The taser incident has raised lots of serious questions about free speech and John Kerry's behavior. (see letter to senator kerry and student tasered at john kerry speech )
The question that popped into my mind was: Why is John Kerry in Florida and not in Massachusetts?
Kerry has a challenger in the Massachusetts Democratic Party: Ed O'Reilly, who is challenging Kerry on a range of issues and on Kerry's failure to serve his Massachusetts constituents. Kerry has hired a crew of staffers to try to head off O'Reilly's challenge inside the Party; but Kerry has failed to engage with O'Reilly directly and in public.
I think Kerry is afraid to debate O'Reilly, afraid to appear anywhere in Massachusetts where open dialogue might occur. Kerry wants to hold staged events or none at all. I think he knows how thin his base is in Massachusetts. Whether Kerry knows how bad his reputation is for constituent services, I think he knows how far he is from his constituents on the issues. The Iraq war vote was the obvious high water mark of his arrogant disregard of his constituents.
Kerry's dumb joke while the student was being tasered (“he can't be here to swear me in as president”) is an astounding admission that, even in the midst of an attack on free speech, he is still fantasizing about becoming president! What a fiasco!
Massachusetts needs a new senator, someone rooted in the state, unafraid to stand up for democracy and equality, ready to fight to restore America and the American Constitution after the degradations of the Bush/Cheney regime. I think Kerry the fantasizer is not the person to do this work. If he thinks he has what it takes, let him come back to Massachusetts and debate the issues here. This is the only election he's running in.
Please share widely!
Kerry is doing what he is always doing: Feeding his massive ego.
If there's a stage he can get on, or a camera he can get in front of, he'll do it. There's a reason some folks call him “Liveshot.”
Kerry is more interested in the stature that comes with being a Senator than he is in the work involved in being a Senator.
…query though why GWBush was recently in Baghdad for a couple hours. I doubt very seriously that he was invited there by the Iraqis. I saw no indication that he even met with members of the Iraqi government that he installed.
…the pResident can go to Atlanta for all I care*
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Note to the uninitiated. That’s a line by Scarlet O’Hara from Gone With The Wind.
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I don’t give a tinker’s damn where Bush goes. I’ll be glad when he’s gone. Jan 20 2009
Camp Cupcake.
In the middle of a gigantic US airforce base, Bush held forth on how Iraqis were doing. I doubt that there were many Iraqis in sight.
But it's just a game to him.
If I understand correctly, the O'Reilly campaign thinks Kerry should exert leadership on a number of issues. One might list FISA, timelines, and Senator Webb's bill.
These are not achievable by wandering around Massachusetts. They are achievable by putting pressure on Republicans (and Bush Dogs) to vote the right way. We don't have either variety in Massachusetts so I fail to see why he should be here keeping us company.
We need him out winning Congressional votes.
Kerry seems always to be wandering, sticking his foot in his mouth, waffling on any issue, etc. That’s his big problem. I haven’t seen any evidence that he carries much weight anywhere, so there’s not much chance he’s going to win votes. In last fall’s election he was so bad that candidates asked him to stay home after his ‘botched joke.’ If he really wanted to try to win votes, he would stay in the senate when the issues are up for debate and would even risk his reputation by taking definite stands.
After the botched joke, he did become a distraction, but before then, his role was useful. He was one of the few sitting Senators to campaign actively for Ned Lamont. Had Lamont won, the Senate would have been much better. Lieberman just voted against habeas corpus.
Kerry's efforts against the Roadblock Republicans, as he calls them, are one key to getting the war to end.
Another key is getting the message out. Kerry recently appeared on Meet the Press and handed John McCain his head. Do you think that one can win the debate by sitting home quietly and not doing anything Kerry doubters will regard as spinning or publicity-seeking? The problem the Democrats have is that they don't couple parliamentary moves and maneuvers with turning up the political noise machine. We desperately need more not fewer Democrats on TV and we need them clearly stating their positions. Unless Republicans pay for their bad votes, they won't change them.
What we really do not need is shy Democrats worrying in the corner about how something might be misconstrued. There lies pusillanimity and defeat.
Or perhaps you think pusillanimity and defeat is fine as long as the icky Senator Kerry pays extra attention to the primary race against O'Reilly. Could I interest you in the Collins-Allen race in Maine instead? Or if you want to defeat a Democrat, I have an excellent choice for you: Representative Lipinski. Mark Pera is running an excellent primary challenge against a representative in a solidly Democratic district who votes wrong on social issues, the war, and FISA. Kerry is good on all three.
No one says he can’t go anywhere else, but until he faces his constituents and his challenger he’s not got much credibility anywhere else.
…Kerry? Challenger?
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I’ll have to dust myself off laughing at that one.
O'Reilly seems to turn up at every possible Democratic event.
Kerry is supposed to be in DC casting votes on behalf of his constituents.
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Do you know how long it takes to fly between DC to southern FL? Max about 3 hours. So 3 hours down, 2 hours on the podium and 3 hours back, a grand total of 8 hours. Just how many votes in the US Senate might he have missed in the meantime? Probably zero.
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I have no idea why Kerry was invited to speak in FL, and I don’t particularly care for Kerry. But faulting him for going down to FL to speak is a little–how shall I put it–silly.
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I actually do wish that Kerry would go away. But not to make way for Mr. O’Brien. Barney Frank, I would actually vote for.
There once was a candidate, O’Reilly
Who attended events strong and smiley But despite all his tryin’ Raj voted O’Brien
That Raj! He’s smart, sly, and wiley
that he is running for the Senate but the fact is that he really isn't.
I am probably off with exact numbers but doesn't he need something like 10,000 signatures and 15% of the delegates at the MA Dem Convention? And Gabrielli, who had some serious $$$ and people behind him, barely cracked the 15 %.
