Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

The Right to Run

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  The continuing saga in Lowell of ?she said, she said,? in the Tsongas and Donoghue race is actually voided by one fact:  Niki Tsongas was part and parcel of the team that helped her late husband recruit people to run for City Council in 1996.  In other words, it was with Niki Tsongas knowledge and consent that Eileen Donoghue was asked to run for City Council. 

  The question becomes, what kind of person uses the commitment of another to bolster her candidacy and then runs against that woman for Congress.  Why would Eileen Donoghue  use Mrs. Tsongas? influence to run for Council, and her friendship to make for an easier run, and then cry foul when Niki Tsongas practiced her right to run for Congress herself?  And, why would she state that she has more experience when she leaned on Niki Tsongas? experience to give her that experience in the first place?

  As a Lowellian I am tired of hearing how Niki Tsongas does not have experience.  When they needed her, many of the various persons backing Miss Donoghue  would have died for Niki Tsongas? influential words to her husband.  Niki Tsongas knows how Washington, D.C. works, who makes it work, and the role that she would play in getting bills passed that affect the Fifth District.  She is not going there with the limited experience of a person who was the figure-head ?mayor? of Lowell for four years, but as someone who practiced politics at the national level.  When she walked a parade route in the St. Patrick?s Day Parade in Chicago in 1992, Paul lamented that she was more popular than he.  When she had to bury Paul, she did it with a level of class and dignity that few funerals have witnessed.  And Eileen Donoghue was in that crowd of mourners.

  So, let us quit saying that this is about experience, because on experience alone, Niki Tsongas has it hands down.  Paul did not run for Congress after two terms in the City Council.  He decided that he needed more experience, so he ran for County Commissioner.  I would suggest that Miss Donoghue plan out the same route to relevant experience because, as of right now, being a Lowell City Councilor is not experience enough to be a Member of Congress.  But, being a wife of a Lowell City Councilor, Middlesex County Commissioner, Member of Congress, U.S. Senator, and candidate for the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States, sounds about right.

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Comments

  1. Donoghue was mayor of Lowell, too? I don’t think she’s just running on her experience, but from her accomplishments and popularity while serving. It’s one thing to be a city politician.. it’s another to actually be one that people like – which isn’t exactly all that common from what I’ve seen, especially for people who have been around for a long time.

  2. Attacking Tsongas is really all Donoghue has left. Going negative in the last few weeks before the primary will not help……..What kind of “political” experience did Marty Meehan have before he ran for Congress?????? The answer is none. He never held elective office until he won the 5th seat.  “Experience” is all in the eye of the person who has it.  I’m willing to bet that most people in this race would suggest that political experience = career politician.  That is not as appealing as some would have you believe to the average voter.

  3. In a race where there is little difference between the leading candidates on issues, experience is a legit way to highlight a difference.

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    The reality is that every candidate in this race except for Mrs. Tsongas has stood for election (all more then once and been re-elected), dealt with constituents, voted on legislation/ordinances and taken heat for their positions.

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    Not having that type of experience doesn’t stop someone from running, it just allows legit questions to be asked. Under Kayot’s logic Barak Obama’s wife is as creditable a candidate as he is for president. Would Hillary Clinton be taken as seriously if her resume only read spouse of Governor and President? It is her her experience as a political spouse AND her election and service as a United States Senator that give her standing (that and a pile of campaign contributions)

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    Today’s Boston Globe quotes Mrs. Tsongas as distancing herself from the political world in Washington DC (1985 time line). Mrs. Tsongas has money and name recognition – acting offended that her experience is in question when she is 22 points ahead in the last poll raises more questions then I think her campaign wants voters to think about.

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    The Republicans will be saying much worse about her if she wins the Primary .

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