Pay to play, Boston style.
by Kevin Sowyrda
If it's Mayor Menino's narcissistic intent to continue impersonating Marie Antoinette - minus the ornate garments and Austrian accent - I'll be the singular person in the Hub to tell you that an upset of historic proportions is in the offing in the upcoming mayoral contest where the incumbent has been considered all but invincible.
For some weeks now, while Bostonians are dodging pink slips more than meter maids, Menino has been apprehended - by the media that is - for living a life style that would put any self-respecting Bourbon Royalist to shame. In good times the chronicles of Menino's missions of self indulgence would serve as sufficiently grating. But at a point in history when we all feel like we're living a real life version of that iconic T.V. series the WALTONS, the news of one million dollars in Menino's political cash being lavished on the payroll patriots, and His Honor's highly paid detective son enjoying the benefits of what some are calling a no show job with a development company which regularly begs for mayoral favors, is just too naked for any apologetic press release to cover up.
It's a little difficult to calculate which sin better portrays the pugnacious and self centered politician. On December 29, 2008 the Boston Globe reported that Menino has spent a staggering $1.2 million from his political war chest over the past three years on all things trite and ridiculous, ranging from fabulous galas to endless dining events at the South End's Hamersley's Bistro. If the mayor's campaign chest was burning such a hole in his pocket, a cool million would have gone a long way to help people in greater need than the perennial political activists already fattened at the trough.
But perhaps the more egregious sin is not that difficult to consider. With unemployment certain to hit eight percent before the end of the quarter, Bostonians learn from a Boston Herald article that Tom Menino, Jr., His Honor's police detective son, was paid $137,000 in 2007. Though it's hard to digest how the mayor's progeny was able to reportedly earn 310 overtime hours, the average laid off Bostonian has a difficult task figuring why and how $137,000 isn't enough for the young lad to survive on, family and all. But apparently it's not. Hence Suffolk Construction enters this sordid, political play.
Suffolk's web page will tell you that they are dedicated to "exceptional client service." Apparently, Mayor Menino's son is treated better than any client could hope for. The royal prince works as a safety consultant for Suffolk for a sum of cash yet to be determined; and we are to believe this has no influence on city hall, where the fate of Suffolk Construction projects is deliberated on a daily basis by the mayor's minions.
The city legal counsel, William F. Sinnot, patronizes us by declaring there's no conflict of interest here and nothing for us to worry our pretty, little heads about. Memo to Mr. Sinnot - Illinois Governor Blagojavich should pray every day that you become the next U.S. Attorney for his state.
Sinnot is as much a sycophant as he is an incompetent lawyer. The Menino affair is absolutely a conflict of interest, even by the lowest bar of ethical standards. It's Boston's version of pay to play and it's a perfectly reasonable impetus for Bostonians to seek a new administration at city hall which will be committed to anything but business as unusual. In the interim, the state should investigate exactly who arranged for the princely sum for the mayoral prince; and what quid pro quos may have been negotiated. Since Attorney General Martha Coakley has disappeared (anyone who can find her doing something about state corruption is hereby offered a $1,000 cash finders fee) we should expect the U.S. Attorney - the only law enforcement office in Massachusetts which seems to care about ferreting out public corruption - to vet the situation.
And then there's this. There's no neighborhood in the Baystate where pay to play has garnered more headlines than in Boston's South End. With a former state senator and a current city councilor headed for trial on bribery charges, South Enders understand what bribery means. But there are two types of bribes, aren't there? There's illegal bribes, where getting caught taking cash lands you in handcuffs. Then there's legal, or acceptable, bribery, where taking cash in an indirect manner - such as a great job for your son - just lands you in the media dog house.
For my money, I see no difference between legal bribes and illegal bribes. It's all the same type of corruption and cronyism.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Behind the movie......
Off screen, Sean Penn is no Harvey Milk
by Kevin John Sowyrda
contributing writer
Wednesday Dec 24, 2008
I got Milk. I mean to say, I’ve seen the flick about the life and times of one of America’s first openly gay elected officials. Milk was a panoply of sexual identity, bigotry, spiritual conversion, seizing power, having it stolen away, revenge and twisted closure. The movie is also about a producer’s denial regarding sensitivity to the real world activities of an actor who is polar opposite to everything Harvey Milk would be doing right now had he survived his assassination in 1978. Sean Penn playing the role of Harvey Milk is rife with ironies that should not be ignored.