Why should a sitting Senator take the time to debate someone that isn't officially a candidate? If I declare that I'm running for the Senate and demand a debate, is Kerry required to show up?
Chris Gabs needed the money, because he didn't declare with enough lead time to elect convention delegates during the caucuses. So he poached them from others, or swung over the very few undecideds.
I imagine during the 2008 caucuses, many people will be elected without declaring a preference for Senatorial candidates. Won't be hard to get 15% of them in your corner — Kerry's been around long enough to piss enough people off. Heck, if John Bonifaz can get 25% against Galvin in 2006, won't be hard to scrape up 15% against Kerry.
Lola, If you can organize a statewide network, raise boatloads of money for the party, get on City Council of a major metropolitan area, and hustle every gathering of Democrats across the state, yes, you've earned a debate with Kerry. Mind you, nothing speaks more strongly for O'Reilly's candidacy than Kerry turning up his nose at a plebian trying to contest his seat.
has O'Reilly actually done any of those things?
I have seen no evidence of a “statewide network”. Does he have campaign offices throughout the state? Does he have any statewide endorsements? Does he have a fulltime campaign staff?
A quick look at his MA campaign finance filings and FEC filings doesn't exactly seem to suggest that Ed O'Reilly has brought “boatloads of money” to the party? Maybe I'm just in the dark but how has Ed O'Reilly raised money for the party? I know he donated to some electeds and the party, is that what you're talking about?
I'm not sure Gloucester makes the cut as a major metropolitan area in MA. There are like 30K people there. Boston, Worcester, Springfield, New Bedford, Fall River, Lowell, Cambridge, Brockton- those are major metro areas. Gloucester- not so much.
Also, maybe it's just me, but what else should Ed be doing? He's self-employed and obviously has the financial flexibility to spend a year in a campaign. Sure, it's good that he's doing the footwork but should he really get credit for that? If Kerry decided to spend the next year attending every Dem event in the state, no matter how small, no matter what else was going on in the Senate, would you give him a pass?
I have seen no evidence of a “statewide network”. Does he have campaign offices throughout the state? Does he have any statewide endorsements? Does he have a fulltime campaign staff?
A candidate can be serious without burning through money for stupid reasons. Only an idiot has numerous campaign offices this far out from the primary in a state this small. (Which is why Kerry doesn't have them). What do you mean by “statewide endorsements”? The stuff of upper echelon folks in the Democratic Party, which Deval never got?
A quick look at his MA campaign finance filings and FEC filings doesn't exactly seem to suggest that Ed O'Reilly has brought “boatloads of money” to the party? Maybe I'm just in the dark but how has Ed O'Reilly raised money for the party? I know he donated to some electeds and the party, is that what you're talking about?
Nope. O'Reilly is an experienced fundraiser. He's organized events. Obviously, he can personally contribute the legal limit, but he has been a key figure in getting money from Cape Ann into the Democratic Party. Think Steve Grossman.
Also, maybe it's just me, but what else should Ed be doing? He's self-employed and obviously has the financial flexibility to spend a year in a campaign. Sure, it's good that he's doing the footwork but should he really get credit for that? If Kerry decided to spend the next year attending every Dem event in the state, no matter how small, no matter what else was going on in the Senate, would you give him a pass?
I don't really know. He's meeting voters, listening to them. He's building a platform, appearing at events, reaching out to folks. He's making speeches. He's raising money. What do you think a candidate is supposed to do?
As for Kerry, I'd give him a pass if he'd spend less time making speeches, and, oh, maybe write a bloody bill once in a while. Or maybe show up for the important votes. That said, I'd love to see Kerry try to get to three weeks attending Democratic events around the state.
but… I'm confused about how O'Reilly can be the “Steve Grossman of Cape Ann” which suggests that he has raised millions for Dem candidates but then can't attract more attention or $$$? It's one thing to be committed to grassroots, shoe leather campaigning but if O'Reilly really has pumped loot into other candidates' coffers, shouldn't there at least be some sort of reciprocity?
And during the primary wasn't Deval endorsed by Capuano and McGovern as well as a boatload of unions, state reps, state senators and the like? Maybe “statewide” was the wrong word for what I was trying to get across (and I realize that there is no reason for O'Reilly to have these endorsements this early) but the city/town political machines & unions are pretty key for any statewide election- do you think that O'Reilly has a shot at those key endorsements/resources?
Or do you think that he doesn't need them to win the primary?
I'm not sure what O'Reilly could seriously expect. I mean, it's nice and all to hav a good record, but the Mass Dems aren't kind to people who go off the reservation, as it were. I think the time to tell is early, because Kerry is still hoping that O'Reilly will go away if he keeps ignoring him. If Kerry decides to acknowledge the process playing out, we'll get a good sense of where things lie. Regardless, if you're going up against a rich, generous former presidential candidate, neutrality from muckymucks is the best you're going to get. Deval got his because it was an open primary.
Endorsements are useful, and frankly I'm not sure what type of campaign O'Reilly looks to be running. Please understand, I'm not on his staff, but I do like what I've seen of him thus far. I could see O'Reilly getting some union endorsements down the line and mayb eeven a state legislator or two. He'll surely need them to compete with the Kerry machine (I mea, when people speak ill of him, we get some 3 or 4 people who show up out of nowhere to heckle them from all over the country. That is good organization.)
All that said, the fact that a conversation can move from “he doesn't deserve a debate until the convention at the earliest, and he's no more serious a candidate than me” to “do you think he can win the primary” says something about what O'Reilly does actually offer.
Heck, not on it myself. Don't really like mailing lists. But I courteously extend to you an invitiation to his website http://www.edoreilly.com