Per the Boston Globe, Martha Coakley and Steve Grossman have endorsed Ed Markey to replace John Kerry in the Senate:
The endorsements from two well-known statewide officeholders come a day after a slew of mayors and legislators from Markey’s Malden-based district offered their support. Grossman, a former Democratic National Committee chairman, is considered a leading contender for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2014 and Coakley won the Democratic nomination for Senate in the 2010 special election, before losing to Republican Scott Brown.
Markey has also secured support from Victoria Kennedy, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and Senator John F. Kerry, whose seat will become vacant if Kerry is confirmed as secretary of state. Kerry’s confirmation hearings began today and a vote is expected next week, paving the way for a special election to replace him in June or July…
As the Globe does not quite say, Coakley and Grossman were two of the last three widely recognized “names” still being spoken, after Mike Capuano withdrew earlier this month. That leaves Steve Lynch:
US Representative Stephen F. Lynch told the Globe this afternoon that he hasn’t yet made up his mind about running for the US Senate in the special election to fill John F. Kerry’s seat. Just a day earlier, the strong message from the Lynch camp was that he would definitely be announcing his campaign next week…
A recent poll showed Markey leading Lynch in a direct match-up by about 10 points. That survey was commissioned by the National Association of Government Employees, a major union that typically backs Democrats, and conducted by Massachusetts pollster David Paleologos.
The same poll showed former senator Scott Brown leading Markey in a potential match up, 49 percent to 39 percent. In a theoretical Brown-Lynch race, Brown would lead Lynch 42 percent to 33 percent…
A cynic might suspect Lynch is signalling that somebody — preferably from the Democratic side of the aisle — might want to make him a better offer, give him a reason to be LBJ’s camel inside the tent. But it’s those poll numbers which have excited the political reporters jonesing for Moar Horse-Race. From the Washington Monthly:
… At 9 p.m. on Friday night, [former senator Scott] Brown tweeted a simple “Yes. Get ready” — a cryptic message that could have been interpreted as zeal for the salvaged NHL season had it occurred at the same time last week…
Then Brown didn’t necessarily do himself any favors by issuing an impromptu statement aimed at detractors.
“Bqhatevwr,” he tweeted 46 minutes after midnight. As of publication, that was retweeted 1,367 times (his”get ready” tweet was only retweeted 84 times).
A minute later he clarified that he actually meant “Whatever,” then directed a sarcastic barb at a naysayer named Matt.
“Your [sic] brilliant Matt” he exclaimed…
The later tweets have since been deleted, but Dave Weigel has a screencap, along with the helpful note that “It’s not a parody account.”
srv
With DougJ joining the BJ Twitter Force, how many tweeters do we have?
Spaghetti Lee
‘Paleologos’? ‘Old logic?’ That’s quite a name for a pollster.
Amanda in the South Bay
That’s also the last dynasty of the Byzantine empire.
Maude
Scott Brown doesn’t seem to have much going for him. Not a rocket scientist. At least not at tweeting.
SiubhanDuinne
Let,s keep the hate in Bqhatevwr.
eemom
um, I’ll admit I know nothing about Mass politics….but Coakley’s name “being spoken” after the disaster of 2010 strikes me as a WTF? you gotta be shitting me, in any time, place, or language.
Jay S
@SiubhanDuinne: whatever.
Gozet
“Bqhatevwr” might be a place in Wales where some of my wife’s forebears cam from.
Xecky Gilchrist
Will people have forgotten what a jackass Brown showed himself to be in the election?
cathyx
@Maude: Given the time, he probably had been drinking.
Spaghetti Lee
Yeah, well, a world without public figures drunk-tweeting is a world I don’t wanna live in. Godspeed, Scotty!
Comrade Jake
Drunk guys in pickup trucks can’t tweet. It’s a wicked pissah!
Citizen_X
Your brilliant John Cole
PS: How do you “exclaim” something on Twitter?
Jay S
@Comrade Jake: I’m sure it’s just google voice recognition failing to transcribe Mass brogue.
max
Klaatu Barada Bqhatevwr!
max
[‘That means: ‘send the asteroid’.’]
Jim, Foolish Literalist
From what I’ve been reading sounds like Lynch is a Ray Flynn-style ‘Democrat’
JoyfulA
The number one trending term on Twitter: “Bqhatevwr”
Yutsano
@Jay S: Doesn’t that require him having said brogue in the first place?
