Thursday, December 15, 2005
'It’s going to be a dogfight': First prediction in wake of Mitt's official annoucement that he's not running for re-election: Healey vs. Reilly. OK, not so daring, considering there are only four tentative candidates in the race, two of them loose-cannon long shots. So let's get to the big one -- the general November election: Healey. Hey, might as well be bold. But roughly the same dominating dynamic will hold true in 2006 as it did in 2002: Are Independent voters willing to hand over complete control of the state to the Progressive-Hack Alliance? ...
Healey is indeed in a difficult spot. She can't get into fights with Mitt over some sort of ludicrous power-sharing structure (really just a spotlight-sharing structure). It will reflect poorly on Republicans and hurt both Mitt and Healey. She also has to overcome, as did Weld and Mitt, the image of being an aloof rich person. Her 'private schools' crack on the higher-ed issue for immigrants sounded as aloof as can be. Not good. Then again, she's shown she can play hardball. Her knocking Charlie Baker out of the GOP mix was impressive. And, of course, she's got to play the Progressive-Hack Alliance card. Heavy. Hard. Not too much in the early stages. Just all guns around Labor Day. ...
Reilly's problem is, well, the Progressive-Hack Alliance. The Dem.-controlled Legislature served notice a few weeks ago that they'll go kicking and screaming before giving up any tax revenue, even when they know a tax is patently unfair, such as the retroactive capital gains tax they only grudgingly reversed. The Progressive-Hack Alliance is very much alive. Shannon couldn't disassociate herself from it. Reilly must. Or he's not going to win. The last four gubernatorial elections prove this -- as much as members of the Progressive-Hack Alliance want to deny it. Reilly's big plus: He's more credible than Shannon or Scott or Silber. ...
A few other observations: Man, I wish Bill Galvin was running. It would have been fun. ... Weld accomplished a lot. Cellucci accomplished little. Mitt fell somewhere in between. ... Jane doesn't rank. ... Three Mass. Dems ran for president -- Duke, Tsongas and Hamlet -- and all three went down. The CW is that Mitt will too. But you have to start wondering when CW makes a too-early broad assertion. This much is clear: Mass. pols cleary think they're presidential material. The rest of the nation obviously doesn't think so. ...
Finally: When was the last time you read editorials in the three main papers with the same political view?
The Herald: "Memo to Mitt: Don’t let the screen door hit you in the backside."
The Globe: "By thumbing his nose at Massachusetts after less than three-quarters of one term as its chief executive, Mitt Romney, yesterday surrendered his clout and squandered his legitimacy. If, as it appears, his heart and mind are no longer in Massachusetts, he should resign."
The Phoenix: "After just two unremarkable years in the corner office, Romney is restless and bored, turning his attention increasingly to the 2008 presidential campaign. He ought to resign."
FYI: The Phoenix was ahead of the curve on this one. Its editorial was written in March. Thanks to a reader for the head's up on the editorials. ... FYI II: Personally, I like the fact Mitt's sticking it out. I'm tired of GOP govs bolting before serving the time they were elected to serve. But if Mitt bad mouths Massachusetts one more time during the presidential campaign, Healey's going to have big problems.
'Curious, I walked over and looked': Carpundit has a great post on a rude car tower, the strict definition of profanity and a cop who's caught in between. Agree with all four of Carpundit's lessons learned. ... I haven't had as much luck with traffic cops. They're usually of the car-tower variety in terms of politeness. This one at least sounded diplomatic. ...
Healey is indeed in a difficult spot. She can't get into fights with Mitt over some sort of ludicrous power-sharing structure (really just a spotlight-sharing structure). It will reflect poorly on Republicans and hurt both Mitt and Healey. She also has to overcome, as did Weld and Mitt, the image of being an aloof rich person. Her 'private schools' crack on the higher-ed issue for immigrants sounded as aloof as can be. Not good. Then again, she's shown she can play hardball. Her knocking Charlie Baker out of the GOP mix was impressive. And, of course, she's got to play the Progressive-Hack Alliance card. Heavy. Hard. Not too much in the early stages. Just all guns around Labor Day. ...
Reilly's problem is, well, the Progressive-Hack Alliance. The Dem.-controlled Legislature served notice a few weeks ago that they'll go kicking and screaming before giving up any tax revenue, even when they know a tax is patently unfair, such as the retroactive capital gains tax they only grudgingly reversed. The Progressive-Hack Alliance is very much alive. Shannon couldn't disassociate herself from it. Reilly must. Or he's not going to win. The last four gubernatorial elections prove this -- as much as members of the Progressive-Hack Alliance want to deny it. Reilly's big plus: He's more credible than Shannon or Scott or Silber. ...
A few other observations: Man, I wish Bill Galvin was running. It would have been fun. ... Weld accomplished a lot. Cellucci accomplished little. Mitt fell somewhere in between. ... Jane doesn't rank. ... Three Mass. Dems ran for president -- Duke, Tsongas and Hamlet -- and all three went down. The CW is that Mitt will too. But you have to start wondering when CW makes a too-early broad assertion. This much is clear: Mass. pols cleary think they're presidential material. The rest of the nation obviously doesn't think so. ...
Finally: When was the last time you read editorials in the three main papers with the same political view?
The Herald: "Memo to Mitt: Don’t let the screen door hit you in the backside."
The Globe: "By thumbing his nose at Massachusetts after less than three-quarters of one term as its chief executive, Mitt Romney, yesterday surrendered his clout and squandered his legitimacy. If, as it appears, his heart and mind are no longer in Massachusetts, he should resign."
The Phoenix: "After just two unremarkable years in the corner office, Romney is restless and bored, turning his attention increasingly to the 2008 presidential campaign. He ought to resign."
FYI: The Phoenix was ahead of the curve on this one. Its editorial was written in March. Thanks to a reader for the head's up on the editorials. ... FYI II: Personally, I like the fact Mitt's sticking it out. I'm tired of GOP govs bolting before serving the time they were elected to serve. But if Mitt bad mouths Massachusetts one more time during the presidential campaign, Healey's going to have big problems.
'Curious, I walked over and looked': Carpundit has a great post on a rude car tower, the strict definition of profanity and a cop who's caught in between. Agree with all four of Carpundit's lessons learned. ... I haven't had as much luck with traffic cops. They're usually of the car-tower variety in terms of politeness. This one at least sounded diplomatic. ...