The cast is far from homogenized (I simply couldn’t resist) and instead the integral players are found to execute unique acting techniques worthy of the complex characters they try, sometimes too hard, to bring back to life for a younger generation of gay citizens who probably think 1972 (Milk’s debut in San Francisco) was when Cleopatra and Caesar were still dating.
Penn’s acting shows few if any flaws, but I found it almost overshadowed, ironically so, by a mesmerizing supporting cast. That guy Lipton with the pile of too many blue cards would lecture me sardonically here, but I find supporting actors the stuff of real movies. James Franco, as Milk’s love interest Scott Smith, seemed to be handing in his straight card for gay credentials, pulling off amazingly credible intimacy moments with Sean Penn that must have required a special imagination that can be found only in a true artist’s heart. Kudos likewise to Josh Brolin, who seems to be the new character actor du jour. Having mastered the idiosyncrasies of President Bush for his lead role in the Oliver Stone drama W, Brolin is compelling for his on screen brooding as City Supervisor Dan White in Milk. The leader of San Francisco’s conservative community -- yes there was once such a thing -- White would kill Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and commit suicide about five years later. History will note that Dan White was dealing with more demons than he would inevitably find when sent to perdition, and Brolin projects that in the best supporting actor performance of the year. Milk’s message, aside from documenting for us the unlikely political rise of a gay, Jewish man in conservative 1970’s San Francisco is, I suppose, that though heroes are not immune to a .38 revolver, their memories are indeed held harmless to even the most sordid tools of temporal life. Agreed.
But had Milk’s colleague White been captured on that fateful morning of Nov. 27, 1978 while crawling into a city hall window with his gun, and the murders thus avoided, would Milk cheer the fact that his stunning story of unlikely ascendancy is being portrayed by Madonna’s ex? I think not.
In today’s world Milk would be just shy of 80. No one with his energy would dare leave us before blowing out at least 95 or so candles. Therefore, upon getting the word that he’s to be portrayed by Sean Penn, I dare to imagine a present day U.S. Senator Harvey Milk summoning the congressional physician for those paddles needed for heart resuscitation. A modern-day Milk would be raising holy hell -- a technique he mastered -- regarding the treatment of gay people at the hands of our hemisphere’s growing supply of dictator-thugs, and would consequently find Penn’s bipolar existence -- championing gay rights in one event while praising those who literally kill people for being gay in other events, an ugliness far greater than anything Milk had to face in San Francisco.
Sean Penn is a nonsensical hypocrite whose acting may have matured beyond Fast Times at Ridgemont High but whose politics reads as if it were written in the detention room at that fictional school. His recent claim to infamy is a hell bent effort to legitimize the regime of Venezuelan Despot Hugo Chavez, whose sanity is almost as questionable as his deplorable human rights record. Tell Hugo Chavez of Venezuela you’re gay? No problem. Hugo’s thugs cut your head off and then you don’t have to worry about being gay in Venezuela anymore. Easy.
As James Kirchik recently scribed in The Advocate, "The same week that Milk premiered in theaters, The Nation published a cover story by Penn based on interviews he conducted recently with Hugo Chavez and Raul Castro, the dictators of Venezuela and Cuba respectively. The article is a love letter to the two men, defending them against all manner of Western ’propaganda.’ It hearkens back to the notorious dispatches penned by Westerners fresh from the Soviet Union who reported on the amazing progress of the workers’ paradise. These worshipful epistles, often published in The Nation, neglected to mention anything about the gulag, the ’disappearance’ of political dissidents, the Ukrainian famine, or any other such inconvenient truths about communism. Lenin termed the individuals who delivered these apologetics ’useful idiots,’ and Penn and his enablers are nothing if not that."
The nuclear bombs being launched at Kirchik, an assistant editor at The New Republic, are to be expected. The stereotype that card-carrying members of the gay community must also heap praise on any new Politburo infesting the Banana Republics of the world is too strong a misnomer to fight without opposition. But where’s the moral compass of sensible members of the gay community when personalities like Penn are suddenly canonized for what I’ll grant you is his masterful portrait of a gay icon, but not also called to task for embracing men -- Chavez and Castro -- who are known to support the imprisonment and torture of people for the "crime" of being homosexual?
