Member of the reality-based community of progressive (not anonymous) Massachusetts blogs
One of the ever-present pigeons in downtown Lowell whispered a bit of news to me: it appears the Lowell Sun will be endorsing Chris Gabrieli for governor, probably in Sunday’s edition.
It was always a long shot that the Sun would actually see the qualities many of us find in Deval Patrick, but it’s their paper and they can endorse whoever they see fit. However, that little bird surmised, and I agree, that ultimately, the Sun will of course endorse Healey in the general election. The Democratic primary presents an offhand endorsement from them, a gimme. Devil-may-care.
One wonders if the editors who voted for a Gabrieli endorsement were really looking to undermine Deval Patrick’s lead (and seemingly likely win), especially in the Merrimack Valley, just a little bit to make it easier for Healey once she’s up against him. And one wonders what they saw in Gabrieli that they wouldn’t find in Deval - businessperson, public servant in the non-profit sector, brainy policy wonk. It’s too bad they didn’t look behind Deval. They would have seen an army of 8000+ dedicated volunteers, people whose participation (many for the first time) will revitalize the Democratic party, hold the establishment accountable, and renew our state’s committment to progressive values and good governance.
Then again, maybe that’s exactly what the Sun is interested in foiling?
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September 14th, 2006 at 7:41 pm
Interesting. If you are right then the “Sun” would be doing what I always personally do
when I vote in a primary. If it’s a tight primary I vote my candidate. If it’s a runaway then
I vote for the person who I consider the weakest candidate against whomever I actually support
in the general
(I am unenrolled so I can vote in either primary)
So, If the Sun actually wants Kerry Healey to win then they would support the candidate they
consider weakest, but in this three way race I think the Sun’s real candidate was Reilly. Tom
is in all likelihood not going to be the winner, so they will back the least powerful person
against Kerry Healey, that would be Gabrieli. If Mihos had decided to run as a Democrat I am
sure the Sun would be backing him.
There is only one poll and endorsement that matters, but the bottom line is no supporter of
any candidate can become complacent!
Good luck, good voting!
September 14th, 2006 at 8:48 pm
The Boston Herald endorsed Reilly and the Sun endorses Gabrielli.
They are both Republican papers and will be endorsing Healey
in the November election. Keep remembering that full front
page endorsement that screamed in large print BUSH! They have
not changed their colors and never will.
These two rags have made quite clear the fact that the
candidate who will beat Healy in November is Deval Patrick and
only Deval Patrick.
September 14th, 2006 at 10:01 pm
Tom Reilly will win Lowell in a walk. Statewide will be closer, but I’d guess his aggressive performance last night sealed the fate of Patrick. While Patrick made a good run, once the public learned has started to learn more about him it seems pretty clear Reilly will end up pulling this one out in the end based on far more substance and specifics.
But really, the line of the night last night was Gabs saying to Deval “those in glass mansions shouldn’t throw stones”.
September 15th, 2006 at 1:10 am
Lowell is a blue collar, working class city, RIGHT!
Well Reilly is a blue collar working class candidate.
Tim Murray’s family struggled to put food on the table
while Goldberg’s family overcharged us on our grocery bills.
Reily/Murray a blue collar combination, that is in touch
with the people.
September 15th, 2006 at 6:09 am
The Sun’s endorsement of CG is in today’s (Friday) edition. The Sun also endorses Andrea Silbert for Lt. Governor in the same edition. But if you read both endorsements it is apparent that the Sun does not have a clue! First in endorsing CG they eliminate the one candidate who has maintained from day one that he is independent from the politics-as-usual crowd. Then in the very next breath they endorse Silbert BECAUSE of her “independence from the Democrat’s politics-as-usual crowd! Then it goes on to say that “Silbert has waged a campaign of enlightenment, telling voters not what they want to hear but what they need to know about the urgency of Massachusetts plight — economically, educationally,and socially.” Will someone please explain to me how this position is diferent from DP’s position? It makes me wonder if someone didn’t get the names confused on the cutting room floor and in reality the Sun meant to endorse Patrick instead!
A few quotes from the endorsement of CG:
I’m curious why none of the other candidates haven’t called CG on his plan to SPEND $1 billion and at the same time CUT taxes! DP has been iterating his mantra that you can’t have it both ways but I don’t believe he has specifically challenged Chris on this point.
As usual the Sun’s editorial position makes no sense. It’s as if they cut-and-paste Letters to the Editor to formulate their positions on issues instead of taking the time and thoughtfulness to evaluate the arguments and then make an appropriate choice.
September 15th, 2006 at 6:46 am
Of course they, endorsed Gabs..just reading the excerpt, I thought I was reading/watching a Healy commercial
September 15th, 2006 at 7:08 am
“The Lowell Sun follows Lynne’s lead and endorses Silbert.” LOL
Paul:
I was as perplexed as you; not that they endorsed Gabrieli, that was predictable but the logic they used to support him and Silbert is inconsistent. After reading the editorials, it sounds as if the “Editorial Board” had a majority and a minority position and both of their voices had to be heard.
Will the local Gabrieli supporters who are not friendly with the Sun publicize this endorsement when in the past they have dismissed the significance of Sun endorsements?
September 15th, 2006 at 12:42 pm
Mike: are you high? “While Patrick made a good run, once the public learned has started to learn more about him it seems pretty clear Reilly will end up pulling this one out in the end based on far more substance and specifics.”
Um….not according to all polls of likely voters. Reilly is dead, dead last pretty consistently.
I’m surprised the Sun didn’t go with Reilly, that tells you something right there.
Anecdotally, also, I wouldn’t be too confident of Lowell for Reilly either. I wouldn’t be surprised if Patrick didn’t WIN Lowell, but with undecideds breaking Patrick’s way and the number of people deciding to go with Patrick these last few weeks of phone banking here (I’d say a 4:1 or 5:1 ratio of Patrick to Not Patrick) Patrick is competitive here.
Don’t forget, some very unlikely people are supporting Patrick in Lowell - vocally too. Quite a lot of supporter cards went out from a lot of these people.
If people want a change, independent leadership, and someone who really will stand up to politics-as-usual, they’ll be voting Patrick. Gabs is too beholden to the legislature and proved it this last summer (hence Nangle switching his support to Gabrieli) and Reilly has been too hostile and “bad at politics” to capitalize on his blue-collar background and fairly credible independence from the legislature.
September 15th, 2006 at 3:10 pm
Mimi: You know you should never use “logic” and “the Sun editorial board” in the same sentence, right?
September 15th, 2006 at 4:18 pm
Er…. Make that “paragraph.”
September 15th, 2006 at 6:41 pm
Paul@01852 wrote:
“I’m curious why none of the other candidates haven’t called CG on his plan to SPEND $1 billion and at the same time CUT taxes! DP has been iterating his mantra that you can’t have it both ways but I don’t believe he has specifically challenged Chris on this point”.
If I had to guess it’s because he’s saving it for Healey. It seems to be the same kind of
BS the GOP has been pushing forever. We can spend more money, cut taxes and let someone else
(usually Democrats) fix the problem. So why unload on CG when he ultimately will have to
face Healey/Romney and Rove?
September 15th, 2006 at 7:57 pm
Any candidate that calls my house instantly falls to the bottom of my list. Mailers are fine, but I don’t want a phone call, and that’s how I think a lot of people are.
September 15th, 2006 at 8:54 pm
Yes, so that automatically means Reilly will win despite his dropping like a stone in the polls? Uh huh.
And actually, I do think you’re wrong. Not enough people are like you to matter. Judging from our experience anyway.
September 15th, 2006 at 9:57 pm
oh Boy Lynne…The is Fightin’ words! ;0)
September 15th, 2006 at 9:58 pm
Apologies…meant to write..Oh Boy Lynne…Them is Fightin’ words!
September 16th, 2006 at 12:27 am
Nah I don’t take Lynne seriously when she says things like that, she’s very wrapped up trying to get Deval elected. And good for her, it would be good to see more people fight for their candidates.
I personally am not excited about the prospect of another bazillionaire out of touch with the rest of us in the State House, but if that doesn’t bother you Deval or Gabs is your man.
September 16th, 2006 at 9:56 am
I wouldn’t exacly say that Patrick doesn’t know what its like to live without millions.
September 16th, 2006 at 12:10 pm
And I definitely wouldn’t say Deval is out of touch.
Remember, most of his money was made very recently - post-Justice Dept recent. Before that, he was working for non-profit civil rights groups, overseas and here. It was after he left the Justice Dept (after Clinton tapped him to head the Civil Rights division becuase of his impressive lawsuit against Arkansas when Clinton was governor), he got some high-profile jobs based on his reputation as a fair, hard working lawyer who “got results.” He guided several large and ethically-challenged companies through chnages they needed to make. And yes, that came with lots of money…but certainly Patrick is not rich in the sense of entitlement that say, Healey has. Patrick made his money himself, by his hard work - without it (the hard work), he wouldn’t have been hired in the Justice Dept, and he wouldn’t have been hired by those companies.
You want out of touch…Reilly may play the workin’ man…but he owns a nice summer place on the Cape I understand, and more to the point, lives in a little political bubble of his own making. He listens to his own little insiders and fails to connect to the voters on the ground. He’s not personally likeable (how many people have I talked to that know him personally, worked for him, whatever, who tend to use the word “asshole” when speaking about him? Lots) and doesn’t have the ability to bring others along with him on the issues. That’s why he’d make a far less effective governor than Patrick - though on standing up to the legislature, he has at least a little more credibility than Gabrieli does, I’ll give him that.
