Now that former Sen. Scott Brown (R-$$$) has dropped out of the running for the upcoming special election for U.S. Senate, the local dailies are putting forth very – wait for it – different lists of potential fill-ins.
The Boston Globe wins the coveted Ya Think? award with this headline on its lead editorial:
Mass. Republicans should move to fill void left by Brown
In the Globe’s news section, the Great Mentioner rounds up the usual suspects:
The GOP is suddenly grasping for alternatives, hoping to press into service known figures such as former governor William F. Weld, former lieutenant governor Kerry Healey, or Richard R. Tisei, the former state Senate minority leader.
But then the GM tosses in a couple of unusual suspects:
State Representative Daniel Winslow, a Norfolk Republican, said he will also take the next few days to consider a potential run. Gabriel E. Gomez, a wealthy businessman and a former Navy SEAL and fighter pilot from Cohasset, said he is very likely to get into the race.
Crosstown at the Herald, meanwhile, they’re living in an entirely different universe, as today’s Page One attests (via The Newseum’s Today’s Front Pages):
That inset at the lower right refers to Brown’s first announcing his decision in a text message (“U r the first to know I am not running”) to Herald columnist Howie Carr. The rest of the front page? Yikes.
But the Herald goes all in with a two-page spread:
For the feisty local tabloid, what’s the only thing better than Scott Brown running for U.S. Senate?
One little word was big enough to make page 3 of today’s Boston Herald:
‘Bqhatevwr’ he said
Scott Brown’s Twitter troubles light up Web with jokes
Former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown set off an Internet sensation early yesterday after a string of odd messages were posted on his Twitter account, including one that appeared to be a misspelling of “whatever,” that turned into a popular online trend.
The tweets of “whatever” to critics began appearing on Brown’s official account after midnight yesterday, including one post that said “Bqhatevwr.”
Twitter users soon used the nonsensical word in famous quotes and pop culture references as the term became a Twitter trend . . .
Compounding the problem: Brown later deleted the tweets. But that didn’t stop the waves of ridicule that subsequently washed over Brown.
Funny thing, boston.com had the story (via the Huffington Post) yesterday morning, but it didn’t make today’s print edition.
Your punchline about respective editorial judgment goes here.
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):
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.
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?
Oddly enough, it was the Boston Globe – not the Boston Herald – that ran this Scott Brown op-ed that was all about . . . him.
A pleasure and a privilege
FOR THE past three years, I have had the great honor and privilege of serving the people of Massachusetts in the Senate. Although I served for only three years, and losing this past election was disappointing, that disappointment is tempered by the great respect I have for the judgment of the people of this Commonwealth. To all the people of Massachusetts, I count myself in your debt, for the confidence you placed in me, and for allowing me to represent you.
Nut graf:
I never wanted to go to Washington just to be a senator. I ran because I believed our country was on the wrong track, and I thought I could help by being an independent voice more interested in building bridges than burning them. I kept my promise to be bipartisan, and to serve the interests of everyone in our state.
Because we refused to bow to special interests, because we were willing to work across the aisle, we actually got things done to make a positive difference in the lives of our people. We should be incredibly proud of all that we’ve accomplished.
This collaborative and constructive approach helped us pass a Wall Street reform bill to rein in the excesses that brought on the financial crisis . . .
The rest of the Globe op-ed is the usual Scottie-Come-Lately litany of bills where Brown saw which way the wind was blowing, then voted with the prevailing breezes.
Our feisty local tabloid has been keeping close tabs on ‘Round Town Scotty Brown (R-Indian Given).
Here’s the tally just from today (call it his Turkey (Day) Trot), starting with a political piece:
Scott Brown intensifies support for Israel
U.S. Sen. Scott Brown drew a clear line in the sand yesterday in support of Israel, an indication of fierce congressional backing for America’s key Middle East ally no matter what the outcome of its tenuous Egypt-brokered cease-fire with the militant Hamas group.