By all means go watch Penn shine in the movie Milk. I recommend the Coolidge Corner Theatre as Brookline was founded for deep thought. But after falling in love with this production -- and you will -- send a snail mail to Penn care of his agent -- 2049 Century Park E Ste 2500, Los Angeles, CA 90067 -- and ask the actor/politician to stop making love off screen to people who hate us.
Harvey would have known better.
by Kevin John Sowyrda
contributing writer
Wednesday Dec 24, 2008
I got Milk. I mean to say, I’ve seen the flick about the life and times of one of America’s first openly gay elected officials. Milk was a panoply of sexual identity, bigotry, spiritual conversion, seizing power, having it stolen away, revenge and twisted closure. The movie is also about a producer’s denial regarding sensitivity to the real world activities of an actor who is polar opposite to everything Harvey Milk would be doing right now had he survived his assassination in 1978. Sean Penn playing the role of Harvey Milk is rife with ironies that should not be ignored.
The cast is far from homogenized (I simply couldn’t resist) and instead the integral players are found to execute unique acting techniques worthy of the complex characters they try, sometimes too hard, to bring back to life for a younger generation of gay citizens who probably think 1972 (Milk’s debut in San Francisco) was when Cleopatra and Caesar were still dating.
Penn’s acting shows few if any flaws, but I found it almost overshadowed, ironically so, by a mesmerizing supporting cast. That guy Lipton with the pile of too many blue cards would lecture me sardonically here, but I find supporting actors the stuff of real movies. James Franco, as Milk’s love interest Scott Smith, seemed to be handing in his straight card for gay credentials, pulling off amazingly credible intimacy moments with Sean Penn that must have required a special imagination that can be found only in a true artist’s heart. Kudos likewise to Josh Brolin, who seems to be the new character actor du jour. Having mastered the idiosyncrasies of President Bush for his lead role in the Oliver Stone drama W, Brolin is compelling for his on screen brooding as City Supervisor Dan White in Milk. The leader of San Francisco’s conservative community -- yes there was once such a thing -- White would kill Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and commit suicide about five years later. History will note that Dan White was dealing with more demons than he would inevitably find when sent to perdition, and Brolin projects that in the best supporting actor performance of the year. Milk’s message, aside from documenting for us the unlikely political rise of a gay, Jewish man in conservative 1970’s San Francisco is, I suppose, that though heroes are not immune to a .38 revolver, their memories are indeed held harmless to even the most sordid tools of temporal life. Agreed.
But had Milk’s colleague White been captured on that fateful morning of Nov. 27, 1978 while crawling into a city hall window with his gun, and the murders thus avoided, would Milk cheer the fact that his stunning story of unlikely ascendancy is being portrayed by Madonna’s ex? I think not.
In today’s world Milk would be just shy of 80. No one with his energy would dare leave us before blowing out at least 95 or so candles. Therefore, upon getting the word that he’s to be portrayed by Sean Penn, I dare to imagine a present day U.S. Senator Harvey Milk summoning the congressional physician for those paddles needed for heart resuscitation. A modern-day Milk would be raising holy hell -- a technique he mastered -- regarding the treatment of gay people at the hands of our hemisphere’s growing supply of dictator-thugs, and would consequently find Penn’s bipolar existence -- championing gay rights in one event while praising those who literally kill people for being gay in other events, an ugliness far greater than anything Milk had to face in San Francisco.
Sean Penn is a nonsensical hypocrite whose acting may have matured beyond Fast Times at Ridgemont High but whose politics reads as if it were written in the detention room at that fictional school. His recent claim to infamy is a hell bent effort to legitimize the regime of Venezuelan Despot Hugo Chavez, whose sanity is almost as questionable as his deplorable human rights record. Tell Hugo Chavez of Venezuela you’re gay? No problem. Hugo’s thugs cut your head off and then you don’t have to worry about being gay in Venezuela anymore. Easy.
As James Kirchik recently scribed in The Advocate, "The same week that Milk premiered in theaters, The Nation published a cover story by Penn based on interviews he conducted recently with Hugo Chavez and Raul Castro, the dictators of Venezuela and Cuba respectively. The article is a love letter to the two men, defending them against all manner of Western ’propaganda.’ It hearkens back to the notorious dispatches penned by Westerners fresh from the Soviet Union who reported on the amazing progress of the workers’ paradise. These worshipful epistles, often published in The Nation, neglected to mention anything about the gulag, the ’disappearance’ of political dissidents, the Ukrainian famine, or any other such inconvenient truths about communism. Lenin termed the individuals who delivered these apologetics ’useful idiots,’ and Penn and his enablers are nothing if not that."