Tom Levenson
@eemom: Coakley is kind of a loss-leader post 2010…but that fall she won easy re-election as Atty. Gen., and she’s been conspicuously trying to do a good job in that role, so I’d say she still has some cred.
Also — the reason she won the 2010 special primary, or at least part of it, was strength in western MA, which none of her other rivals possessed. (Capuano comes from Somerville, the most dense urban setting in MA; Khazei from Brookline, another inner Boston town; and I can’t remember who else was there.
One of the reasons Coakley lost is because she never mended fences with Boston — Boston mayor “Mumbles” Menino came in hard for Warren, let Coakley dangle. But Coakley still has friends out west, and Markey, a suburban Boston rep., can and will benefit from her support.
‘S’all local, ya know?
max
And while I’m at it: I think ‘Bqhatevwr that!’ is a slogan the Republican party can really get behind for 2016.
max
[‘Cut taxes, increase spending, balance the deficit and throw all the black people in jail! Truly, thou must be one with ‘Bqhatevwr’.’]
JPL
Amazing how the computer keyboard does weird things after a few drinks at a late hour. I’ve never seen that type of problem here though.
Jay S
@Yutsano: That’s my version of his story and I’m sticking him to it.
Yutsano
@Jay S: Well Ol’ Scottie Boy likes to play fast and loose with the truth as it is. But I’m certain both sides do it and we’ll just have to leave it there.
JPL
Will Scott Brown debate again? Tom Price’s district is secure and I don’t think he ever held a debate. If he runs for Senator of GA he’ll have to, I would think.
IowaOldLady
This is not a smart man.
NotMax
Ah, Amercia the Beautiful.
eemom
@Tom Levenson:
oh, I have no doubt her support is an asset to whoever runs. I get that. However, maybe I misread, but I read the post to suggest that she was being considered as the candidate. THAT would be effed up….would it not?
Then again, I live in a state where a major political party resurrected George “macaca” Allen of all dead things from the political boneyard, and he ran a close race…..so what, perhaps, do I know?
Tom Levenson
@eemom: Coakley thought she might be a candidate for about a nanosecond. Then the entire MA political community reminded her (privately) of reality.
Ken
@Maude: Not a rocket scientist. At least not at tweeting.
Which, when you consider it’s a skill mastered by Paris Hilton, Donald Trump, and ten-year-olds…
mainmati
@max: Love it!!
gogol's wife
Did anyone else see a post appear for a brief moment and then disappear, from I guess the new front-page treat?
mainmati
I thought the buzz was for having Barney Frank just for the two-year period to be in the Senate to counteract the Rethugs on all things financial and taxes. Is that now a non-event?
Greg
You’re all going to be very surprised when Brown gets elected, aren’t you? I’m in barn coat/pickup country (most of the state, for you outsiders), and he’s going to be my next senator. Thanks, Kerry, you asshole.
PeakVT
Bqhatevwr
Typo or password?
karen marie
@efgoldman: Thank you. Lynch would be a mess, and would likely lose to Brown.
Patricia Kayden
Drunk tweeting. What’s next?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Patricia Kayden: strippers, Jaegerbombs and cell phone cameras with some bros he meets at a Bruins game?
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
The twist: Brown is one of the strippers.
jefft452
@Greg: “I’m in barn coat/pickup country (most of the state, for you outsiders), and he’s going to be my next senator.”
The Howie Carr crowd turned out in droves for Brown, Wall St shoveled money to his campaign, The whole wingnut Wurlitzer ran with the ginned up faux – cahantis “scandal”, and he hit all the tribal markers against the hippy “professa” Harvard elitist …
And lost
This is America
We don’t like losers
And the stench of loserdom is strong with this one
Mnemosyne
@mainmati:
No, it was for Frank to be the senator for about 6 months while the special election for that seat was run. By Massachussetts law, they elect a new senator for the remainder of the term rather than appointing one.
Some people got confused and thought Mass was one of the states where the appointee gets to serve the rest of the term out, but it’s not, so any Frank appointment would be very short and mostly symbolic.
mir13
They keep telling me to be afraid of Scott 41st vote in the Senate Brown. Still not seeing why. Maybe in ’16? Christie/Brown ’16. Because our asswipes can’t all be from the South, can they?
redshirt
@Patricia Kayden: Dick pics. Ex Senator Cosmo can bring it.
weaselone
@Greg:
That may be true, but fortunately votes aren’t weighted for acreage in Massachusetts.
