The son of an Iranian-born surgeon and an Italian American nurse (Note to Alan: Make sure the Italians know about your mom), Khazei has been a crusader for the idea that all Americans owe something to their country.
He bugged and lobbied everybody (including columnists) until all the bills for AmeriCorps and other service programs were funded and passed, and bless him for it.
He’s running as an Internet Age Jimmy Stewart, proposing “Big Citizenship instead of Big Government,” a new approach “that isn’t FDR or Reagan,” and promising a campaign that is “citizen-led, citizen-energized and citizen-financed.”
It sounds Obama-like and maybe a bit gimmicky. But Khazei actually believes the “Mr. Smith” stuff, and with the U.S. Senate looking as dysfunctional as the Celtics of the late 1990s, it may be the shrewdest approach on offer.
Niceties aside (I’m a Khazei fan), I’m not sure how anyone knocks out Coakley.
Doesn’t a 3-guy field work enormously to her advantage?
I am currently leaning toward Capuano but would tactical-vote for either of the other two if it was the best way to stop Pags. So my IRV would be (Ca, K, Co, P) though I could change my mind later.
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p>Hey, I think I’ll see how the 24 possible options rank among BMG readers…
He’s clearly hoping that the Deval-Obama-Yoon people will sign up for him. If that does happen, he can make this an interesting race, especially if he starts peeling away lukewarm supporters of Coakley. It’s hard to lead a race from start to finish, and I’m not sure Coakley can do what Hillary Clinton and Tom Reilly couldn’t.
Could you contact me at my personal email, GGW? I have what may prove an interesting offer for you..
I’m at
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Hillary won the MA Dem primary walking away and she did it with the grand poohbahs of the beltway boys club lined up shoulder to shoulder on the other side…(including the Cape Cod Kennedy’s)
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p>In think Martha will carry the day with or without Steve Smith.
This is a completely different election. Turnout will not be nearly as high as it was for the Presidential Primary. Plus there are a lot of Hillary people that are going with Capuano (and I am sure there are many Obama people that will be going with the AG). So I think it would be a mistake to automatically assume that since HRC mopped up in the primary, Coakley will win in the Senate.
You make a good point. The turnout will be lower and that may serve to help Coakley because voters, particularly women, who were disappointed that Hillary lost will be energized to get to the polls. There are some defections to Capuano especially in his own district and some of the far left to Khazei, but the strong majority of Hillary voters will be with Coakley and ready for a win.
I mean, seriously. We get a great big globe article and not a small amount of ink spilled over this guy, and I still have no idea what he believes in other than national service.
And in the words of the twice failed Republican nominee Thomas Dewey ‘Rivers full of fish and a future that lies ahead’.
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p>Sorry but I think with a failed economy, the failure of Governor Patrick, and the mediocrity of President Obama the people of this fine Commonwealth have grown tired of outside the box vague campaigns since they have now become tired cliches and in effect politics as usual. To be different is to run like Capuano is, standing proudly behind instead of running away from his voting record, bragging about bringing home the bacon, bragging about knowing more Congressmen and having more connections than his opponents, basically committed to getting things done for MA.
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p>The whole reason Teddy’s dream didn’t die is because he quit trying to run as a crusading President and finally decided to become a clubby Senator and got so much more done for MA and America in the process.
and that you should vote for him.
The huge advantage for Coakley is that while it is true that early front-runners don’t have a great record of finishing strong in Massachusetts, the campaign is much shorter than usual. By announcing very early, Coakley helped foster a sense of inevitability (which helps fundraising) that combines with her state-wide name recognition to give an advantage that is amplified by the short campaign.
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p>That said, Capuano does have a decent amount of money starting off, and is smartly positioning himself as someone with (1) solidly liberal views and (2) a long legislative record to prove his credentials. Unfortunately for him, he and Khazei would seem to be jockeying for the portion of the Democratic electorate, which is a far more important advantage for Coakley than the fact that all of her opponents are male.
Normally I wouldn’t rule out two mad men with money making waves in a multi-candidate election, but with their late starts and the short calendar by the time they even get their names out most voters will have already decided. I suspect this is definitely the case with Pags who seems to have no institutional or grassroots support and is relying on really cheesy ads to get his name across. He also has already been defined as a Romney supporting neocon. Whether or not that is a fair assessment it has already crippled his chances of defining himself on his own terms.
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p>As for Khazei while a lot of highly educated liberal activists and former City Year volunteers within the Boston area and on the netroots like him, I just doubt he will be able to get any voters outside of the Metro area just because he can’t establish name recognition quickly enough.
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p>I would also argue that is Capuano’s problem as well, although he has received high profile endorsements, I suspect there are more to come (Definitely Markey’s, possibly Lynch, and I would look out for Joe Kennedy’s late in the campaign).
Frankly with a field of four ‘progressives’ Lynch is probably kicking himself that he didn’t run and get a plurality with moderate/conservative Dems. Now though the more that get in, especially if they have deep pockets, the more that cements Coakley’s advantage. My hope is that the Kennedy people talk Khazei out of it, or Mike makes a deal to back him for his seat if he wins (frankly I’d love to have an outsider as my representative, I just feel Senators should have some prior legislative experience) otherwise sensible liberals that have actually lived in MA will back Capuano on the basis of his record while yuppies and bobo’s back Khazei’s wild eyed dreams.