In case you missed it (I did, ’til just now), Jon Keller posted a remarkable quote from state party chairman Phil Johnston right before the convention, in the course of discussing rumors of last-minute changes to the 15% rule (emphasis mine):
Gabrieli is an anomaly because he didnât go through the caucus process, and if you didnât go through the caucus process then you may have a problem. I think it was the right thing to do. Chris kicks himself for not having gotten in earlier. He made a mistake. He shouldnât have entertained the idea of running for lieutenant governor. Heâd probably be the leading candidate now if heâd gone through the caucuses.
Discuss.
Please share widely!
There is no doubt that Deval Patrick had excellent timing getting into a Governor’s campaign ending up against a candidate that decided just to seek ballot access (15% plus insurance) and not contest the endorsement (known as “the curse” in some circles). So I give Deval a lot of credit for fielding slates and attendees across the state.
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Great timing. No doubt. Chris Gabrieli certainly could have gotten in earlier had it not been for other circumstances. BUT, under the existing rules, Chris was able to get in, get on the ballot at the convention AND put the votes together through a lot of work and personal phone calls. Sure he had to use different assets and skill sets from the opposition. I’m sure that as tight as the win was for Chris, success was sweet victory. I know of at least one campaign that did everything it could do to keep him off the ballot.
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So just as Deval deserves credit for his accomplishment, (Tom as well), Chris deserves credit for looking at a situation almost everyone of us would have presumed was a lost cause, and seeing a path to success. That was one outstanding piece of complicated political calculus.
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The interesting thing is, the day after the convention, it is a brand new ball game. The old paradigm is done. We are now into the state primary cycle.
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Thanks for finding Phil’s statement, as I found it interesting also.
I agree with Phil’ statement, I think if Chris isn’t the leading candidate right now, he will be shortly…
When I saw delegates in Reilly t-shirts voting for Gabrieli, and when I heard that people wearing Gabrieli t-shirts were overheard saying after Deval’s speech, “Why can’t we vote for that guy?”, I just wonder why you don’t just call it “Political Calculus as Usual”.
Phil Johnson is well known for heaping praise on whomever he’s talking about at the time. I’ve learned that you should not take anything like that seriously.
While introducing Deval for his acceptance speech Johnston said of the earlier speech “That reminded me of Bobby Kennedy and MLK.” He is a great cheerleader… for everyone. I suppose that is his job. 😀
Question that is off topic.
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The ratings thing. Are you sure people know how to use it?
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I asked someone simple question
to contact me yesterday and was rated with a “needs work.”
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The same happened when I responded to someone that we can agree to disagree. Guess that needs work, too?
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Do people understand that not every comment needs to be graded?
is a work in progress, to be sure. We’re having some technical problems on our end with it, and I’m sure others are still getting the hang of the various ratings. So hang in there – we’ll all figure it out soon!
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Thanks.
you asked a short question. It wasn’t simple. You asked for someone’s identity, in what I interpreted as a bit of a confrontational tone.
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Whether or not the question should be asked is worth pondering. The way in which you asked that question does need work. Your subject was terrible, you failed to use grammar, and the tone was less than pleasant and enjoyable.
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Just by two bits. Feel free to disagree — but this is how community moderation works, my friend. Most folks who grumble about a particular moderation tend to come off as whiners and whingers.
for your input.
but I do wonder — what about it needs work?
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🙂
While to some extent, I agree with Sco, the problem is that people who read his comments in the press have not necessarily learned to disregard them as puffery.
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I consider this to be a wholly inappropriate comment, as was his berating Patrick for not supporting Senator Kennedy’s stance on Cape Wind.
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It’s fine for our Chair to be a cheerleader, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of other candidates.