The nuclear bombs being launched at Kirchik, an assistant editor at The New Republic, are to be expected. The stereotype that card-carrying members of the gay community must also heap praise on any new Politburo infesting the Banana Republics of the world is too strong a misnomer to fight without opposition. But where’s the moral compass of sensible members of the gay community when personalities like Penn are suddenly canonized for what I’ll grant you is his masterful portrait of a gay icon, but not also called to task for embracing men -- Chavez and Castro -- who are known to support the imprisonment and torture of people for the "crime" of being homosexual?
By all means go watch Penn shine in the movie Milk. I recommend the Coolidge Corner Theatre as Brookline was founded for deep thought. But after falling in love with this production -- and you will -- send a snail mail to Penn care of his agent -- 2049 Century Park E Ste 2500, Los Angeles, CA 90067 -- and ask the actor/politician to stop making love off screen to people who hate us.
Harvey would have known better.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
TURNER's bribery charge pales in comparison to other sins.
Turner's other sins outweigh what he's charge with.
By Kevin Sowyrda
For my money, Chuck Turner being guilty or not of taking a thousand greenbacks for one liquor license is the least of his sins at the concrete bunker, also city hall. In fact, on the accusation of being on the dole I'll give the filibustering municipal hack a pass. In an Al Capone sort of way, Turner may find himself going to jail for a petty crime, and not the more severe escapades with which he’s burdened a district deserving so much better and needing so much more.
I first met Chuck Turner in the aftermath of 9-11, and not so much by choice. Like millions of others who were trying to make sense of the Hate Crime committed against our country, I was still glued to the electronic media coverage which seemed to induce more of a panic attack than understanding of why and who. In any event, there I was tuned to WRKO just a few days after the terrorist hijackings and City Councilor Chuck Turner was being interviewed. He gave such a sadistic twist to the turn of events, that the listening of it made me more ill than watching the still burning debris at Ground Zero.
Speaking to the station’s talk masters, Turner prosthelytized that Americans needed a time of serious introspection concerning the actions we had taken to provoke the attacks. The councilor shamelessly proceeded, to the obvious amazement of the talk show hosts, to give a stupefying lecture that could have been copied from the airwaves of Al Jazeera
The firestorm which ensued was the first time I had reason to consider that Turner was not a Democrat or a progressive or a civil rights activist or even a Socialist. Tuner was and is an Anarchist - by pure definition - holding views that are so divisive and beyond the mainstream that it remains difficult to understand how he'd even pass muster for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
As the pressure mounted on Turner to withdraw his incendiary comments about 9-11, first made on the RKO airwaves, I decided to call him and provide a simple ‘Q and A’ format. We titled the column, ‘Chuck Tuner in his own words,’ and as we sometimes say in the business, Turner simply dug the hole deeper.
As I asked him questions to which he provided simply flabbergasting responses, I kept reminding Tuner that we were on the record. I actually felt bad for someone saying the things he was saying. But sure enough, Turner stuck to his Machiavellian belief that America did indeed bear significant responsibility for the September terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and the crashed airliner in Western Pennsylvania. His philosophy was as draconian as it was overly simplistic; stating that America’s foreign policy had justified the surprise attack on unarmed civilians in the Homeland. It was probably the fist time in his life that Turner was on the same page as Evangelist Jerry Falwell; who echoed a tone similar to Turner's, saying that the sins of America had triggered the attacks, courtesy of God.
One person was recently quoted as calling Turner “a dedicated servant for the voiceless within Boston for over 40 years.” But in the aftermath of 9-11, Turner was hardly an advocate for the thousands of voiceless people who were murdered on that fateful day in September.
