Posted on 03/27/2012 7:33:30 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued
Popular Boston Mayor Tom Menino — an influential Democrat many have credited with bringing the party's convention to his hometown in 2004 — told WBZ this week that he wasn't taking sides in Massachusetts's high-profile Senate race.
But Menino's reluctance to put the weight of his campaign operation behind Harvard professor and consumer rights activist Elizabeth Warren is a tough blow for the Democrat, who is hoping to upset incumbent Republican Sen. Scott Brown.
"When you vote, it's a secret ballot. I think, I've watched both these candidates, I know Scott Brown real well, I've interacted with him, I've watched Elizabeth Warren also. It's going to be a tough race. It's going to be a very close race," Menino said.
Menino went on to say that the campaign would hinge on mobilizing voters, noting that Scott Brown needed to turn out Republican and Tea Party voters, while Warren had "the Democratic establishment—for the most part."
The interviewer then asked Menino if he was "with" Warren, noting that the conventional wisdom was that a statewide Democratic campaign couldn't succeed without his support.
"I'm not with anybody at this time. At this time, I'm still not involved in the campaign," Menino responded.
But Menino hinted that he would get involved with the election somehow—either directly or through surrogates—and acknowledged his friendship with Scott Brown.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Given that most of Massachuestts is dominated by Boston, this will have an impact.
Brown won by 5% against Marcia; I predict a 6-7% win against Warren.
This is a pretty daring move by Menino. I'm partially surprised, but it shows that he's reading the tea leaves that Warren is a loser.
Given that most of New England is dominated by Boston, this will have an impact.
Sez as much about Scott Brown as it does about Menino...
I'm guessing that Elizabeth Warren has not
kissed Boston Mayor Tom Menino's ring.
I do have to go with the lesser of the two evils in this race, unfortunately.
Elizabeth Warren on the other hand comes across as a cold fish. Sure, she's adored by the limousine liberals of Brookline, Cambridge and Newton. But most working class people, even Democrats, are going to identify more with Brown than Warren.
Warren reminds me of Martha Coakley in many ways. She's very uncomfortable around regular people and is likely to make a lot more gaffes between now and November. I think Brown might even win by 10% or more.
Not necessarily. I think Menino just realizes what an idiot Warren is, and doesn't want to be attached to her in any way.
I agree with what you wrote, although a 10% or more win for a GOP in this state would be HUGE.
Warren makes Coakley look almost humanoid. Almost.
If the Rats weren't so obsessed with PC, they might have gone with an electable candidate. That's twice now they've gone with a daft, out of touch, shrill woman against Brown. Like Einstein said about repeating the same thing the same way and expecting a different result...
the Maya is known as Mumbles Menino. He is known to speak Mumbonics a gutter language. He is beneath the Harvard educator.
Dizzy Lizzy has no more political acumen than did "Marsha" Coakly.
wow. Ya mean you can think of someone who would be better than Brown? What’s his name?
I will vote for Brown because Warren is so horrific. That is it!
“this is a case of a rino versus a Harvard Communist.
I do have to go with the lesser of the two evils in this race, unfortunately.”
I think almost exactly the same words could be said about a much more important electoral contest approaching in November.
Would you agree?
In Jackson's case, they were relying on the fact the district has been redrawn this year to be 50% white and that Jackson was as crooked as they come. But they ignored the that the 50% of the district that's black ALWAYS votes for him by a margin of 90%+ or more (and they did again in 2012, making the district wide total 71% Jackson - 29% Halvorson). Jackson could sacrifice children to Satan on live TV and his brain dead constituents would re-elect him.
In Brown's case, the media and the Dems are relying entirely on the fact that Mass. is historically a one-party RAT state over the last few decades. But that didn't stop Brown from winning the seat in the first place in 2010, and Mass. as a whole isn't like Joseph Cao's New Orleans district where they vote in droves against ANY "R" on the ballot. Democrats dominate every part of the state but RINOs have been elected statewide in Mass. before (most notably in many various gubernatoral contests), and will be again. Brown's been even more of a RINO than he "has to be" in order to get elected there, so the Dems don't have any major ammo to turn voters against him and it's difficult to remove an "likeable" incumbent once they get in. (the reverse is true with guys like Joe Manchin in "conservative" West Virginia) I guess the Mayor of Boston sees the writing on the wall with the weak candidate they have running and that's a sign of things to come.
It's not impossible to him to lose, but barring Brown shooting himself in the foot, getting caught in a major scandal, or the "abolish the 17th amendment!!!" freepers getting their way, I'm pretty confident he'll win re-election.
Hopefully once he has six years in the Senate to do what he wants without having to face the voters again, he might behave a little more like an ACTUAL Republican. I'm not hold my breathe. But even on his worst days, he's STILL more conservative than "moderate" Mark Kirk.
Menino Mumbonics is a Holy Language. Pentecostal, even. Believers understand it no matter what their native tongue. Utterly incomprehensible to those who do not believe, it does contain many words that sound English, but do not have meanings readily apparent to English speakers. To hear Maya Menino speak is an unforgettable experience.
The best interpreter, after a few drinks, is probably Howie Carr. But, even he is occasionally baffled.
I think any media report that doesn't show pretty much all Rats as “vulnerable” isn't worth their weight in toilet paper. As much as these gas prices suck, if it means costs the Kenyan turd the election, I'll pay them. The gas prices will be the Rats final undoing.
Back to Brown:
“It's not impossible to him to lose, but barring Brown shooting himself in the foot, getting caught in a major scandal, or the “abolish the 17th amendment!!!” freepers getting their way, I'm pretty confident he'll win re-election.”
Agreed! He'd have to really screw the pooch to lose against Warren.
“Hopefully once he has six years in the Senate to do what he wants without having to face the voters again, he might behave a little more like an ACTUAL Republican.”
I respectfully disagree. Why? Joe Kennedy, XXXLVIII, will be gunning for him in 2018. That is “The Kennedy Seat” after all. Kennedy will be a sitting Congressman with three terms under his belt (I feel bad for Sean Bielat). I suspect he'll continue to vote the way he's been voting, perhaps veering more leftward (there's that trend again, BB).
2018 should be an epic battle here in MA: Brown vs. Kennedy for “The Kennedy Seat”.
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