Seems there’s lots of folks going negative on Martha Coakey. With just a week until the Democratic primary, Martha has attracted the attention of some unusual suspects.
Let’s start with Jeff Jacoby. In his Boston Globe column Unenrolled, conservative, and trying to decide which Democrat to vote for, he makes the argument that right-leaning unenrolled voters should ignore Charles Duane “Charlie” Baker, Jr. and Mark Fisher and pull a Democratic ballot.
Jacoby is looking to throw sand in the gears of the Democrats by choosing a candidate he surely wouldn’t vote for in November. His pretext is mapped out in this paragraph:
The Democratic nomination, however, isn’t a foregone conclusion. Attorney General Martha Coakley, Treasurer Steve Grossman, and health-care guru Don Berwick are all running as very liberal Democrats, and I can’t see myself voting for any of them in the general election on Nov. 4. But that’s no reason to sit out the primary election, where my vote is more likely to have an impact. All I have to decide is which of these three lefties to vote for.
So who is Jacoby voting for in the Democratic primary? Don Berwick, of course. Here’s his explanation:
As a free-market conservative who favors less government, I wouldn’t want the Commonwealth’s leading advocate of socialized medicine to succeed Deval Patrick as governor. Berwick proclaims himself the most left-wing candidate in the Democratic field, and I agree with almost nothing he stands for.
But I’d much rather see Democrats nominate a candidate who isn’t a political insider. And I want voters to have a choice in November that makes the differences between the parties as vivid as possible. Coakley and Grossman are serious candidates, but Berwick strikes me as the more serious Democrat. He won’t get my vote in the general, but the primary is a different story.
Translation: Jacoby wants Charles Duane Baker, Jr. to win in November, and that is best served by nominating the guy who is losing to Charles Duane by a margin of 44-19 in the latest Globe poll.
Jacoby is just a sideshow clown in this game. Seems that a SuperPAC called Commonwealth Future is dumping a boatload of money into anti-Coakley ads before the primary. Who are these guys? This isn’t Steve’s Mom’s SuperPAC, or a secret group trying to boost Don Berwick. Commonwealth Future is backed by the Republican Governor’s Association.
So, if Jeff Jacoby is encouraging his conservative chums to pull a Democratic ballot and vote for Berwick, while Charles Duane’s friends are dumping big bucks into anti-Coakley attack ads, it must mean one thing. The GOP wants to change the Democratic primary dynamic. They don’t want Martha Coakley on the ballot in November. They want to knock off our strongest candidate. They don’t want to run against an elected leader with a track record of successful public administration as a DA and Attorney General. They don’t want to run against a candidate with net favorables above 50%.
In the next week, pay attention to the folks who want Charles Duane in the corner office. I’ll bet you will see lots more of Mr. Baker’s friends throwing rhetorical rocks at Martha Coakley.
And, if we’re really lucky, Jeff Jacoby will get enough Baker voters to pull Democratic ballots to enable Mark Fisher to win the Republican primary.
Patrick says
Why isn’t he saying vote for Grossman instead of Berwick? I think he’s saying Berwick instead of Grossman because he doesn’t want Grosman to win. The RGA’s strategy and ads are locked into Coakley being the nominee. If she loses it throws everything into chaos.
methuenprogressive says
They’re targeting her now, during the primary.
I see it as trying to sway voters now.
Pablo says
Jacoby is a sideshow clown, but the RGA dumping big money into the anti-Coakley ads is very real. It’s not an unusual tactic to try to take out the strongest opposing candidate in their party’s primary.
We have a couple of Democratic US senators who were assisted by this technique.
Patrick says
Grossman voters break for Baker in a Coakley win. They want a Coakley win.
sabutai says
Coakley is the strongest candidate? Based on what? Not polling numbers, from what I can see, and decisively not based on past experience.
I supported Berwick at the convention, and am sure he would be the best governor for our Commonwealth. But I’m so frightened that Coakley will blow yet another campaign that I’m leaning toward voting Grossman just to block her. And I haven’t seen an RGA ad yet.
JimC says
… who read the diaries here can see the irony in the diary’s title, but considering its placement, casual readers might get a message you don’t want to send.
Mark L. Bail says
Coakley. If so, you might consider changing your headline.
Pablo says
I am also a former journalist who loves to write headlines that attract readers. I threw a MassGOP in front of the headline to make it a little less enigmatic, though it is probably a lot less attractive to readers.
Trickle up says
You want something like, Elect Democrats with this weird trick.
Pablo says
Jeff Jacoby is voting for Don Berwick!
Christopher says
It seems to me that the stark contrast he cites could help rather than hurt Dems.
ryepower12 says
Does he even have real readers and serious fans, or is his real MO just being there to rile liberals up?
I would submit the latter. Regardless of how anyone feels about the democratic primary for governor – and I don’t have any particularly strong feelings in any direction for once (if only Senator Wolf were still in this race /sigh) – no one should go reading too much into anything Jeff Jacoby says. He influences no one.
Patrick says
https://twitter.com/Fitz31/status/506566360244436994/photo/1