Posted on 12/16/2012 2:34:02 AM PST by raccoonradio
Howie Carr thread for the final 2 weeks of the year starting with his Sunday Boston Herald columnm
Sunday column ping. Howie Carr list members, etc.: Might as well make this a thread for the next 2 weeks. Howie will prob. finish up for the year at the end of next week (Christmas
Eve falls on a Mon. and I’d doubt he’d be on radio then...probably would be off till Jan 2 at least.)
Happy “...holidays”!
One thing’s certain: He’ll be back
by Howie Carr
Sunday, December 16, 2012
ORLEANS — The middle-aged couple from Brewster had been waiting in line for maybe 20 minutes to see U.S. Sen. Scott Brown.
The junior senator was facing one of the larger groups he’d been in front of since his defeat Nov. 6 — a friendly crowd of book buyers looking to pick up copies of his bestselling post-victory memoir, “Against All Odds.”
The couple handed him a yellow sticky note with the inscription they wanted on the title page: “To Bonnie & Steve, I will run again.”
Scott looked at it quizzically, then took the black Sharpie in his left hand and scrawled: “To Bonnie & Steve, I’ll be back.”
Scott handed the book back to them and looked over at me.
“It’s true,” he said. “I will be back.”
But best to keep the precise plan … ambiguous. The papers yesterday were full of speculation about Gov. Deval Patrick appointing Vicki Kennedy as the interim senator to succeed U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry if he’s nominated this week to become secretary of state.
But the big question for Brown is whether she’ll be offered the job under the same terms that Paul Kirk agreed to in 2009 after Ted Kennedy’s death — that she agree not to run in the Democratic primary early next year to fill out the last two years of Kerry’s term.
With no incumbent in 2009, the Democrats endured a nasty, expensive primary that led to Brown’s amazing upset in January 2010.
Might the Democrats try to avoid another bloodbath by having Vicki run for the final two years of Kerry’s term … as the incumbent?
“I’ve heard so much speculation,” Brown said. “I don’t pay attention anymore.” I persisted. Do you think Deval would agree to allowing his interim appointment — most likely Vicki Kennedy — to run in the special election late next spring? Wouldn’t that anger all the Senate wannabes warming up in the bullpen to run?
“I have no idea. No comment. I have two and a half weeks left.”
Scott may have been coy about his plans, but he’d brought plenty of bumper stickers and yard signs with him to Booksmith/Musicsmith. His books, both hardcover and paperback, quickly sold out, but Brown had another case in his truck. A fellow Tufts graduate, Class of ’78, stopped by the table Scott was sharing with me. They chatted amiably about the old Jumbo Lounge and Hillside Liquors. Finally his fellow alumnus handed Scott a thin manila envelope. It contained a resume.
“I’m looking for a job,” he said.
“So am I,” said Brown.
He had driven down from the North Shore, where his 75-year-old father, Bruce Brown, a former Newburyport city councilor, is terminally ill. That was obviously weighing on his mind, along with something else.
Often, his focus would drift back to Nov. 6.
Another couple told him they were from Needham.
“We only lost Needham by 900 votes,” he said.
He carried 70 percent of the state’s 351 cities and towns. He got 350,000 more votes than in 2010. What killed him was that the turnout jumped from 2.2 million in the special election to 3.2 million in the presidential election.
Most of those extra million people who showed up weren’t what Rush Limbaugh calls “low-information voters.” They were no-information voters.
Finally, a woman approached with two books.
“I hope you get back to Washington,” she said.
Scott Brown smiled. “It’s a nice place to visit.”
This is a great insight into the whole Senate situation in Massachusetts. Let's hope Howie stays on the case, no matter when he returns. This will bring in a lot of listeners; it's better material than the usual illegal immigrant stuff.
Who would be the Democrat's weakest candidate? That's hard to predict, after the fake Indian. This state may be hopeless this time around.
Massachusetts democrats are outsourcing their Senate candidates, Liawatha from Oklahoma, and Vicki from Louisiana.
we need a good laugh...for outsourcing, why not try Caroline Kennedy (again!) She made Mumbles look ‘intelligent’.
Breitbart (by Mike Flynn): “Surprisingly, the Democrats have a relatively weak bench to draw candidates from. Its entire Congressional delegation is Democrat, but the long-serving members have little name ID beyond their own districts. Before Gov. Patrick took office in 2007, Republicans had actually held the Governor’s mansion for 16 years. (Note:
there is no Gov mansion in MA; Corner Office or State House
would have been more accurate—rr) The weakness of the Democrat field is evidenced by Patrick’s recent suggestion that he may appoint Vicky Kennedy, Ted Kennedy’s widow, to fill Kerry’s seat. If she were to accept the nomination, it would likely be as a placeholder, as she’s shown little appetite for a full campaign.
