Leone’s Share of Sunday’s U.S. Senate Coverage

February 3, 2013

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).

Joe Battenfeld’s column today:

DSC_0648.JPGLeone could be spoiler in race

Three’s a crowd for Lynch, Markey

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.

Picture 1

 

Lynch and Markey got the next two:

Picture 2

 

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.

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Herald the Lynchpin for Rep’s U.S. Senate Run

February 1, 2013

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.

Representative sample: Peter Gelzinis’ column.

STU_8221.JPGWorking-class hero Steve Lynch has got the goods

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.

 

Music – and hearts – swell.

The editorial sounds a similar note:

Defying Beltway dictators

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.

P.S. Crosstown at the Globe, op-ed columnist Scott Lehigh takes Lynch down a peg:

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.

 

Expect more of that in the future.

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Baker’s ‘Doesn’t’ in U.S. Senate Speculation

January 26, 2013

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).

MA_BH

 

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:

MATT0018.JPGBotched 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:

Picture 1

 

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.

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Brown: Ex Markeys the Spot in Malden

January 3, 2013

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.

Today’s Page One Boston Globe story:

Brown swipes at Markey’s residency

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.

TED_8370.jpgQuestion 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.

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Boston Herald: Scott Brown for Governor?

January 2, 2013

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:

Scott BrownDems 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):

MA_BH

 

Love that feisty local tabloid.

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Herald Can’t Make Up Mind About Markey

December 28, 2012

First today’s Boston Herald tells us this:

keating31Mr. Ed draws yawn in Senate horse race

Seriously, is this the best the Democrats can come up with? Ed Markey?

This is a guy who has been in Congress for 36 years — the ultimate Washington insider.

A guy who didn’t even own a home in his own district for the first 20 years of his career.

This is a career politician who has never had a serious re-election challenge in decades.

 

And etc.

Then the feisty local tabloid tells us this:

(Boston MA)112512) (Photo by Faith Ninivaggi)Republicans cheer ‘tired’ Ed Markey’s entry into election

U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey became the first Bay State congressman to jump into the U.S. Senate special election yesterday, with an announcement that gleeful Republicans called a late Christmas gift for Republican Scott Brown.

“This is a huge positive for Scott Brown,” said GOP consultant Rob Gray, noting that Markey, in Congress for 36 years, is seen as a consummate insider. “This looks like the first in a series of non-bigfoot candidates that Democrats are putting forward.”

 

Or the last. To all appearances the Democratic establishment is trying to pull the ladder up behind Markey.

Here’s the Herald web piece:

2V0R1860.JPGKerry, Vicki endorse Markey in Senate race

U.S. Sen. John Kerry and Victoria Reggie Kennedy are giving their hearty backing to Congressman Ed Markey, who yesterday became the first Democrat to throw his hat in the ring in the race for Kerry’s seat — an indication of the eagerness of Bay State Dems to anoint a candidate swiftly and painlessly before what is expected to be a bruising battle with likely GOP nominee Scott Brow [sic].

 

Which still leaves this question for the Herald: Endorsements aside, is Markey drawing yawns or cheers?

Not that it really matters.

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Local Dailies Kerry On with Senate Speculation

December 16, 2012

It’s no secret that the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald inhabit entirely different political landscapes here in the Bay State.

Exhibit Umpteen: Their respective takes on who might succeed Sen. John Kerry (D-Reporting for Due-ty) if he gets what is widely regarded as a well-deserved nod for Secretary of State.

From Saturday’s Boston Globe piece by Glen Johnson:

A number of US House members, including Representatives Edward J. Markey and Michael Capuano, are also possible Democratic candidates in a special election.

 

From Friday’s much more expansive Boston Herald column by Howie Carr:

Picture 2

 

That’s what you now see when you try to access the Herald website. Except none of the links – Full Site, Basic Mobile Site, Get App – actually link (at least not at 1:39 Saturday morning).

Luckily, the hardtyping staff is one of the Herald’s up to 17 home delivery subscribers, so we can tell you that this is what Carr wrote:

Let’s go down the congressional list. Ed Markey’s wanted this seat since 1984, but he could never risk his safe seat, lest he lose and starve to death. One of his only jobs in the Dreaded Private Sector was driving an ice cream truck. Now Mr. Frosty will have a free shot.

Ditto, Mike Capuano. He’s morphed from an unrepentant Somerville hack into a twitchy, MoveOn mouthbreather. Remember his exhortations to his union thugs on the Common about spilling a little blood?

 

The hardguessing staff anticipates more than a little blood in what looks like an inevitable Senate bakeoff.

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