The Boston Herald has officially become a perpetual self-promotion machine. Case in point: The feisty local tabloid 1) co-sponsored a UMass-Lowell debate last night between Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Ed Markey and Stephen Lynch (that’s good); 2) streamed it live on the Web (okay); and 3) devoted six full pages to it in today’s paper (huh???).
Start with the front page:
Then on page 2 Hillary Chabot provides the basic play-by-play, and a plug for the debate replay .
Flip to pages 4 and 5 for columnists Margery Eagan and Joe Battenfeld, plus a helpful Scorecard, plus another plug for the debate replay.
Then pages 6 and 7 feature reaction from readers, a focus group, UMass-Lowell junior Corey Lanier, and the Herald’s Peter Gelzinis.
First it was the gays and lesbians who couldn’t march in the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Now it’s the Republican U.S. Senate hopefuls who can’t attend the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day breakfast.
Wednesday’s Boston Herald Page One:
The Hillary Chabot/Joe Battenfeld piece:
‘No corned beef’ for GOP Senate hopefuls
The St. Patrick’s Day schmoozefest in South Boston will be missing something notable this Sunday — not bad jokes or warm beer, but all three Republican U.S. Senate candidates, who say they’ve been snubbed by the annual gathering of political power brokers.
Both Democratic Senate candidates, U.S. Reps. Stephen F. Lynch and Edward J. Markey, were invited and given speaking roles at the roast, which is traditionally a chance for candidates to get noticed by a statewide viewing audience.
“We weren’t invited to the party. No corned beef for Mike Sullivan,” said Lisa Barstow, spokeswoman for the former U.S. attorney, one of the three GOP Senate candidates. “It’s either a silly oversight or poor form. … Mike’s definitely got his Irish credentials.”
That’s a significant break with tradition, as the Herald piece notes. Bill Weld, Scott Brown, even Charlie Baker – all were invited to the hoedown in the past.
That was then. This is now:
Boston City Councilor Bill Linehan, the new host of the event, confirmed to the Herald last night that he didn’t invite any Republicans to speak this year, but said it was because only elected officials such as Lynch and Markey were getting speaking roles.
The Boston Globe-Repeater followed up with . . . nothing.
Our feisty local tabloid today released a new poll on the U.S. Senate race (which pretty much runs true to form), and gave it that special Herald something.
Start with Page One:
Two elements of note: 1) the Cryptkeeper photo of Ed Markey; and 2) the rose-colored subhead.
U.S. Rep. Edward Markey is the clear frontrunner to win the special U.S. Senate election, but his support is so soft he’s failing to break the 50 percent mark even against a field of little-known GOP challengers, a new UMass Lowell/Boston Herald poll reveals.
Meanwhile, crosstown rival Boston Globe has a piggyback piece on the Herald poll with a decidedly more measured tone.
Markey leads Lynch by wide margin in poll
Representative Edward J. Markey holds a wide lead over his Democratic rival for the Senate, fellow Representative Stephen F. Lynch, and would easily beat all three Republican candidates in a head-to-head matchup, according to a new poll.
Markey leads Lynch by 29.5 percentage points among potential Democratic primary voters, 50 percent to 20.5 percent, with 23 percent undecided about their preference in the April 30 primary, according to the UMass Lowell/Boston Herald poll released Wednesday night.
Markey, of Malden, would also beat the Republicans candidates by double-digit margins, although the poll found that the vast majority of voters do not know who those candidates are, suggesting they have room to grow if they can broaden their profiles.
On Monday morning, few outside his circle of family, friends, teachers, and classmates likely had heard of Donnie Collins. By Wednesday, he was internationally famous.
Collins, a sophomore at Emerson, seems in many ways a typical college student. He loves J.R.R. Tolkien and “The Colbert Report.” He obsessively updates his Tumblr blog.
But it is his differences that have caused his story to go viral: Born female, Collins is transitioning into a man, and members of his campus fraternity are giving new meaning to the word brotherhood through an extraordinary act of support.
“I’m really grateful for that,” he said in an interview Wednesday near the downtown campus. “It’s taken me a while to realize that I can’t possibly repay them in any way except to accept their help.”
Ed Markey is no stranger to flip-flopping on issues
Democratic Senate candidate Ed Markey, whose supporters have slammed rival Stephen Lynch for changing his position on abortion, has performed a few impressive flip-flops of his own — on issues ranging from abortion to school prayer.
The Malden congressman, who has the strong backing of abortion rights advocates, supported a constitutional amendment banning abortion and repeatedly voted in the U.S. House for a ban on all federal funding of abortions, including in cases of rape and incest, in the late 1970s, records show.