PeakVT
@mir13: Having Brown back in the Senate is less of a deal now that the Dems have decided to hamstring themselves by keeping the filibuster. The 5th or 6th least conservative Republican is likely to be a full-blown teatard, and thus well to the right of even the worst Dem. 55 Dems would still be better than 54, though.
FlyingToaster
@jefft452: THIS.
Plus, what the Wall Street Money couldn’t buy was the GOTV effort inside of 128, or in the Berkshires. And trust me, every DTC will be getting all of the Warren volunteers back on the sidewalks again.
Scotty won (like Romney in 2002) with 495-commuter votes. Even there, the demo has changed to be more D; even without a lot of the student votes (gone by late June), you’re gonna have to have an incredible turnout to overcome Mayor Mumbles and Coakley’s machines.
Anne Laurie
@mainmati:
Mnemosyne’s right — Barney was willing to sit in for six months, especially since there’s all kinds of austerity-bombing shenanigans to defuse. But he’s always hated campaigning, not least the begging-for-money part, and he wants to spend more time with his new husband.
Whoever wins in June has to run all over again in 2014. If Markey loses, he’ll still have a fairly safe seat in the State house; if Brown loses, he’s got the Two Time Loser label.
If it weren’t for his bloody-minded Irish streak (they don’t call us ‘harps’ because of the old flag) Brown would do better to wait until next year and run for governor. Massholes have a weakness for good-looking, hands-off Repub governors (like Weld & Romney). But it looks like Scotty took losing “his” Senate seat very personal, and he wants the chance to show that lady professah she can’t intimidate him, even if it means ruining his future chances.
redshirt
Brown better not get back in. That would be a monumental error on Obama’s part, IMO. 2014 is going to be tough enough for the Senate. Don’t go throwing seats away!
redshirt
@efgoldman: Numbers are but numbers, it’s still a gamble. You take some retired Senator or former President (Gore!) and make them SoS and there’s no risk whatsoever. And a gamble for what? Is Kerry going to be that kick ass as SoS? Maybe – he’s got the cred. And maybe that is quite important these days, and thus worth the risk.
Regardless, there’s a political risk, so I hope it was really talent based (IE, Kerry is so awesome as SoS and the position is that important that it’s worth risking a Senate seat), and not some political favor/back room deal.
handsmile
@Anne Laurie: , @efgoldman: , or any other Bay Stater still here:
What kind of relationship does Ed Markey have with Tom Menino? From what I understand from family members and friends in Massachusetts, his support of Elizabeth Warren was critical to her success in middle/working-class suburbs of Boston.
Also, do you think that Markey will be competitive in central and western Mass? We have family in both Worcester and Pittsfield who advise us that Brown enjoys great support there. Given Markey’s lengthy tenure as Congressman for the district along the Rt. 495 corridor, I assume he would carry much of the eastern and northeastern parts of the state.
James E. Powell
I’ve never really understood why Kerry would want to be Secretary of State. In modern times, the president runs foreign policy; the Secretary runs the department. Being one of the most senior senators seems like a better deal. And easier for a guy who will turn 70 this year.
handsmile
@efgoldman:
Appreciate your reply, fellow night owl/insomniac! That all sounds promising. Now if only “that fellow Patrick” would help out Markey (and us) by appointing Barney Frank as interim Senator. Or do you think that’s a done deal and Patrick is simply waiting for the conclusion of the hearings and vote on Kerry’s nomination as SecState?
I’ve no idea if you watch or what you think of Lawrence O’Donnell, but you might enjoy his recent evisceration of CosmoBoy. I thought the assumed accent and use of lingo I knew well from growing up in Worcester (e.g., “crapload”) was brilliant and hilarious.
http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/01/14/lawrence-odonnell-on-why-scott-brown-has-better-shot-at-governor-job/
Also too, I’ll try harder to remember: what does “GOBP” mean again?
mdblanche
@efgoldman: Serious question: where were all these people in 2010?
@handsmile: Given that Cosmo only won 30% of the vote in the Berkshires, I think your relative in Pittsfield might be pulling your leg. Worcester’s another story.