Perhaps having acquired a taste for expressing a Lyndon Larouche like view of the world, Turner’s twisted take on foreign policy extended to the Iraq War in the spring of 2004. That's when Turner accused American soldiers of raping Iraqi women. Turner’s and his compatriot, Sadiki Kambon, held a disjointed press conference inside city hall where they presented photos clearly showing men engaging in sex with women. The Boston Globe, over the objections of one of their own reporters, Donovan Slack, gave prominent coverage of Turner’s accusations complete with the photo he supplied. But days later the Globe called the photos falsified. WorldNetDaily reported they were lifted from a pornography web page called "Sex in War". The Globe said it had been duped and condemned Turner, as did six of his council colleagues who signed a formal letter of rebuke.
Turner's bizarre foreign affairs briefings would offend sensible constituents only slightly less than his other disturbing portraits of politics; clearly painted from a chaotic viewpoint of the world. After telling a Boston daily that Secretary of State Condi Rice working for George Bush was "similar in my mind to a Jewish person working for Hitler in the 1930s," Turner's obsession with race would only intensify and become more destructive at the local level.
As reported in an editorial by Sue O'Connell on October 2, Turner referred to State Senator Elect Sonia Chang Diaz as "someone from another community." The painful undertones of that statement should be obvious to anyone and it came at the heels of Turner's comrades actually berating Diaz for not being a person of color. The racial litmus test being put forward by Turner and those he played hard ball politics with was becoming highly volatile.
The legendary Conservative Barry Goldwater once said that, "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice." Turner practices the same brash brand of politics, just from a polar opposite end. But he doesn't understand that extremism is indeed a vice; probably the greatest of vices.
It's extremism to compare the city council president to a member of the Ku Kluk Klan, as Turner's surrogate recently did. It's extremism to condemn U.S. support of Israel because the statements border on anti-Semitic. It's extremism to accuse former council president Michael Flaherty of supporting "institutional racism."
And yes, it's at least a little extreme if Chuck Turner took a one thousand dollar bribe.
By Kevin Sowyrda
For my money, Chuck Turner being guilty or not of taking a thousand greenbacks for one liquor license is the least of his sins at the concrete bunker, also city hall. In fact, on the accusation of being on the dole I'll give the filibustering municipal hack a pass. In an Al Capone sort of way, Turner may find himself going to jail for a petty crime, and not the more severe escapades with which he’s burdened a district deserving so much better and needing so much more.
I first met Chuck Turner in the aftermath of 9-11, and not so much by choice. Like millions of others who were trying to make sense of the Hate Crime committed against our country, I was still glued to the electronic media coverage which seemed to induce more of a panic attack than understanding of why and who. In any event, there I was tuned to WRKO just a few days after the terrorist hijackings and City Councilor Chuck Turner was being interviewed. He gave such a sadistic twist to the turn of events, that the listening of it made me more ill than watching the still burning debris at Ground Zero.
Speaking to the station’s talk masters, Turner prosthelytized that Americans needed a time of serious introspection concerning the actions we had taken to provoke the attacks. The councilor shamelessly proceeded, to the obvious amazement of the talk show hosts, to give a stupefying lecture that could have been copied from the airwaves of Al Jazeera
The firestorm which ensued was the first time I had reason to consider that Turner was not a Democrat or a progressive or a civil rights activist or even a Socialist. Tuner was and is an Anarchist - by pure definition - holding views that are so divisive and beyond the mainstream that it remains difficult to understand how he'd even pass muster for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
As the pressure mounted on Turner to withdraw his incendiary comments about 9-11, first made on the RKO airwaves, I decided to call him and provide a simple ‘Q and A’ format. We titled the column, ‘Chuck Tuner in his own words,’ and as we sometimes say in the business, Turner simply dug the hole deeper.
As I asked him questions to which he provided simply flabbergasting responses, I kept reminding Tuner that we were on the record. I actually felt bad for someone saying the things he was saying. But sure enough, Turner stuck to his Machiavellian belief that America did indeed bear significant responsibility for the September terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and the crashed airliner in Western Pennsylvania. His philosophy was as draconian as it was overly simplistic; stating that America’s foreign policy had justified the surprise attack on unarmed civilians in the Homeland. It was probably the fist time in his life that Turner was on the same page as Evangelist Jerry Falwell; who echoed a tone similar to Turner's, saying that the sins of America had triggered the attacks, courtesy of God.
One person was recently quoted as calling Turner “a dedicated servant for the voiceless within Boston for over 40 years.” But in the aftermath of 9-11, Turner was hardly an advocate for the thousands of voiceless people who were murdered on that fateful day in September.