Her appointment as a placeholder could pave the way for a special election match-up between Scott Brown and Gov. Patrick, a solid candidate with high name ID statewide. Special elections usually feature a much smaller, and more Republican, turnout. Scott Brown still enjoys a massive national base of donors and almost universal name recognition in the Bay State. It is likely that the national economy will remain weak throughout next year and unemployment will remain stubbornly high. This all adds up to a very strong possibility that Scott Brown returns to the Senate next year.”
(Note also, as you were pinged, there is talk of Dukakis as temp. Senator. Who else would run in the eventual
special election—Markey? Capuano?)
But how in the name of Calvin Coolidge is this Brown individual supposed to beat Coupe Deval if he cannot best a a perimenopausal and inane fake Indian Maiden in what I must assume was more or less a fair fight?
Brown already bested one Democrat in 2009, and conceivably could again. The electorate is different in off-year and special elections from presidential elections.
Scott Brown may not win this time, but that's not a reason not to try. If he loses he loses, but there's no Republican with a better chance of winning than Scott Brown.
bested one Democrat in 2009, and conceivably could again
Perhaps that was Brown's 15 minutes?
maybe, but he should try it. This was a pres election yr and the Obama voters pulled the lever for the squaw too, and maybe getting our “first female Senator” lured them, along with all that advertising and union support (yet she still needs to
raise money to pay off pizza and coffee expenses)
This time it would be a special election.
Last time, Coakley jetted to D.C. to prepare for her
future as a Senator. The election proved otherwise,
and Rachel Maddow had a choked-up voice when she
announced Brown had won. (...how?!?!?!?)
...hopefully a higher conservative turnout.
Just think, do you want another moooooooooooonbat in there?
Buy your guns now...while you still can.
By what standard are you saying Brown "couldn't find anything bad to say" about Warren? Obviously, he's not going to say what you said, but by the standards of most political campaigns, he made the points he could make and made them often enough and well enough.
What won the election for Warren was the strong support for Obama in the state -- or the strong dislike for Republicans. Obama won't be on the ballot this time, and Patrick will have to run on his own sorry record of few achievements.
There's certainly no guarantee that Scott Brown will win, but there pretty much is a guarantee that another Republican won't.
Perhaps that was Brown's 15 minutes?
And that was yours just now, I guess. Savor it. It may not get any better than that for you.
column ping
Sen. M. Stanley Dukakis would revive ‘good’ old days
Monday, December 17, 2012 — Anonymous (not verified)
Howie Carr [1]
Howie Carr [2]
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Sen. Dukakis would revive ‘good’ old days
DTI
So M. Stanley Dukakis says he’s not a “candidate” to temporarily replace his former lieutenant governor, Liveshot Kerry, in the U.S. Senate.
Maybe. But this wouldn’t be the first “lead-pipe cinch” guarantee he’s issued that didn’t turn out to be true.
Personally, I think the governor once known as Pee Wee Dukakis would be a fine pick, especially for Gov. Deval Patrick. If Deval appoints him, it’ll be the first time in his six years as governor that he gets to stand beside someone shorter than himself.
One thing we know for sure: Dukakis will be in the tank for Obama.
The Duke said he wasn’t interested because he’s heading out to UCLA in the spring to teach. Who knew the Green Line ran that far west?
C’mon, Mike, lighten up. I’ll bet you a pound of Belgian endives UCLA would give you a … furlough.
Ah, those were the good old days. So good that, after Dukakis, the commonwealth didn’t elect another Democrat governor for 16 years.
Good jobs at good wages. The Massachusetts Miracle. A national model. The future’s so bright we gotta wear shades.
In retrospect, he really was ahead of his time. Remember when the Dukakis administration started giving out phony Social Security numbers to illegal aliens so they could go on welfare as soon as they dried off from their swim across the Rio Grande?
And now Deval gives them free tuition at state colleges. The more things change …
And then there was the New Hampshire resident who got Massachusetts Medicaid money to pay for his sex-change operation, after which Dukakis’ minions sent him — er, her — to Montreal for a few months to adjust to his, I mean her, new estrogen levels.
And now we have a federal judge, a Ronald Reagan appointee, ordering Deval to pay for a sex-change operation for a convicted wife killer. The more things change …
What was Mike Dukakis’ favorite meal? Shrimp wrapped in baloney.