Markey, a Catholic, changed his position in late 1983, just before he made an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate. He said at the time he didn’t want to impose his personal beliefs on others.
Thursday’s Boston Globe:
Markey says abortion shift was personal
Since US Representative Stephen F. Lynch of South Boston backed off his staunch opposition to abortion early this month, his rival for US Senate has been trying to distinguish himself as the only Democrat in the race who is “100 percent pro-choice.”
US Representative Edward J. Markey of Malden has made the case so well, in fact, that the abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America plans to formally endorse him on Thursday.
But three decades ago, Markey was also an abortion opponent who had a conversion before embarking on a campaign for higher office. His evolution began as a congressman, months before he ran for the same Senate seat he’s seeking now.
Like Lynch’s shift, Markey’s change engendered some suspicion. The National Organization for Women issued flyers highlighting Markey’s past votes against abortion rights, and antiabortion advocates were annoyed that Markey had abandoned them.
In an interview on Wednesday, Markey said his shift on abortion was never a political calculation.
I hate to speak ill of fellow Republicans, but there is no good way to spin that the GOP has been left in the lurch by former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown’s backing out of the special election. With less than 23 days to get 10,000 certified signatures for the ballot, the timing of his decision is like leaving a bride at the altar.
Republicans already face a well-known uphill battle because of voter registration, finance and organizational deficits along with a media bias. Declining to run would have been perfectly acceptable for Brown 60 or even 30 days ago, but by waiting until now he puts our candidate at a huge disadvantage.
What about all the people who stood out in the cold and rain, made thousands of calls and gave up their weekends to knock on thousands of doors? What about the party that has given millions of dollars? What about U.S. Sen. John McCain, who helped orchestrate Anchors-Aweigh John Kerry’s appointment as secretary of state?
Well, at least they’re rid of Kerry.
But don’t put Robichaud next to Michael Graham at your next dinner party – not after he wrote this on today’s op-ed page:
Brown’s bowing out clears path to future
Get back to Republican roots
Finally! Some good news for the Massachusetts GOP: Scott Brown isnot running for the U.S. Senate.
Why is that good?
It’s not because I don’t like Scott Brown. He’s a great guy and did a good job truly representing Massachusetts — as opposed to Ed Markey, who will do nothing more than represent the indigenous moonbat population.
But another Scott Brown run would have been a mistake, for him and for the party.
Graham goes on to list all the reasons it would have been a mistake, which you can check out if you care.
The Boston Herald got the jump on the latest candidate to consider jumping into the U.S. Senate race to replace clearly departed John Kerry (D-Empty Seat).
U.S. Rep. Ed Markey and the Democratic establishment did not see this surprise coming.
Their plans to intimidate other Democrats from joining the special U.S. Senate election didn’t work, and now Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone’s possible entry into the race threatens to make it a three-way fight they wanted to avoid.
Leone’s disclosure, first reported on bostonherald.com, that he is seriously considering jumping into the race, could damage Markey’s campaign and leave the door open for either Leone or U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch to win the primary.
Later in the piece Battenfeld writes, “Leone’s surprise comments about running came on the same day Markey was officially launching his campaign across the state, and ended up overshadowing the Malden congressman’s events.”
That’s certainly true from a newspaper real estate standpoint. Leone got all of page 5 in today’s Herald.
Lynch and Markey got the next two:
Crosstown at the Boston Globe, Leone also scored prime real estate – Metro Page One. From the dead-tree edition:
DA may now run for seat in Senate
Leone had said he was leaving public service
Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. is giving “serious consideration” to running in the special US Senate race to fill John Kerry’s seat, he said Saturday.
Leone, 50, said he has received encouragement from friends and political allies to jump into the Democratic primary campaign — a race that already has two Massachusetts congressmen, Edward J. Markey and Stephen P. Lynch, battling for the party nomination. The primary will be held April 30.
“People I have a great deal of respect for have asked me to look at the race,” Leone said. “I will give it serious consideration, but my intention, as I announced last month, has always been to leave electoral politics.”
Yes, well, the road to “Hello, Senator” is paved with good intentions.
If today’s edition is any indication, the Boston Herald will be Stephen Lynch’s in-House organ during his run to replace departing U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Empty Seat).
The feisty local tabloid has one news report (“Some unions already on Lynch’s side”), two columns, and an editorial about Lynch – most all of it positive.
Steve Lynch was exactly where he wanted to be yesterday afternoon — standing in an ironworkers’ hall, around the corner from the housing project where he grew up, and poised to mount an underdog challenge against a fading political relic.
