Does Joan Venocchi have one of those mail2web thingies where she can check everyone’s emails? No, this time it’s the Gabrieli campaign that’s overtly supplying the e-mail trail, showing a coherent narrative of unbelievably incoherent thinking on the part of Reilly. The email trail suggests strongly that there was indeed a disagreement about whether Gabrieli should reveal his tax returns — though not perceived in the Gabrieli camp as a “deal-breaker”. Then, in fear of finding something untoward in Gabrieli’s millions, Reilly closes his eyes and finds someone with no money — who really did have skeletons in her closet. (And apparently her husband is a real beaut, too.)
… OK, so why is this still an issue? Maybe because it’s Reilly is trying to make hay by criticizing his opponents’ refusal to release their tax records. If I knew what it meant, I’d say Reilly was “hoist by his own petard”.
Talk about beating a dead horse (or a dead campaign), but I’ll say it again: If Tom Reilly had spent his time talking about why he wanted to be governor, he wouldn’t be in this mess. I mean, why not leave the bashing and innuendo and Swift-Boating to his surrogates? That’s what the big guys do. It’s not even up to the level of Skullduggery 101.
In modern terms, “blown sky-high by his own explosive device.”
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The phrase’s popularity comes from its use in Hamlet, and is used metaphorically there, referring to the letter used by the king in an attempt to kill Hamlet.
I love the last line on the Vennochi column:
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Ouch!
You poo-poo the most salient point in Joan “Blindcopy” Venocchi’s column. (Seriously, is Vennochi part of Bush’s NSA suveillance program?) To quote yourself:
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To my knowledge (and reading), Tom Reilly has never said that Chris Gabrieli’s refusal to release his income tax returns was the only reason for his refusal to form a ticket. He has said it was a factor. The email exchange clearly shows that it was an issue.
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Tom Reilly’s concern was the Chris Gabrieli would not share his income tax returns with the public, not with Tom Reilly. As is abundantly clear from his dealings with Marie St. Fleur, Reilly was willing to accept personal assurances from prospective LGs without perusing them himself. Mistake? Of course, but hardly inconsistent. To be honest, as more and more information comes to light about St. Fleur’s husband, I wonder how much information she knew about her own financial problems.
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One final thought: I find this banter about “dead campaigns” rather amusing. Talk about trying to will something to happen. The BMG editors have worked hard, effectively, and legitimately to discredit the Suffolk poll, leaving SurveyUSA as one credible poll out there. Given that Tom Reilly has gained in the last two polls and is currently tied in second place within 4 points of Patrick, why would his campaign be any less viable than Gabrieli’s or Patrick’s for that matter? Answer: It isn’t to any objective observer.
claiming Venocchi has the “whole story” based on emails that were selectively leaked by the Gabrieli campaign is just plain ridiculous.
If there’s more to it, let’s speculate idly …
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And regarding the “dead campaign”: If Tom Reilly wins the nomination I will get his face tattooed on my forehead. The TV ads are OK, but I don’t trust that campaign to execute anything. I respect Tom Reilly the public servant. Tom Reilly the candidate, Tom Reilly the campaign … awful.
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We’ll see, won’t we?
I am phone banking and dealing with voters here…this is Reilly Country too (Lowell)…and I get a lot of “I’m undecided between Patrick and Gabrieli but I will not vote for Reilly.”
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I haven’t found that many adament Reilly supporters.
That’s the difference separating Patrick from Reilly and Gabrieli, according to SurveyUSA. Anecdotes are nice. Polls are nicer.
Until the 19th
the only poll that counts is on Election Day? I’d agree with that. But until then, we are left with the exiting polls, which suggest a tight race.
And I’m starting to feel that a lot of people here aren’t.
You know that storefront at the end of Market Street? The one with all the signs prior to elections? I would have expected Reilly signs, given the history of that window. The window is filled with Patrick signs.
with smart people, much like yourself, who foolishly underestimated their opponents. Oddly, Patrick supporters allege Reilly did just that (although I think he just chose to campaign differently), so it is ironic to hear traces of that attitude amongst some of his backers.