Perhaps having acquired a taste for expressing a Lyndon Larouche like view of the world, Turner’s twisted take on foreign policy extended to the Iraq War in the spring of 2004. That's when Turner accused American soldiers of raping Iraqi women. Turner’s and his compatriot, Sadiki Kambon, held a disjointed press conference inside city hall where they presented photos clearly showing men engaging in sex with women. The Boston Globe, over the objections of one of their own reporters, Donovan Slack, gave prominent coverage of Turner’s accusations complete with the photo he supplied. But days later the Globe called the photos falsified. WorldNetDaily reported they were lifted from a pornography web page called "Sex in War". The Globe said it had been duped and condemned Turner, as did six of his council colleagues who signed a formal letter of rebuke.
Turner's bizarre foreign affairs briefings would offend sensible constituents only slightly less than his other disturbing portraits of politics; clearly painted from a chaotic viewpoint of the world. After telling a Boston daily that Secretary of State Condi Rice working for George Bush was "similar in my mind to a Jewish person working for Hitler in the 1930s," Turner's obsession with race would only intensify and become more destructive at the local level.
As reported in an editorial by Sue O'Connell on October 2, Turner referred to State Senator Elect Sonia Chang Diaz as "someone from another community." The painful undertones of that statement should be obvious to anyone and it came at the heels of Turner's comrades actually berating Diaz for not being a person of color. The racial litmus test being put forward by Turner and those he played hard ball politics with was becoming highly volatile.
The legendary Conservative Barry Goldwater once said that, "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice." Turner practices the same brash brand of politics, just from a polar opposite end. But he doesn't understand that extremism is indeed a vice; probably the greatest of vices.
It's extremism to compare the city council president to a member of the Ku Kluk Klan, as Turner's surrogate recently did. It's extremism to condemn U.S. support of Israel because the statements border on anti-Semitic. It's extremism to accuse former council president Michael Flaherty of supporting "institutional racism."
And yes, it's at least a little extreme if Chuck Turner took a one thousand dollar bribe.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Election aftermath......
The dominos begin to fall
by Kevin John Sowyrda
MySouthEnd.com Contributor
Thursday Nov 6, 2008
The tidal wave is over and the ancillary affects are particularly acute here in Massachusetts, where Governor Deval Patrick’s career prospects are suddenly more grandiose, as is the case with the handily re-elected Senator John Kerry, whose name is increasingly bandied about as the next Secretary of State or ambassador to the United Nations. Every MacBook-carrying member of the blogosphere has already anointed Kerry as a new cabinet member and they can’t all be wrong. So brace yourselves for a big political domino affect in Massachusetts starting now.
For Kerry, Secretary of State is the granddaddy of consolation prizes and may assuage the soul of a complicated man who never quite recovered from the painful rejection that was the 2004 presidential race. But it’s the least President-Elect Obama can do. The Illinois senator’s keynote address at the Democratic Convention in Boston in July, 2004 was his inauguration as a figure of stature on the national stage. He’s president elect today, in part, because Kerry tapped him for that coveted and pivotal moment in time. Smart insurance policy by John Forbes that will now pay its dividends.
Look for Kerry’s resignation shortly and his departure creates a remarkable special election contest to fill his coveted six-year term. Bet money on Congressman Steve Lynch being the first to jump in the waters (he voted no on the bailout bill with this event in mind); and put nothing beyond the ’most eccentric one’, a.k.a. Bill Weld, former Republican governor of the Bay State now slumming at the Trump Tower in New York, to plunge in just like he dived into the Charles River when once promoting his environmental agenda (that jump caused him a serious ear infection).
Weld seems to be hopelessly and eternally bored, perpetually seeking some political mountain to climb no matter how high or intimidating. First there was the ill-fated task to become ambassador to Mexico, then his almost comedic bid for governor in New York; and I guess it’s our turn, again, to give Bill Weld a shot at yet another campaign.
Think about it this way. Some Brahmins play polo; Weld plays politics. In fact, the former governor and U.S. attorney is actually more bi-political than bipolar, despite what his critics often contend. Though Weld is the only politician in the country to endorse Mitt Romney one month and then Barack Obama a few months later, there’s nothing necessarily crazy about that. It’s just typical Bill Weld showcasing his unique philosophical pendulum.