It’s a place Lynch knows all too well.
Almost 20 years before the bishops of the state Democratic Party blessed Ed Markey’s desire to succeed John Kerry, Steve Lynch ended the dynasty of an emperor named William Bulger.
Whatever the future holds for U.S. Rep. Steve Lynch, the people of Massachusetts owe him a huge debt of gratitude for bringing a modicum of small-d democracy back to the Democratic Party.
“All politics is local,” the late U.S. House Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill was fond of saying — and so it should always be here.
But when the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee starts dictating from Washington who should be running in the Massachusetts primary, well, it’s time candidates and voters need to push back.
Enter Steve Lynch, representing the people’s wing of the Democratic Party.
Only Wayne Woodlief’s op-ed piece hits a downbeat note.
Lynch faces uphill fight to replace Kerry
South Boston-bred U.S. Rep. Steve Lynch’s entry yesterday into the special Democratic primary for John Kerry’s Senate seat may well give U.S. Rep. Edward Markey of Malden, the odds-on favorite for the April 30 showdown, a sparring partner, not a stumbling block, for the June 25 special election final.
Sure, Lynch, who announced at a union hall in Southie yesterday, is an ex-ironworker (though it’s been a couple of decades since he strapped on those work boots) and is a favorite of many “regular guys.” But there’s no way he can match the money Markey already has raised ($3 million in the till and counting) and find enough to pay for the ads and staff and other costs for an election in just three months.
Then again, if Boston Mayor Tom Menino (D-I’m Still Standing) throws in with Lynch, he could make it interesting. Especially with the Herald already on board.
Lynch . . . is someone who goes small on big votes. Take, for example, Obamacare. He voted for the original House legislation, against the final bill on the crucial vote, then in favor of the reconciliation legislation essential to its passage. The explanation Lynch offered for that transparent attempt to have things both ways didn’t just strain credulity, but left it in shreds.
He also went small on the bank bailout. Voting no, as he did, was easy — and yet, many experts will tell you that without the federal infusion of cash, our entire financial system would have frozen up, with devastating consequences.
Lots of political prognostication in the local dailies today about who might do what in the race to fill the U.S. Senate seat about to be vacated by John Kerry (D-Am I Secretary of State Now?).
Start with the the Boston Herald, which turns half of Page One over to the prospects of Rep. Stephen (Peek-a-Boo) Lynch (via the Newseum’s Today’s Front Pages).
Lynch earns a split decision inside: Hillary Chabot’s piece has the headline, “Menino Shaping Up As Ace in Hole for Lynch,” while Joe Battenfeld’s column presents a less-optimistic slant:
Botched report spells trouble for pol
Even by Massachusetts political standards, this was one of the worst non-campaign announcements ever.
U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch’s bungled will-he-or-won’t-he drama over his possible entrance into the U.S. Senate fight left voters confused and Democratic leaders shaking their heads — not a great start for a campaign.
If Lynch does announce he’s getting in the Democratic primary against U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey — and many Democrats and Lynch supporters are still convinced he will — the first question will be: “When did you decide to run — before or after your advisers prematurely leaked word you were running and you denied it?”
Ouch.
Crosstown-rival Boston Globe gives its conjecturing the power position: Page One (via ditto) upper right above the fold:
The Frank Phillips/Michael Levenson piece indicates that Scott Brown (R-Show Me the Money) might be leaning toward skipping a third Senate bakeoff in three years and running instead for governor in 2014. Enter the Great Mentioner, starting with former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld:
Weld did not return calls seeking comment. But his associates said it is highly unlikely the former governor, who returned to Boston this fall after living in New York for a dozen years, would plunge back into politics.
“He has no interest,’’ said Stephen Tocco, a partner with Weld at ML Strategies, a public affairs consulting firm. “He is too busy growing his practice and settling into Massachusetts.’’
Not to mention Weld has said (as noted by the hardreading staff) that not running for office is a condition of his employment at ML Strategies. Although – yes, yes – contracts are made to be broken.
Regardless, next?
Another high-profile Republican — Kerry Healey, the former lieutenant governor — did not rule out a Senate candidacy, saying only that it is “premature to say’’ if she would be interested in the seat if Brown does not run.
Conspicuous by his absence was Charlie Baker, who ran a credible if largely uninspired campaign for governor in 2010. It will be interesting to see if in the next round of chinstroking, Baker is part of the mix.