Will he be taking his push lawnmower with him to D.C.? You know, the one he used to cut his lawn on Perry Street in the dark while wearing suit pants and wingtips.
When Billy Bulger said “Jump!” the Duke said, “How high?”
The Blizzard of ’78 — Dukakis wore bad sweaters before they were fashionable. John Sasso, Susan Estrich, Jack the Hack Corrigan. Literacy czar Gerry D’Amico. Has the state ever had so many clowns under the Golden Dome at one time?
U.S. Sen. Michael Stanley Dukakis (D-Mass). I don’t care how many denials he issues, it still has the ring of truth.
Willie Horton could not be reached for comment.
column ping
Sen. M. Stanley Dukakis would revive ‘good’ old days
Monday, December 17, 2012 — Anonymous (not verified)
Howie Carr [1]
Howie Carr [2]
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Sen. Dukakis would revive ‘good’ old days
DTI
So M. Stanley Dukakis says he’s not a “candidate” to temporarily replace his former lieutenant governor, Liveshot Kerry, in the U.S. Senate.
Maybe. But this wouldn’t be the first “lead-pipe cinch” guarantee he’s issued that didn’t turn out to be true.
Personally, I think the governor once known as Pee Wee Dukakis would be a fine pick, especially for Gov. Deval Patrick. If Deval appoints him, it’ll be the first time in his six years as governor that he gets to stand beside someone shorter than himself.
One thing we know for sure: Dukakis will be in the tank for Obama.
The Duke said he wasn’t interested because he’s heading out to UCLA in the spring to teach. Who knew the Green Line ran that far west?
C’mon, Mike, lighten up. I’ll bet you a pound of Belgian endives UCLA would give you a … furlough.
Ah, those were the good old days. So good that, after Dukakis, the commonwealth didn’t elect another Democrat governor for 16 years.
Good jobs at good wages. The Massachusetts Miracle. A national model. The future’s so bright we gotta wear shades.
In retrospect, he really was ahead of his time. Remember when the Dukakis administration started giving out phony Social Security numbers to illegal aliens so they could go on welfare as soon as they dried off from their swim across the Rio Grande?
And now Deval gives them free tuition at state colleges. The more things change …
And then there was the New Hampshire resident who got Massachusetts Medicaid money to pay for his sex-change operation, after which Dukakis’ minions sent him — er, her — to Montreal for a few months to adjust to his, I mean her, new estrogen levels.
And now we have a federal judge, a Ronald Reagan appointee, ordering Deval to pay for a sex-change operation for a convicted wife killer. The more things change …
What was Mike Dukakis’ favorite meal? Shrimp wrapped in baloney.
Will he be taking his push lawnmower with him to D.C.? You know, the one he used to cut his lawn on Perry Street in the dark while wearing suit pants and wingtips.
When Billy Bulger said “Jump!” the Duke said, “How high?”
The Blizzard of ’78 — Dukakis wore bad sweaters before they were fashionable. John Sasso, Susan Estrich, Jack the Hack Corrigan. Literacy czar Gerry D’Amico. Has the state ever had so many clowns under the Golden Dome at one time?
U.S. Sen. Michael Stanley Dukakis (D-Mass). I don’t care how many denials he issues, it still has the ring of truth.
Willie Horton could not be reached for comment.
Wed column ping
Judge Her by Her Donations
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
by Howie Carr
Old hacks never die, they just become state judges and make $130,000 for “working” 35 weeks a year.
Just ask Mary Beth Heffernan, the “embattled” secretary of public safety who finally got the boot last week.
“She’d make a great judge,” Gov. Deval Patrick said. Of course she would — she’s given the governor at least $875.
Everyone knew Heffernan was on track to early retirement, which is what a state judgeship is.
How did we know this? Because she stopped making donations to state politicians just more than a year ago.
The rule is, you have to stop paying off politicians once you put in your judicial application.
The other rule is, until you put in that application, you damn well better give till it hurts.
Future Judge Mary Beth Heffernan’s name appeared on the job application of hack poster gal Sheila Burgess. And she was the Cabinet secretary in charge of the state police when they tried to cover up the mysterious predawn accident of Lt. Gov. Tim Murray in 2011. He was going 108 mph at the time, although he lied to reporters that he was doing the speed limit.
Speaking of Murray, according to public records at the Office of Campaign and Political Finance, Mary Beth has given Tiny Tim at least $525 through the years. He’ll be wielding the gavel in the Governor’s Council when her nomination comes up for a vote next year.