“They have a right to defend themselves, and Hamas needs to stop,” said Brown, who serves on Senate committees on armed services and homeland security. “If we’re going to have any kind of lasting peace, then there needs to be a change of policy with a lot of the groups over there. They cannot think that Israel is going to be wiped off the face of the Earth. Iran needs to step back from that position and so does the rest of the region.”
When he made those comments Brown was at the Pine Street Inn (thus the apron), an appearance that got him into a human interest story, this one headlined “Pine Street misses ailing mayor.”
U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and his wife, Gail Huff, said they plan to make volunteering at Pine Street a family tradition.
“We brought our time, we brought a check, and I encourage others to do that,” Brown said. “I’m very thankful for my wife and kids, and I’m thankful I can be here again this year.”
It’s Post time at the local dailies in the race to cover the Obama administration’s national security team fire drill.
Both papers pick up a Washington Post story this morning. The Globe’s version, predictably, is lengthier.
Kerry may be choice for secretary of defense
Security shuffle follows Petraeus’s departure
WASHINGTON — President Obama is considering asking Senator John F. Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, to serve as his next defense secretary, part of an extensive rearrangement of his national security team that will include a permanent replacement for former CIA director David Petraeus.
Although Kerry is thought to covet the job of secretary of state, senior administration officials familiar with transition planning said that nomination will almost certainly go to Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the United Nations.
John Brennan, Obama’s chief counterterrorism adviser, is a leading contender for the CIA job if he wants it, officials said. If Brennan goes ahead with his plan to leave government, Michael Morell, the agency’s acting director, is the prohibitive favorite to take over permanently. Officials cautioned that the White House discussions are in the early phases and that no decisions have been made.
The Herald pickup is much shorter (and massaged by reporter Joe Dwinell), but it includes something the Globe doesn’t: The Great Mentioner.
If Kerry goes to Defense, the scramble for his seat would quickly move U.S. Sen. Scott Brown back into the picture, or possibly former Gov. William F. Weld, a fellow Republican. On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep Edward J. Markey has been mentioned as a possible candidate. State Attorney General Martha Coakley could also take another shot at higher office.
Yesterday it was Herald columnist Holly Robichaud telling Bay State voters what a disgrace they were for dustbinning Scott Brown (R-Cuppa Coffee) and electing Elizabeth Warren to the U.S. Senate.
Today it’s the Herald editors yelling at Bay State voters for re-electing John Tierney (D-Jackpot) in the 6th Congressional district.
A disgrace to Dems
The re-election of Rep. John Tierney to his 6th District congressional seat is both bewildering and quite frankly shameful.
Sure, this newspaper endorsed Republicans for president and for the Senate, but like good Americans everywhere we know that at their core Barack Obama and Elizabeth Warren are decent people, dedicated to their jobs, to their country and to their constituents. Their philosophy of governing may be very different from our own, but, hey, that’s what makes democracy great. People disagree, Democrats continue to dominate this state.
We get that.
But are Democrats really so fearful of losing one seat in the U.S. House, that they are willing to hold their noses and vote for the ethically challenged Mr. Tierney? Well, we got our answer to that late Tuesday night.
Yes we did. And the Boston Globe editors are downright cheerful about the results. From today’s edition:
John Tierney’s victory shows voters put a premium on concrete achievements
John Tierney, the eight-term congressman from the North Shore, survived his toughest challenge by far, beating a talented moderate Republican, Richard Tisei. After struggling to explain an offshore gambling scandal involving his wife and in-laws, Tierney clearly was vulnerable. His 1-point win can be ascribed to many factors — from the big Democratic turnout for President Obama to the presence of a third-party candidate who siphoned critical votes from Tisei. But also crucial were the accomplishments in Tierney’s record, including his work on important student-loan legislation and his significant contributions to the Affordable Care Act. If there’s a lesson in Tierney’s victory, it shouldn’t be that Democrats always win. It should be that Massachusetts voters will reward their representatives for concrete achievements. Tierney should take that lesson to heart as he seeks to put the scandal behind him.
So, to recap: In the Globe’s sunny-side-up opinion, there’s a lesson to be learned by all of us in Tierney’s close shave.
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