Despite the Boston Herald’s speculation yesterday that Scott Brown (R-Unemployed) might run for governor in 2014, he’s sure acting like a man who wants a return trip to the U.S. Senate.
Scott Brown, in an attempt to define a potential Senate campaign rival before the race even kicks off, questioned Wednesday whether US Representative Edward J. Markey is a bona fide resident of Massachusetts.
Brown took to talk radio, his favored venue, to question whether Markey, the Malden Democrat whose Senate candidacy top Democrats are rallying around, spends too much time in Washington and not enough time in the Bay State.
The early skirmish was a remind er that the campaign season, seemingly over after the November election, is begin ning again as politicians scramble for the seat likely to be vacated by Senator John F. Kerry, who is expected to be confirmed later this month as secretary of state.
Brown, a Republican who has given strong hints that he is running, is heavily leaning toward another campaign, but has not yet made a decision, according to a person familiar with his deliberations.
Uh-huh.
The piece notes that Markey has faced this issue before:
During the 2010 election, challenger Gerry Dembrowski, a Woburn Republican, videotaped interviews with neighbors in Malden asking whether they had ever seen Markey in his home. Most knew his house was there, but said they had not seen him.
The video called “Ed Markey: The Undocumented Congressman,” was posted on YouTube, but it did not stop Markey from winning that year’s race in a 2-1 landslide.
Said video (which is mildly amusing, if a bit heavy-handed):
Crosstown at the Herald, columnist Margery Eagan seems to have actually gone to Malden.
Question hits home with Markey neighbors
In what may be the first salvo in the race for John Kerry’s Senate seat, U.S. Sen. Scott Brown wondered yesterday whether longtime Congressman Ed Markey, who wants Kerry’s job, even lives in his hometown of Malden anymore.
“I’ve come back and forth (from Washington) every weekend,” Brown said yesterday when he called into my last radio show on WTKK. “I see, you know, most of the delegation, and I have never seen Ed on the airplane. … Does he even live here anymore?”
The results of my cursory inquiry of Markey’s Malden neighbors: We’re not quite sure.
Representative samples:
“I don’t see him, to tell you the truth,” said a man who identified himself as Mr. Iacuzzi and has lived next door to Markey on Townsend Street “for more than 30 years.” Iacuzzi thinks he’s seen Markey before, but “it was long time ago.”
“I’m not sure what he even looks like,” said Josh, the manager at Dockside Restaurant, a Malden favorite for fundraisers. So he Googled Markey to make sure. “No, I can’t say that I’ve seen him in here.”
“I have no idea who he is,” said a worker at the legendary Moe’s Cafe.
A Markey spokeswoman had this reply: “(Brown) is already launching false, personal attacks …”
Ha! That’s not even a slapfight. Unlike with Elizabeth Warren, Brown doesn’t have to worry about gender gaps when he jumps ugly on Markey. And there’s not gonna be no People’s Pledge either.
Get ready for some serious smashmouth politics this time around.
Up until now, conventional wisdom in the Bay State held that Scott Brown (R-Tickle Me Grover) had first GOP dibs on the U.S. Senate seat soon to be vacated by John Kerry (D-So Long, Suckers), while Good (Next) Time Charlie Baker had same on the 2014 Massachusetts gubernatorial race.
Not so fast.
From Joe Battenfeld’s piece in today’s Boston Herald:
Dems fear Scott may run for gov
While Democrats frantically try to block Scott Brown from going back to the U.S. Senate, there are also increasing fears he could pose an even bigger threat as the next Massachusetts governor.
Republicans close to the departing U.S. senator said he’s itching to go back to Washington to replace John Kerry, but Democrats are buzzing more about a potential Brown gubernatorial campaign in 2014. It may be tempting for Brown to run in a special election against a vulnerable Rep. Edward J. Markey, but he should reject the easy play and go for the job that really matters — running the state of Massachusetts.
“In the last week, there has been more speculation (about a Brown gubernatorial campaign),” one top Democratic strategist said. “He’d have a much better shot at (governor).”
Battenfeld says in a Senate race Democrats “will throw millions of dollars against him and use the same strategy they used last year for U.S. Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren, trying to tie him to national Republicans.” The gubernatorial race would be an easier one to win.
[I]f you were Scott Brown, who would you rather run against, Ed Markey and the entire Democratic Party, or state Treasurer Steve Grossman or Attorney General Martha Coakley?
Good question.
One last question: What does Charlie Baker think?
Battenfeld doesn’t say.
UPDATE: Gotta add today’s overcaffeinated Page One (via the Newseum’s Today’s Front Pages):
Posted by Campaign Outsider 
