Scott Brown Pads His Codpiece?
They came from all over. Plates from as far away as Virginia, Ohio licenses, and of course, New Hampshire.
To attend a rally for…a Massachusetts Senate race?
The media is reporting that more than 2000 supporters joined Brown in at his Worcester rally. What I want to know is, what percentage of these were out of state teabaggers? Given the invasion of such into our state in the last couple of weeks, I’d guess quite a number of them.
Now, I’m all for parachuting in and helping an election - many Mass folks went up to NH for the presidential race, where we could be more useful than in our own election of foregone conclusion. But padding one’s rally numbers by busing in teabaggers? Kinda pathetic. (You can see the Youtube video of teabaggers leaving Massachusetts on their bus after the rally.)
There are a few NHerites working for Coakley here, too, but they are working hard on the phones, organizing canvassers, and generally doing the real work of a campaign. Not padding our numbers at rallies. I highly doubt very many of them bothered to go to the Obama rally - after all, they, like I, thought we’d be better serving the campaign if we worked the phones yesterday.
So, really, out of 2,000 people at Scott Brown’s rally yesterday, how many were really from Mass? I just thought this set of photos was really amusing - and very telling about who Scott Brown really is.
Photos used with permission from the Worcester County Democrats.
January 18th, 2010 at 11:26 am
Hey, is that Hayden in the bottom photo?
January 18th, 2010 at 11:28 am
LOL no, you can see him more clearly in the Youtube video…I don’t think it’s him.
January 18th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
I don’t get it. How is this any different that what Kennedy did during his run with Romney years ago?
Would you be writing this post with the same tone if Coakley’s team were doing this?
January 18th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Not to be a complete wise ass here, but what do you call Big Bubba and the president coming in and the numerous phone calls I’ve received from non-MA folks? All candidates perform similar slights of hand in terms of fundraising and such; it is all part of the game as far as I can tell.
January 18th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Agreed Prof. Forrant. Read somewhere today (read so many things I can’t remember where but it was a newspaper) said that Obama’s political arm, Organizing for America, “took over” Coakley’s GOTV effort.
January 18th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Because I wasn’t making the point about bringing in celebrity outsiders to attract people to your rally. I am making the point that they padded the amount of *people* at the rally with outside bused in teabaggers. I find this immensely pathetic.
Brian: you’re pretty wrong about that. I’ve been a part of the GOTV effort. OFA is doing their own thing for the most part - and a lot of it. But the majority of phone banks in MA (and there’s a lot of them set up now) are run by the campaign and its allies (experienced phone bank captains from around the state, from the various MA elected officials, and a few from NH who worked on the Hodes and Shea-Porter). There are limits to the coordination between different organizations so OFA canNOT take over the GOTV effort if they wanted to.
But the fact is, a terribly enormous number of calls came from all quarters - from Lowell alone I think it’d be safe to say thousands of calls were made this weekend. That being the campaign’s phone bank.
January 18th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
Bye Bye Ms Coakley and please take Lynne Lupin with you lol
January 18th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Id rather see real American citizens coming here and showing thier support for a candidate, than the same-as-usual politicians from Washington and special interests coming here for the other candidate. It helps me realize that I and supporting the right candidate this election.
This type of thing happens every election. Everyone here, democrats and republicans, flooded NH during the 08 election, for example.
January 18th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
BTW - I am still voting for Coakley because Brown will help bring us backward into total gridlock for three or more years and into an even bigger economic mess, in my humble opinion. How quickly we forget who screwed up the economy beyond recognition. Turning significant budget surpluses when he came into office into a yawning deficit that has only gotten worse, Bush’s tax cuts-the same ones Brown is calling for-generated no new jobs over his entire time in office. Bush tried fighting two wars without calling for any national sacrifice at all - perfect.
In reality, whichever person wins tomorrow, this is as dysfunctional a government at the federal level as I have seen in my study of US history. Gridlock is profound while the problems are massive in nature - a sure recipe for disaster. And on the state level, the years of the Dem-controlled legislature have left most of us cynical at best over the cleanliness of the political process. How many speakers is it in a row that have been forced to hit the road?
Right now we need something like the GI Bill at the end of the Second World War to get us moving again - but when pigs fly and it rains meatballs we’ll see a Congress -Dems and Reps alike - capable of passing such legislation!
The ship of state has hit the iceberg.
January 18th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Wow Joe, articulate, aren’t you? No wonder things are going to pot.
“same-as-usual politicians from Washington and special interests coming here for the other candidate”
Defines Scott Brown to a T. He’s on the damn payroll for Goldman Sachs, for god’s sake. You don’t get much more special interest there.
And again, I said padded the numbers at the rally. Yes, that’s a typical Republican tactic, all right - GW Bush employed it quite a lot - but that doesn’t mean it isn’t sad and pathetic.
And I seem to remember a lot of criticism from the other end whenever people from outside the state donate to a candidate. Funny now that conservatives are pretty mum about it now that their guy basically is funded through outsider teabaggers.
Bob - the biggest problem, I have come to the conclusion, is the filibuster. It was useless to us when we were in the minority, I say let’s make it useless to the Republicans. Oh wait, we’re too nice. Just get rid of it all ready. If a majority gets into Congress, make them OWN the legislation they pass, for better or worse. It’s not like we stopped the worst excesses of the Bush years with it, so get rid of it. It’s outmoded and stupid.