But jocular comments aside, given recent scandals on Beacon Hill involving Democrats, voters may be quite receptive to a Weldian resurgence. If the former Cantabridgian is smart, he’ll run as an independent. I’d give him at least a one in five of taking it. Really.
Back on the Democratic side, Steve Lynch will not die of loneliness in the primary. Martha Coakley retains the loyalty of Middlesex County voters, a key building block for any statewide campaign. Coakley was a highly popular district attorney before taking the A.G. slot in 2006 and is an articulate communicator. Her viability is obvious. As former congressman and assistant D.A. Marty Meehan once told me, "voters love to vote for the guys [gals] who send the bad guys to jail."
Add to the probable special election contenders other hungry aspirants such as Congressman John Tierney, who would be the instant darling of the progressives. I can imagine Tierney wrangling for that key progressive block with Worcester Congressman Jim McGovern, who I think would be well advised to jump in the race.
But the guy who’d take it in a walk, Congressman Barney Frank, is an unlikely participant from my view. The Newton Democrat was gearing up for a special senate election in 2004 in the event John Kerry won the presidency. But since then Frank has assumed the coveted chairman’s post at the House Financial Services Committee. He’s credited with shepherding the recent bailout bill through congress using a combination of whit and natural abilities to make the argument, and he’s got to be doing something right when Saturday Night Light decides he’s a big enough player to parody. I don’t see Frank giving up his national profile for a freshman’s seat in the upper chamber.
Our own Congressman Capuano, you inquire? I doubt it. Michael Capuano has colder feet than an Eskimo as he proved when he was mentioned as a gubernatorial candidate before the advent of Deval Patrick. Some members of congress want to climb the ladder away from the tawdry task of being in perpetual campaign mode; the life of anyone holding an office affording a mere two year term. Others are perfectly content to sit there quietly without causing too much damage - and that would be our very own Congressman Capuano.
And then there’s this. Governor Patrick has gone from being a close confidant of a very charismatic U.S. senator to being a close confidant of the next leader of the free world. I think presidents tend to surround themselves with smart people that they can trust. That tells me Patrick will be jumping on the Acela to Washington.
Say hello to Acting Governor Tim Murray and yet another brewing contest: the governor’s race in 2010.
by Kevin John Sowyrda
MySouthEnd.com Contributor
Thursday Nov 6, 2008
The tidal wave is over and the ancillary affects are particularly acute here in Massachusetts, where Governor Deval Patrick’s career prospects are suddenly more grandiose, as is the case with the handily re-elected Senator John Kerry, whose name is increasingly bandied about as the next Secretary of State or ambassador to the United Nations. Every MacBook-carrying member of the blogosphere has already anointed Kerry as a new cabinet member and they can’t all be wrong. So brace yourselves for a big political domino affect in Massachusetts starting now.
For Kerry, Secretary of State is the granddaddy of consolation prizes and may assuage the soul of a complicated man who never quite recovered from the painful rejection that was the 2004 presidential race. But it’s the least President-Elect Obama can do. The Illinois senator’s keynote address at the Democratic Convention in Boston in July, 2004 was his inauguration as a figure of stature on the national stage. He’s president elect today, in part, because Kerry tapped him for that coveted and pivotal moment in time. Smart insurance policy by John Forbes that will now pay its dividends.
Look for Kerry’s resignation shortly and his departure creates a remarkable special election contest to fill his coveted six-year term. Bet money on Congressman Steve Lynch being the first to jump in the waters (he voted no on the bailout bill with this event in mind); and put nothing beyond the ’most eccentric one’, a.k.a. Bill Weld, former Republican governor of the Bay State now slumming at the Trump Tower in New York, to plunge in just like he dived into the Charles River when once promoting his environmental agenda (that jump caused him a serious ear infection).
Weld seems to be hopelessly and eternally bored, perpetually seeking some political mountain to climb no matter how high or intimidating. First there was the ill-fated task to become ambassador to Mexico, then his almost comedic bid for governor in New York; and I guess it’s our turn, again, to give Bill Weld a shot at yet another campaign.
Think about it this way. Some Brahmins play polo; Weld plays politics. In fact, the former governor and U.S. attorney is actually more bi-political than bipolar, despite what his critics often contend. Though Weld is the only politician in the country to endorse Mitt Romney one month and then Barack Obama a few months later, there’s nothing necessarily crazy about that. It’s just typical Bill Weld showcasing his unique philosophical pendulum.
