Massachusetts Republicans Are Having A Bad Time Today,

[TheCowsCameHome]

now that their fair-haired boy Scott Bown has taken a pass. Now they are trying to recruit a Romney.

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_politics/2013/02/brown_out_gop_mulls_romney_energy

[Angry Dragon]

1. Would like to see Ann run

then we could ask to see her tax returns .....................

[treestar]

7. You people already have that information!

Don't bug Ann, it's HARD to run for office!

[catbyte]

2. Ann Romney's "star turn?" Wha? Huh?

"I LOVE YOU WIMMIN!!!"

[alsame]

3. "our bench isn't too deep"

[Cha]

13. Kinda obvious, huh.. when they're scraping

the bottom of the sewer scum.

[NewJeffCT]

25. Don't be surprised if they get a Republican celebrity or athlete to run

Republicans seem to be drawn to throwing up either ultra-rich candidates (Meg Whitman, Linda McMahon, etc) or celebrities when running in blue states where their normal candidates would be big underdogs.

[MADem]

4. They are seriously trying to bag Gabriel Gomez, former SEAL.

I think he's down in DC talking to the GOP bigwigs.

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. A seal was the only thing missing in their Traveling Clown Act of 2012

all the other circus ingredients were there.

[MADem]

15. Nyuck nyuck!!! nt

[Cha]

14. I read that yesterday.. he looks

good on paper.

[MADem]

16. I'm wondering if he can debate.

We like our debates here in MA!

[Cha]

17. I gathered that from

all the stompings Elzabeth gave Sir Scott Clown.

No doubt Markey can debate well. I've read he's quite affable.

[MADem]

18. Markey is highly experienced. HIGHLY. He's also got the right attitude towards

climate issues, something we need to get serious about. He does have a great personality.

He's not my rep but he'll get my vote nonetheless. Lynch is anti - choice; he won't get the time of day from me. That's a dealbreaker stance.

[Cha]

19. I read in that same article about Lynch..

his angle being that he's blue collar(humble beginnings) and Markey's been in politics too long(something like that).

h/t She http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/02/01/senator-ed-markey/

I like Markey!

[MADem]

20. Lynch reminds me of Steve Buscemi's Nucky Thompson!

He's a sharp pol, he has the humble background but he can also be quite loquacious, and he knows the old school ways, which are appealing to a number of interested voters, but that choice thing is just a nonstarter for me. I suspect it will be for others, too. It can't be overcome. I don't think he'll prevail for that reason. He may be able to sell it in his district, but statewide? It's an albatross round his neck. I can't see him pulling a Kucinich (who was once ardently anti-choice) for political convenience--it will smack of hypocrisy if he tries it..!

[MADem]

34. Lynch has been around the pike, himself.

Billy and Whitey Bulger came from humble beginnings, too! Where you begin isn't where you end up--as they demonstrate (I mention Billy Bulger because Lynch succeeded him in the MA legislature and they both came out of the same housing project in Southie).

Markey came from middle class Malden; he didn't come from wealth and had a typical Catholic upbringing.

I like Markey, too--Lynch leans too far right to suit me.

[Cha]

35. Thanks for the additional info on the MA

pols, MADem.. I looked up Whitey Bulger to learn about that reference.

[MADem]

36. Whitey and Billy--sinner and saint!

Though Mitt hated Billy, and with the only muscle he could flex, he managed to push Billy out of public life.

Showtime did a program they situated in Rhode Island about brothers that was loosely (very loosely) based on the Bulgers. It wasn't a bad show--didn't last too long, unfortunately.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brotherhood_(2006_TV_series) --this is the link, but it doesn't work right because of the formatting.

Here is that same link in tiny URL format that will work --because of the formatting it doesn't all "come out" here:

http://tinyurl.com/3a3t2x

[Cha]

37. Thanks MADem.. netflix has

it but the reviews mentioned "too much violence" so I probably won't order it. I appreciate history lesson, though.

[4Q2u2]

28. Here are the numbers

Lynch's ratings for voting.




http://votesmart.org/candidate/evaluations/4844/stephen-lynch/2

[MADem]

30. Seventy five percent re: Planned Parenthood is not good enough.

He's clearly pulling a Kucinich...nudging towards the other team, whilst winking to his deeply Catholic donors/constituents. Mitt Romney did the same thing. Oh, and then Mittsy did a 180 when he got deep in the bowels of GOP teabaggery on the national stage. It's impossible to trust someone who does that.

I don't think Lynch will make it. All he might do is muddy the waters and perhaps put himself in the public eye so that people outside his ken know who he is (he is much more of an "inside Beantown" pol than Markey, an elder statesman and frequent spokesman for the MA delegation, is).

Entirely possible that his eye is actually on the governorship...time will tell.

[4Q2u2]

32. If he goes for Gov

then Baker and Brown have a problem. Baker will be the rich guy vs working guy. Brown will not be able to out working guy, blue collar type Lynch. Site has a good historical context, they have Markey's record back to when Jesus was an Alter Boy. They must have over 200 different organizational ratings for Markey.

[MADem]

33. Yep. But who knows, maybe he knows something about Menino that we don't know...?

All this is pure speculation of course, but he's got to realize that Markey has the wind beneath his wings. The only other purpose I can fathom for his even entering the fray is for a little free public face time.

How he conducts his campaign will tell the tale. Scorched earth and an agressive battle? He thinks too much of himself. A reasonable, pragmatic, nice but firm gentleman? He's got his eye on another prize!

[magical thyme]

5. um, how badly did Mittens lose to Pres O in Mass?

It was pretty impressive wasn't it? They don't realize that the name Romney is tarnished forever there?

[GoCubsGo]

6. It was by around 30 points.

If they didn't want this schmuck for President, why in the hell would they want him for their senator? Especially since he has already said he'll be spending much of his time in his La Jolla, CA home. He's not even willing to be a full-time resident of the state. One would think that even the MA republicans would be appalled by that.

[TroyD]

24. It was by about 23 points

It was never going to be as high as 30 points, but yes, Romney lost his 'home state' by the largest margin of any Presidential nominee since 1856!

The media is so used to throwing out ridiculous names as contenders (like they did for 3 years with Palin for President) that they didn't bother to take a look at November's election results to see how disliked Romney's name is in MA.

[Agschmid]

10. You'd be surprised, they also are the state who voted him in a governor...

Mass. is an odd duck if you ask me.

[magical thyme]

22. tell me about it...

I moved there shortly after college, and lived there for 26 years before escaping to Maine, right around when Mittens took office. I have no idea what they were thinking....but then I never did. The Mass native with the meltdown above is a pretty good example of why I joyfully left

[Agschmid]

23. I might be moving there!

Hopefully they get it under control before I get there!

[MADem]

31. MA likes to balance things out. It's really not odd at all.

Why Mitt got elected:

--His opponent (Shannon O'Brien) was vilified early and often by a sexist media and the population ate it up--MA has a problem with sexism that has only recently been overcome to some extent by Elizabeth Warren. We have never had an elected female governor and Warren is the FIRST female Senator EVER.

--She was an insider from a political family; her old man had burned a few bridges and some took it out on her;

--She was also not a deferential shrinking violet, she had a strong personality and some great ideas (which made her somewhat of a threat to an overwhelmingly Dem legislature, more on that below);

--Mitt came in and manhandled Jane Swift (BOP heir apparent and ACTING governor) out of the way quite brutally, and got away with it;

--Mitt had untold millions and ran Disney-esque ads constantly; Shannon couldn't keep up. She also didn't have the money for a good ground game.

Now, the MA legislature:

--It is overwhelmingly Democratic, in a "weak governor" state. It is very difficult for a Republican to actually "lead" in MA, particularly if they don't agree with the MA legislature's priorities. All a governor can do is use the veto. All the veto does is slow down the passage of legislation--it doesn't stop it. The joke on Beacon Hill was that Rmoney was "Governor NO." He vetoed everything, the MA legislature would laugh at him and overturn his veto. But Shannon was trained by her old man and she knew how to work a deal with her fellow Democrats, which could have eroded the power of the leadership in the legislature a bit. In short, a GOP governor was easier to control, at the end of the day, than a Democratic one who could work deals and make alliances more easily.

[AverageMe]

9. I would love to see Queen Ann run

although I do not like seeing a grown woman cry, I do make a exception in her case.

[Hekate]

11. I know you guys like to rag on Ann, but she does have serious health issues

Also, from observation, it seems as though running for office herself is the last thing on Earth she'd want to do.

[Cha]

12. Brawawawaaaaa ..

@ Kaufman.. R U Serious!

But Kaufman said Mitt’s charismatic wife, who has never run for office, would be unlikely to take the plunge. “The timing is not great, and I don’t think she sees herself as a candidate,” he said.

Is that the same "charismatic" wife that set herself up as Anntoinette and scolded "You People" about mitt and his tax returns? "That's all you're going to get".

Like Massachusetts wants to see a Romney again for a-while. Ann? who lies as much as mittLies?

[libdem4life]

21. There is one group who would welcome an Ann Romney candidacy

... Late Night, Comedy Central, and all other comedians. Unlimited material.

[NYC_SKP]

27. Tell me more, spamman007!

[TlalocW]

29. Doesn't the GOP in Mass have binders of qualified women?

One of them could run surely. Or even ones not named Shirley.

TlalocW