January 18th, 2010 at 4:56 pm
Brown claims that Coakley is tied to lobbyists for health care, yet it is he that wants to keep the status quo with insurance companies raising health care costs at a pace much greater than inflation, while selectively carving out the sick people.
He supports the drug companies who have raised their prices compared to inflation as follows:
2002 = 5.3% vs. 1.6%
2003 = 6.2% vs. 2.3%
2004 = 6.5% vs. 2.7%
2005 = 6.3% vs. 3.4%
2006 = 7.1% vs. 3.2%
2007 = 7.4% vs. 2.9%
2008 = 8.7% vs. 3.8%
2009 = 9.3% vs. -0.3%
If you want to continue that, bend over and vote for Brown.
Brown wants to derail Cape Wind, not that he “doesn’t agree with renewable energy, he just doesn’t want it there”, a position that effectively kills the opportunity.
But I won’t blame Brown if he becomes the 41st vote to stonewall health care progress, as that blame belongs with the Democratic Congress who couldn’t fall through on a handful of basic principles outlined by the President to create an effective bill in a timely manner.
January 18th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Teabaggers! LOL
January 18th, 2010 at 10:41 pm
And this is exactly what Kennedy did against Romney. All fair game in my book.
I must say though, it’s sad that some people will actually vote for someone based on something as trivial as the crowd turnout.
January 18th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
agreed -b, same game plan (overall), just differant parties!
January 18th, 2010 at 11:59 pm
I am just glad that all of these out of state tea baggers can not vote here.
January 19th, 2010 at 7:12 am
Kim don’t be so self-assured. there are a lot of rumors being bandied about re: voter fraud.
January 19th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Voter fraud is a two way street folks. Voter fraud is now being reported in Lawrence (a democratic bastion). The news accounts are that City Councilor Grisele Silva is handing out absentee ballots at the polls this morning-election day. Absentee ballots had to be in by close of business Friday.
And that quote from Keith Olbermann of CNN about Scott Brown. That he supports the rape of women. Are you kidding me? That’s just sick and disgusting. That’s what you get from the Left, hate, hate, and more hate. And the “teabaggers” comments are a not so veiled attempt at a homosexual reference. I thought you all had the “big tent”. FYI, I’m completely in favor of gay rights including marriage and I’m voting for Brown. I have more in common overall with him than Coakley.
And what is wrong with citizens of this country coming together as a group with a common cause against taxes. That’s what the Tea Party Movement is about. That’s what started our quest for freedom back in the 1700’s. Unfair taxes without representation. Right here in Massachusetts. It’s about time we got back to our roots. Why you all look down on these people as though you’re so much more intelligent and better than them is astounding. You sound like a bunch of elitists.
January 19th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Want to make a correction. It was City Councilor Isabelle Melendez not City Councilor Grisle Silva possibly committing voter fraud as originally reported.
January 19th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Video here:
http://www.electionjournal.org/2010/01/19/video-why-is-this-woman-handing-out-blank-absentee-ballots/
January 19th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
Yes that stupid video is making the conservative rounds, hilarious. Here’s the rebuttal:
This was a provisional ballot and they don’t get counted until the person’s viability as a registered voter (likely just at another precinct) gets resolved.
Republicans, always looking to depress the vote in one way or other, in this case by accusing a perfectly legal situation of being fraud!
January 19th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Which then begs the question- if you’re already at a polling place why does one need a ballot? Walk inside and vote no?
January 19th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
Mark: because you might have moved and then showed up to the wrong place. Or your polling place was changed and your old one hosts another precinct, and you have no time to race around town to find the new place (or hell, six towns over). There are any number of reasons why someone casts a provisional ballot.
It happened to me once. I filled out a new registration form when I moved, and gave it to a local candidate to send in (they offered quite nicely) and they failed to do so (don’t get me started), so I showed up at what was my new polling place and they didn’t have me on that roster. I was still registered at my old place because it was never turned in. This was back before provisional ballot laws though.
Now, I had the time to run around to my old precinct and I had moved just inside of town, but imagine if I’d moved in from western MA and my previous polling place was three hours away - and I had to go to work, I couldn’t take a day off just to drive 6 hours to vote? That’s what the provisional ballot is there for. It’s sealed in a signed envelope and then researched after the fact to find out if I am a legitimate MA voter, then added to the totals. This is especially important if the total of all provisional ballots is greater than the difference between the candidate who won and the rest of the candidates.
This all is a result of the 2004 race where so many legitimate voters were turned away in swing states. It’s part of HAVA, Help America Vote Act.
January 19th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
Couldn’t they get one inside the polling place after finding out that they were moved? (BTW, happened to me once too) What are the odds that this I need a provisional ballot happens enmasse?
January 19th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
http://wbztv.com/local/voter.fraud.senate.2.1435603.html
How about Cambridge and Brighton? Do you honestly mean to sit there and tell all of us that there isn’t some shenanigans going on today?
Or how about this-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/electionjournal/
150 foot rule in effect today or not so much?
January 19th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Or Dedham-
“My mom, is an 82 year old election worker, at the Greenlodge School in Dedham, Ma..she came home for lunch today and told my dad of a large bundle of absentee ballots from the local nursing home (Care Matrix) that had been dropped off at her polling place…the poll workers were wondering how the ballots could be assured as authentic…I thought all absentee ballots were to be submtted to the town clerk’s office by last friday…hmmm…I sure would love to follow up on the nursing home vote…there are plenty of Alzheimer’s patients who can not possibly have the mental capacity to vote….who is it that ‘helps’ these people to vote?”
January 19th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLjAahyKfp0