Tuesday, September 19, 2006
'No one’s going to give this to us'
And now for the bold prediction. Are you ready? It's going to be ... Deval Patrick! Based on the latest polls, a Tom Reilly or Chris Gabrieli victory today would be the greatest Dem primary upset since, well, Ed King defeated Michael Dukakis in '78. The death of King yesterday (excellent obits here and here, though both tend to respectfully downplay the patronage and nepotism of his four-year reign) is an eerie reminder of what the Democratic Party used to be. King's upset of Dukakis was a revolt of the moderates, conservatives and hacks within the Democratic Party. But politics ain't what they used to be. Nor newspaper endorsements. Nor machine-backed candidates? The most interesting thing to watch today is how Menino and other mayors do in getting out the vote for Reilly. They're his only (slim) hope at this point. Sifting through post-primary precincts rubble should be interesting. ... Already looking ahead, Margery thinks Healey will have her hands full against Patrick. Ginny thinks Patrick is a gift to Republicans. I tilt toward the Margery view. ... The fun part moving forward will be hearing lefties angrily denounce any attempt to tie Deval to Legislative Dems -- as if concern about Massachusetts becoming a one-party state is pure nonsense. Of course it's not nonsense. It's the reason why Republicans have controlled the corner office for 16 years. ...
Update -- Alan Lupo on King: 'That stubbornly dedicated guy.' He gets closer to the real Ed King, but in turn downplays his pro-business accomplishments.
And now for the bold prediction. Are you ready? It's going to be ... Deval Patrick! Based on the latest polls, a Tom Reilly or Chris Gabrieli victory today would be the greatest Dem primary upset since, well, Ed King defeated Michael Dukakis in '78. The death of King yesterday (excellent obits here and here, though both tend to respectfully downplay the patronage and nepotism of his four-year reign) is an eerie reminder of what the Democratic Party used to be. King's upset of Dukakis was a revolt of the moderates, conservatives and hacks within the Democratic Party. But politics ain't what they used to be. Nor newspaper endorsements. Nor machine-backed candidates? The most interesting thing to watch today is how Menino and other mayors do in getting out the vote for Reilly. They're his only (slim) hope at this point. Sifting through post-primary precincts rubble should be interesting. ... Already looking ahead, Margery thinks Healey will have her hands full against Patrick. Ginny thinks Patrick is a gift to Republicans. I tilt toward the Margery view. ... The fun part moving forward will be hearing lefties angrily denounce any attempt to tie Deval to Legislative Dems -- as if concern about Massachusetts becoming a one-party state is pure nonsense. Of course it's not nonsense. It's the reason why Republicans have controlled the corner office for 16 years. ...
Update -- Alan Lupo on King: 'That stubbornly dedicated guy.' He gets closer to the real Ed King, but in turn downplays his pro-business accomplishments.