But jocular comments aside, given recent scandals on Beacon Hill involving Democrats, voters may be quite receptive to a Weldian resurgence. If the former Cantabridgian is smart, he’ll run as an independent. I’d give him at least a one in five of taking it. Really.
Back on the Democratic side, Steve Lynch will not die of loneliness in the primary. Martha Coakley retains the loyalty of Middlesex County voters, a key building block for any statewide campaign. Coakley was a highly popular district attorney before taking the A.G. slot in 2006 and is an articulate communicator. Her viability is obvious. As former congressman and assistant D.A. Marty Meehan once told me, "voters love to vote for the guys [gals] who send the bad guys to jail."
Add to the probable special election contenders other hungry aspirants such as Congressman John Tierney, who would be the instant darling of the progressives. I can imagine Tierney wrangling for that key progressive block with Worcester Congressman Jim McGovern, who I think would be well advised to jump in the race.
But the guy who’d take it in a walk, Congressman Barney Frank, is an unlikely participant from my view. The Newton Democrat was gearing up for a special senate election in 2004 in the event John Kerry won the presidency. But since then Frank has assumed the coveted chairman’s post at the House Financial Services Committee. He’s credited with shepherding the recent bailout bill through congress using a combination of whit and natural abilities to make the argument, and he’s got to be doing something right when Saturday Night Light decides he’s a big enough player to parody. I don’t see Frank giving up his national profile for a freshman’s seat in the upper chamber.
Our own Congressman Capuano, you inquire? I doubt it. Michael Capuano has colder feet than an Eskimo as he proved when he was mentioned as a gubernatorial candidate before the advent of Deval Patrick. Some members of congress want to climb the ladder away from the tawdry task of being in perpetual campaign mode; the life of anyone holding an office affording a mere two year term. Others are perfectly content to sit there quietly without causing too much damage - and that would be our very own Congressman Capuano.
And then there’s this. Governor Patrick has gone from being a close confidant of a very charismatic U.S. senator to being a close confidant of the next leader of the free world. I think presidents tend to surround themselves with smart people that they can trust. That tells me Patrick will be jumping on the Acela to Washington.
Say hello to Acting Governor Tim Murray and yet another brewing contest: the governor’s race in 2010.
Monday, November 03, 2008
ELECTION EVE
The Thursday night Fox News poll shows Sen. McCain down by a mere three percentage points, and for my money McCain's campaign has internal data showing hope in Pennsylvania, where recent comments by Congressman Murtha (i.e. Western Pennsylvania is "racist" and comprised of "red necks") have hurt Obama, or atleast the congressman himself who suddenly has an opponent gaining ground on him.
I'm convinced that everybody will watch Virginia on election night because the polls there close early, seven PM, and obviously it's an EST state, making an early call by the networks very plausible. If the major outlets quickly declare for Obama, I say McCain's toast. But if they still cant call it by nine PM, then that bodes well for McCain.
Overall, as of election eve I see McCain with about a five percent chance of pulling off an upset. It's clearly Obama's to lose......maybe it always has been. McCain's had too many bridges to cross - out spent, an anti-Republican sentiment not seen since the post Watergate 1974 midterm election, economic dynamics clearly favoring the Democratic Standard Bearer, and a huge volume of unabashedly pro Obama media coverage which has skewed perceptions in the race against the G.O.P. nominee. It's rather amazing that McCain has been able to hold out as well as he has, given this political environment.
I'm convinced that everybody will watch Virginia on election night because the polls there close early, seven PM, and obviously it's an EST state, making an early call by the networks very plausible. If the major outlets quickly declare for Obama, I say McCain's toast. But if they still cant call it by nine PM, then that bodes well for McCain.
Overall, as of election eve I see McCain with about a five percent chance of pulling off an upset. It's clearly Obama's to lose......maybe it always has been. McCain's had too many bridges to cross - out spent, an anti-Republican sentiment not seen since the post Watergate 1974 midterm election, economic dynamics clearly favoring the Democratic Standard Bearer, and a huge volume of unabashedly pro Obama media coverage which has skewed perceptions in the race against the G.O.P. nominee. It's rather amazing that McCain has been able to hold out as well as he has, given this political environment.
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