Mary Beth is from West Roxbury, as are two other Heffernans from West Roxbury, in their 70s, who have also given Tiny Tim nearly $2,000, even after Mary Beth had to stop sending him cash. Mary Beth has not answered repeated email inquiries as to ties to the other Heffernans.
Let’s run down a few of the other statesmen Mary Beth has done the right thing by over the years. In 2009, she gave $500 to the Democratic State Committee — that’s the way a lawyer shows how desperate she is for those robes.
Other favorite pols of future Judge Heffernan: ex-Speaker Sal DiMasi, now in prison; Senate president Therese Murray, mentioned three times in the Probation indictment; former state Rep. Marie St. Fleur, the Haitian-born tax deadbeat; Jolly John Rogers, the very ethical solon from Norwood; Speaker Bob DeLeo, who very much doesn’t want to meet the U.S. attorney; and former state Sen. Marian Walsh, to whom Deval tried to give a $175,000 hack job that had gone unfilled for a decade.
Isn’t one-party government great?
Read the column that the Herald wouldn’t print. Whenever the news breaks and you can’t find it in the Herald — remember the suspension of Globe columnist Joan Vennochi? — you can always find it at howiecarr.us. Sign up for our email blasts today!
Mary Beth Heffernan, The State’s Next Hack Judge
Old hacks never die, they just become state judges and make $130,000 for “working” 35 weeks a year.
Just ask Mary Beth Heffernan, the “embattled” secretary of public safety who finally got the boot last week.
“She’d make a great judge,” Gov. Deval Patrick said. Of course she would – she’s given the governor at least $875.
Everyone knew Heffernan was on track to early retirement, which is what a state judgeship is. How did we know this? Because she stopped making donations to state politicians just over a year ago.
The rule is, you have to stop paying off politicians once you put in your judicial application.
The other rule is, until you put in that application, you damn well better give ‘til it hurts.
Future Judge Mary Beth Heffernan’s name appeared on the job application of hack poster gal Sheila Burgess. And she was the cabinet secretary in charge of the State Police when they tried to cover up the mysterious pre-dawn accident of Lt. Gov. Tim Murray in 2011. He was going 108 m.p.h. hour at the time, although he lied to reporters that he was doing the speed limit.
Speaking of Murray, according to public records at the Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF), Mary Beth has given Tiny Tim at least $525 over the years. He’ll be wielding the gavel in the Governor’s Council when her nomination comes up for a vote next year.
Mary Beth is from West Roxbury, as are two other Heffernans from West Roxbury, in their 70’s, who have also given Tiny Tim close to $2,000, even after Mary Beth had to stop sending him cash.
One of them is named Paul Heffernan. Mary Beth has not answered repeated email inquiries as to whether Paul is her father, although multiple sources at the State House say he is.
In an amazing coincidence, Paul Heffernan is himself a retired judge. He used to be the clerk of the Boston Juvenile Court, but then Whitey Bulger’s brother Jackie wanted the job, so Heffernan was kicked upstairs with a judgeship and Jackie got the open slot. Alas, Jackie is now better known by his Bureau of Prisons number – 23986-038. Perjury and obstruction of justice.
As a judge, Heffernan was often in the news. The SJC once remarked on his “sarcasm and hostility.”
But since 2003 he’s getting the big kiss in the mail. As the former clerk, as of 2009 he was collecting $14,291.64 a year. Plus he gets a judicial pension of $66,150.36.
No wonder Mary Beth’s looking forward to dying and going to heaven, just like Dear Old Dad.
Let’s run down a few of her other fellow hacks Mary Beth has done the right thing by over the years.
There’s Sal DiMasi, who has his own BOP number, 27371-038; Senate president Therese Murray, mentioned three times in the probation indictment; ex-Rep. Marie St. Fleur, the Haitian-born tax deadbeat; Jolly John Rogers, the very ethical solon from Norwood; Speaker Bob DeLeo, who very much doesn’t want to meet the U.S. attorney; and ex-Sen. Marian Walsh, to whom Deval tried to give a $175,000 hack job that had gone unfilled for a decade.
Isn’t one-party government great?
thanks, was about to post link
btw...Howie is off WRKO right now. A couple days ago people said that WRKO was unusually strong to the west post sunset. Did the engineer forget to switch the pattern to north-south at 4:15 or so?
Guess what: a couple minutes ago RKO switched off. Usually they come back on within seconds, with the signal switched to “protect” other stations.
They’re still off. ENTERCOM HAPPENS
“the hamster powering our transmitter died, a moment of
silence...Chris did you feed the hamster?”
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