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Who has time for idle speculation? Let’s just go with the facts, shall we? As you note, the Gabrieli camp clearly provided the fodder for Venocchi’s column, so there is a pretty good chance that those emails painted the best possible picture for Gabbers, correct? And yet, even within that best-case scenario, there is no disputing that the income tax returns were an issue. From the accounts that I have read, that is Tom Reilly’s only contention: Gabrieli’s refusal to release his income taxes was a factor in Reilly’s decision not to ticket. The emails merely prove that the issue was on the table. Whether Gabrieli’s campaign claims now that they did not consider the issue a “deal breaker” is fairly irrelevant. It was an issue. They did not ticket. Everything else is just idle speculation. . .
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The fact that the campaign was discussing an announcement is wholly irrelevant, a point apparently lost on Venocchi. Lest we all forget, there was a deadline to be met for either Gabrieli or St. Fleur’s filing, so the Reilly campaign had to have a plan in place just in case Reilly and Gabrieli ticketed. (Sidenote: In the whole “Tom left Chris at the altar” tear-jerker, why doesn’t anyone ask the obvious question: why did Chris feel the need to get Tom’s blessing to enter the LG race that was open to everyone? If Chris was so gung-ho, why didn’t he just run? Why was Chris looking at the LG race at all? Other than opportunism, what motivated his change of heart?)
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As for the tattoo, you picked a good spot. The head has fewer nerve endings, so only your pride will be hurting. đŸ˜‰
I’ll quote myself:
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“My quick take: good news for Tom Reilly, who is right back in it. No one should count this guy out too early.”
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Damn, am I fair, or what? đŸ˜‰
I wonder, with the polls showing what they do, what it would take for Tom Reilly to actually win.
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Option 1: Tom Reilly gets his (never before witnessed) groove on and starts to effectively deliver a message.
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Option 2: We find out that the other two have something reaaaaaaaallllllllllllllly awful in their closet (as in they’re necrophiliacs.)
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Option 3: Gabrielli and Patrick split the vote allowing Tom Reilly to win.
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Seems to me that since Option 1 just ain’t gonna happen, Reilly is doing all he can to paint the other two as would-be necropheliacs with the hope of accomplishing Option 3.
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Is there another option I missed?
This campaign lacks a “defining moment.” With candidate support relatively soft and each candidate potentially within 4 percentage points of each other, it’s anybody’s race.
but accurate and intelligent. Wishing a candidate’s demise is a far cry from declaring it in the face of contradictory evidence, such as polling.
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I think the BMG community needs to remind itself from time to time that it is about as representative of the state’s general voting population as a local bowling league (perhaps less).
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By and large, BMG’s active participants are a subset (Democrats) of a subset (liberals) of a subset (Patrick supporters) of a subset (people who have/make the time to blog).
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With respect to the editors and active participants, this is a place to discuss and learn, but I place little stock in the prognosticative powers of such a narrow slice of the Commonwealth.
I’ll repeat a comment I made yesterday. The fact that Reilly and his campaign could not be bothered to effectively vet their chosen LG candidate, especially when they knew there was a problem and have made such an issue over tax returns, is more than a mistake, it’s negligent. Do we really want a man serving as governor who shows such a complete lack of due diligence and thoroughness when making important decisions? In this case, Tom Reilly is really the only one that got hurt, but as governor, he could hurt many more through this sort of negligent lack of care.
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As for the dead campaign, obviously we only need to look to our neighbors to the south to see that a candidate can gain a lot of ground quickly and therefore it is unwise to count anyone out. Having said that, it is a fair and salient observation to note that Tom Reilly, the man who a year ago everyone assumed would be the nominee in a walk, is consistently polling third in any poll you look at. The reasons why for his poor performance to date can be debated (I have my opinions), but the poor showing in the polls so far is an undeniable fact. I’m not saying this means Reilly can’t or won’t win (though obviously he is not my 1st or 2nd choice). But as a Reilly supporter you have to admit that his poll numbers are a bit shocking and I imagine disheartening to you and his fellow supporters.