SIDE NOTE: I’ve seen many complaints about the request for a vote on a “first” ballot. And that that request is “misleading”.
Would you prefer the script be changed to “last”, “only” or remain “first”?
It seems to me that “first” in fact doesn’t misrepresent anything whereas the others certainly would. That is because FIRST is always the FIRST, no matter how many ballots there are.
Please share widely!
Let’s be really safe. Let’s put Shannon O’Brien on the ballot again. And Warren Tolman. Why not Felix Arroyo? Hey, Steve Lynch — you wanna be governor? Marty Meehan? The more the [expletive] merrier.
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The Republicans have done pretty well without this kind of bogus “insurance.” All you want to insure is that your favored candidate makes the primary ballot, regardless of his late start or lackluster candidacy.
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Back in 1986, a guy named Gregory Hyatt won the Republican nomination for governor. Something happened after the primary which caused him to withdraw. (I don’t know precisely why he withdrew; I’m told that he was accused of some kind of wrongdoing.) In that instance, the Republican State Committee convened and chose a candidate- George Kariotis, who would go on to become the last Republican to lose a Governor’s race in Massachusetts.
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p>More recently, back in 2000, in the Cape & Islands Senate district, both the Democratic and Republican nominees withdrew after the primary. District-wide caucuses were held for each party to select their respective nominees. (The Democrats chose then-County Commissioner Rob O’Leary, who went on to defeat Ed Teague in November.)
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p>So if Deval knocked off both Reilly and Gabrieli- let’s be honest that is what you’re getting at here- and then something catastrophic happened, like death or some sort of campaign-crippling impropriety (as if that would happen), the election laws leave plenty of wiggle room for the party to put forward a legitimate replacement in November.
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p>As an aside, its pretty damned pathetic that certain campaigns have shifted their focus from “Vote for me at the convention because I’d be the best Governor” to lame arguments like “Vote for me on the ‘first’ ballot, because I’m entitled to be on the ballot in September, otherwise it would be an anti-democratic travesty the likes of which only Pol Pot, Idi Amin, and George Steinbrenner would condone.” The guilt-trip that the pro-Gabrieli forces are trying to lay on the delegates is sorry enough, but this “insurance” argument takes the cake.
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p>If anyone reading this is a delegate who was elected at a caucus or is ex-officio and committed to Tom Reilly, then vote for Tom Reilly. If you committed to Deval Patrick, the vote for Deval Patrick. If you were elected as uncomitted and decided that you like Chris, then vote for Chris Gabrieli. (If
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p>If you are coming up to Worcester honestly uncommitted, then listen to the candidates make their pitches, and vote for the guy that you think would be the best governor. Never mind voting for someone because you feel sorry for them, or are trying to promote “competition.” If you wouldn’t vote for Candidate “A” in September, then why the hell should you vote for him in June?
Deval Patrick is ON THE BALLOT.
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If you THINK anyone else should be on the BALLOT, you have a right to use that as your justification to VOTE for that individual at the convention.
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DO NOT LISTEN TO ARGUMENTS that state you must be voting for who you think is only the BEST candidate.
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The problem we are trying to solve is TAKING BACK THE CORNER OFFICE, so you should be voting to create the BEST FIELD of candidates to take back the corner office.
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All of this and more will be addressed on the floor of the convention. Keep an openn mind until you get to hear all sides of this argument…
The best way to regain the corner office would be to field exactly ONE Democratic candidate for governor who is the strongest one available. How many oppenents did Romney have in his primary?
I’m sick of hearing about who’s electable and who’s not. I’m tired of people arguing about what’s fair and what isn’t.
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My vote, as a delegate at the convention and as a voter in September and November, will go to the candidate that I want to win. If everyone does that then we’ll probably end up with three candidates on the ballot, one solid nominee after the primary, and a goddamn Democratic governer after the general.
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If, at any point along the way, a candidate can’t get enough people who WANT THEM TO BE GOVERNOR to vote for them, then that’s their own damn fault. Not Phil Johnston’s, their opponents’, the liberal media’s, or Lyndon LaRouche’s. So let’s stop whining and all go vote for who we like best.