Warren
How soon people forget: in 2010, we ran a shitty candidate who ran an even shittier campaign, and Brown was propped up by Tea Party money because they thought he was the deciding vote against Obamacare. The Teahadis want nothing to do with Mr. Pink Leather Shorts now that he’s just another RINO to them, and they’re certainly not going to fund his campaign again.
Everyone in the party except for Lynch’s immediate family is going to go balls-out for Markey, who also happens to be a pretty solid handshake and backslap candidate. And the one thing Lil Scotty had going for him was his nice-guy image, which he stupidly shot to shit in the last campaign.
Lil Scotty is dunzo, people. Even if he runs — and that’s an if, not a when — he is not the winner.
Another Halocene Human
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Even that useless piece of shit Flynn (more Catholic than the Pope, at least until the Polski croaked) didn’t welch (irish?) on his student loans like Lynch did.
He’s in a fucking gerrymandered district that he won on account of a) the machine and b) his competition was even MORE of a crook and it was still a close race.
So you know what I say to Lynch in the Senate? Somebody hand me a rusty chainsaw. Of votes.
And it makes me want to puke to see these unions in Boston in bed with these machine Dem crooks who take
moneybribes from business interests and fuck over the rank and file effectively because their leadership and these cronied up Tweedocrats went to the same shul, if you know what I mean and I think you do.Xenos
@Another Halocene Human:
BCHS? Double Eagles in the house, represent!
(I am just a mere single-eagle, and not of the right kind, alas.)
Tokyokie
@jefft452: I can’t imagine that Markey will scare the Wall Street crowd to that extent that Warren did and spur them to heavily fund Brown this time around. And despite all that campaign money, Brown still lost decisively, 54-46. Had he lost a close race, I’d be more worried, but he got trounced.
jefft452
@Anne Laurie: “But it looks like Scotty took losing “his” Senate seat very personal”
That is another reason why the stench of loserdom clings to Brown
The national media made a big deal about “the 41st vote” to slay the obamacare dragon,
But if you watched Brown’s ads, you saw that his big message in 2010 was “It’s not Teddy Kennedy’s seat. It’s the people of Massachusetts’ seat”. Coakley’s biggest problem was that people thought that she acted like she was entitled to it
In November the people of Massachusetts said “Thanks, Scotty, since it’s our seat, we’d rather have somebody else sitting in it”
Brown responded in his last Senate speech by grabbing the seat yelling “Mine! Mine! Mine!”
Skepticat
I’ve had the … pleasure … of some slight association with Lynch and know some of his staff fairly well. The guy’s a jerk.
Kay
I’m glad that Kerry got it if he wanted it. I hated how he was portrayed by media and conservatives in his Presidential race, and he’s the best example of a Presidential candidate who got the fuck over losing and did his job, unlike bitter and nasty and useless John McCain.
People should be rewarded for hard work and decent behavior, and Kerry is grossly under-rated as a Senator and all-around public servant. If Democrats can’t win a Senate race in Massachusetts, that’s not his problem, it’s theirs.
rita forsyth
@Greg: I’m interested in why you think he would win. Warren had a hard time gaining traction,when she did she exposed him as an empty suit given to making stupid unfounded fact free comments…. proceed to the barn in your barn coat
nastybrutishntall
@Comrade Jake: Was that some kinda I-talian Beantown brogue, as in, “My spicy-a meat-a-ballsa, they taste-a wicked pissah”? Not North End, but West Boyardee maybe.
Greg
@rita forsyth: Warren got people excited, she was a symbol, an unusual candidate and a chance to correct a disaster that happened when people weren’t paying attention. Now Brown’s that symbol, that disaster to be corrected, and the reactionaries feel they have their back up against the wall. People can show what they stand for by getting out and voting for him. Markey is just an empty name in a one-office special election for most of the state, that apparently a lot of people are taking for granted. Listening to people talk about liberal MA is like decades ago hearing the east coast grouse about radical CA, because of Berkeley and the hippies in SF– while RR was peaking. I hope I’m wrong.
nicteis
The deep pockets against Markey won’t come from Wall Street this time; they’ll come from Big Oil. Markey is a full-feathered, sharp-beaked climate hawk.
It’s no cakewalk, but I still like his chances against that irritating 5th-dimension-dwelling imp Mxyzptlk. Oops, I mean Bqhatevwr.