September 16th, 2006 at 5:33 pm
Mike:
It bothers you that individuals through some luck, intelligence, hard work or opportunity have become millionaires? What is the matter with you, don’t you like goold, old American capitalism?
And I always thought that you were LiL token conservative. LOL
Maybe Reilly did not make a milllion because he does not have the ability has opposed to the opportunity.
September 16th, 2006 at 7:15 pm
Couldn’t be further from conservative. But I think Reilly had a point that Deval might not understand what $200 bucks means to working class people anymore.
By the way, since when does having a summer place on the Cape make you elite? Cape is overrated.
September 17th, 2006 at 11:54 am
The Cape may be overrated, but it ain’t cheap! That asset alone probably pushes Reilly into the almost millionare
category.
September 17th, 2006 at 12:24 pm
$200 doesn’t even buy you 5 tanks of gas for your SUV anymore. And working class people pay mortgage/rents - which is worse, $200 extra going for income tax or $500/year in increased property tax/rent? Local property taxes are more regressive and end up costing people more than the income tax. Lower income people pay a lot less in income tax than do their upper middle/upper class counterparts.
Hey, I am all for a progressive income tax - the first $30K taxed lower than 5%, the middle at 5%, and the upper end at 5.5%, or some variation thereof. But that’s not what Reilly’s proposing - he’s proposing immediately rolling back a tax which will IMMEDIATELY affect towns and cities, who will in turn raise property tax rates. I believe someone in this campaign called that a shell game?
Services, schools, fire, and police still have to be paid for. It’s better to have a more progressive way to do it than the property tax.
Where the HELL is Reilly going to get all the money he wants for increases in public higher ed and everything if he CUTS taxes? Myself as an individual, if my income goes down, I have to cut my family budget. It’s the same thing on the state level.
September 17th, 2006 at 2:39 pm
The real question, since we are all Dems, is who can beat Healey. I’m a Reilly guy, but I don’t think he can beat her. I don’t think Patrick can either.
That leaves one guy, and he’s my third choice personally. But there’s a reason Healey already started lobbing bombs at him - because he’s the only guy that has a shot of beating her.
By the way Lynne, a question I’ve been meaning to ask….but I always have a problem with the response box being too long on the right half of the screen, so I often can’t see what I’m typing. It’s like it has no margin on the right. Anyone else ever have a problem with that? I have to keep kicking back and forth from full screen (upper right hand corner boxes on explorer) to smaller screen to get the box right.
September 17th, 2006 at 2:48 pm
I dunno…Gabrieli is going to get hit hard on his credibility against the legislature, who is REALLY who Healey will run against. Patrick and Reilly actually have credibility on that one - both came out against that hacky legislature bill to change the rules for one former member to get a pension, for instance, and Gabs didn’t - and people like Nangle switched to him for that reason. Gabs owes DiMasi bigtime.
Patrick has the added weight of a huge number of supporters, which scares the insiders something AWEful - another point in Patrick’s favor regarding his ability to hold the legislature accountable. People power!
Gabs is pretty vulnerable if you think about it. Patrick not as much in that area, and I am confident in his ability to stick it to Kerry Healey on her administration’s prior failures and fight back on the tax issue - Patrick has a way of describing his position simply without pandering, and he only has gotten better at that as he’s run.
RE the comment box…that’s because you don’t use a real browser like Firefox…this is a W3C-compliant design, but IE6 has real issues with percentage-widths which this “fluid” design uses. I suppose I could get around to putting in a hack which fixes the width for you IE users…but it’d be a crappy hack. Blegh. I hate IE with a passion…
September 17th, 2006 at 6:53 pm
I wondered about the width issue. I only have it at work where I *know* I have IE problems but due to “security” concerns Firefox is prohibited. Is there anything the IE user can do to correct the problem? (Other than switching to Firefox!)
September 17th, 2006 at 7:26 pm
No…I can put in a hack. One of these days I’ll get around to testing solutions for it…
it’ll probably mean a fixed width for Ie users, though, no funky flowing layout, or at least for the comment box. That’s the only solution I can think of that’ll work.
September 17th, 2006 at 7:35 pm
OK did a quick fix…it’s a fixed width for IE. I don’t have Firefox on this machine so let me know if there’s an issue for that - there shouldn’t be, I used an IE-specific hack, except I had to take the style out of the HTML and into the CSS for both…er, in any case, it should work the same way it always had for Firefox, but I can’t test it.
September 17th, 2006 at 10:09 pm
That’s better!
September 18th, 2006 at 6:56 am
Firefox now shows an enlarged-width box that flows completely outside the window if Firefox is not run in full-screen mode!
September 18th, 2006 at 10:02 pm
Im not sure what happened but between this morning when I published the comment above and now the width issue seems to have been fixed.