotten he needs the base, too.

I want to make the point that “progressive” does not have to equal “extremely liberal.” To my mind, Democrats who demand transparency, accountability, and intelligent leadership from their government can be counted as progressive too, even if they are more moderate.

From comments on the same post:

Greg:
In a gubernatorial election between “reform” and “more of the same”, “reform” will will everytime. But if we make the election between “conservative reform” and “progressive reform”, the progressive will win. We must show that there is an alternative direction to politics-as-usual that doesn’t involve cutting taxes, services, and local aid.

This expresses exactly my sentiment:

BlueWatertown:
The simple fact of the matter is that Deval Patrick’s campaign is building the kind of grass roots support that we need to elect a Democrat to office in November. That’s what you saw at the caucuses yesterday. As a Democrat, I truly wish that Reilly’s campaign were doing the same, because we’ll need everyone working together to beat the Republicans.

EdinArlington:
Listening to the media you would think that the biggest mistake Reilly made last week was blundering in his choice of running mates, but does anyone really think that made any real difference yesterday? Reilly’s big mistake last week was waking up and realizing that he had no real field organization and that he was going to get his head handed to him in the caucuses. Come on, since when does the front runner start saying “all I want to do is get my 15%” It’s when he knows he is going to loose.

Boston Globe’s coverage:

Delegate slates pledged to Patrick, the former top federal civil rights prosecutor and business executive, rolled up margins at local party meetings that will give him close to a 2-to-1 advantage over Reilly in the count of committed delegates, according to several Democratic Party strategists around the state.
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Reilly won more than 60 percent of the delegates in Boston, drawing on Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s political operation, a Menino strategist said. In Lowell, where state Senator Steven C. Panagiotakos and US Representative Martin Meehan rallied support, Reilly won 49 delegates to Patrick’s 6.

Which is to say, even in Lowell Reilly did not get a sweep. And I still think that had I not gotten sick and was able to get the ball rolling early, we might have had a lot more. As it was, calls and emails were coming in up until the last minute of people who wanted to join us…another two weeks of that and I suspect we could have at least doubled or tripled our delegates.

Here’s the money quote from Reilly - which tells you how they are spinning this loss:

‘’I've been independent minded, and the party establishment has problems with that,” Reilly said in an interview after the caucus results were in, citing his position in favor of a tax rollback, charter schools, and MCAS testing. ‘’I did well considering that I stand up to the party on certain things.”

Riiiiight. Total bull of course. The machine was with Reilly. I saw it with my own eyes…local, state, and nationally elected officials brought their weight to bear in Lowell. We were the outsiders, the non-establishment. Hell, most of our supporters and delegate candidates had never once been to a LDCC or caucus meeting before! Of course, the Globe has bit the spin…hook, line, and sinker:

The Watertown loss and other defeats reflect Reilly’s strategy — he did not spend money or other resources to woo the party’s liberal rank and file and its special interest groups to win the convention.

Excuse my language but…assholes! The liberal rank and file had nothing to do with it. Jerkwads. True, Reilly didn’t spend any money or resources wooing anybody - but make no mistake: people like me are not rank and file (though, I’m thinking of becoming such now that I’ve had a taste) and we are not special interests. Gotta love the media. Bunch of lazy dittoheads. Give them a storyline that’s easy to sell a paper and they’ll just parrot it.

Finally, the Lowell Sun:

Reilly’s people have been trying to downplay expectations about his caucus performance in recent days. On Friday, Reilly campaign manager Sean Sinclair said in a statement, “while our opponent will certainly have many more delegates tomorrow, our goal is to win in November, not in June.”

Reilly was undaunted yesterday. “This is the first round of a 15-round fight, and I’m ready for it,” he said before entering Lowell’s caucus at the Senior Center. “The people of Lowell are a good barometer for the state. They know who can get the job done and who can’t.”

But he also repeated the mantra that his chief goal is to get pledges of support from the necessary 15 percent of delegates, something easily attainable in a two-candidate race.

“Reilly is someone I think has a good, pragmatic opinion on all the issues,” said Lowell School Committee member Jim Leary, a Lowell delegate. “He’s got the best chance for taking back the governorship for the Democrats.”

Downplaying expectations…hmm.

By the way, Jim Leary is in my Ward - hi Jim if you’re reading! - so I got a little more of a chance to get to know him (however briefly). But frankly, I don’t see how getting the politicos (Meehan, Pangie, Murphy, Golden, Nangle) and their supporters out to get Reilly some Lowell delegates is being a good barometer for the voters in September and November…people are tired of the same ol’ same ol’. I can’t say that Reilly so far has left the taste of something new and exciting and full of independent thought in voters’ mouths - more like business as usual. I’m sure he’s a great guy and a terrific prosecutor - but as candidate, I want to pick a horse that can win. Establishment candidates with no ground game but the waning power of the Massachusetts Democratic party - which needs a shot in the arm - have lost how many gubernatorial elections? In the general, someone who stands for something solid will win the independent voter back to the Democratic ticket. Just wait and see when Deval Patrick wins the nomination.