I get it now.
By most accounts Pags came off as a likeable guy in last night’s debate. Our first real glimpse from another angle of the doughie guy with lots of dough.
Soooo. Who cares? He ain’t goona win.
Now, with my razor like analysis of everything that is, I have concluded that Pags is running for the United States Senate for one of the two following reasons.
1. Just to piss-off Capuano. Perhaps Cap beat him out of a parking space in 1986 and since that day Pags vowed to get even.
I suggest this because Cap must not be a fun guy to be around lately. he is in a statistical dead heat with Pags and the City Year guy.
WTF? I would love to see state wide numbers on Italians. Outside of Somerville and a little of Medford I bet Pags gets as many Itlo votes as Cap.
With huge help from Pags’ high frequency benign ads this race has become “Coakley-and-the-three-guys-who-I-can’t-keep-track-of”.
Revenge. That’s a good enough reason for me. The Italian showing a little Irish in him.
2. This is phase one of a brilliant marketing campaign which will be followed up with a high profile and credible challenge to Deval’s assumed nomination next September.
And who’s guiding Phase 1? Doug Rubin from the Deval campaign and the other guy from Cahill’s.
Pags, you smart bastard you.
You could pull it off. 1978 and Ed King all over again.
Khazei will be well set up for a Congressional run, if Capuano wins.
As far as I know, Alan doesn’t live in the 8th and I doubt the voters will take it too well if he runs there.
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p>Not to mention that MA is going to lose a district in ’12. If Caps wins, someone becomes a two year place holders for a district that’s getting eliminated.
And there most likely will be if Cap doesn’t win the primary.
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p>But if he DOES win, I can’t imagine a one term congressman giving Frank/Tsongas/Tierney/Markey any serious competition as no district is big enough to take on a large enough chunk of the 8th to cut into the incumbents base.
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p>If Cap doesn’t win, that’s a whole different ball game. A cushy position outside of the House could become available in order to avoid pushing someone (Tsongas most likely) out of their seat.
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p>Who knows though!
I live in the 1st, and I keep hearing how Olver will be gone because his District will be eliminated. I’ve even heard the absurdity, said with a straight face, that the 1st and 2nd will be combined, so it will be a face-off between Olver and Neal.
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p>All of this is quite silly, because if we do lose a seat (and I hope we don’t, if serious efforts are made to count our immigrant and minority populations!), ALL of the Districts will have to be redrawn. Too bad the idea of an independent commission went down the tubes a while back, because in the land of Governor Gerry, you can be sure that even he will be turning in his grave!
And is probably what an independent commission would do. There just isn’t enough population in Western Mass to justify two congressmen. The 1st already extends from the Berkshires to the Nashoba Valley and the 2nd from the Connecticut River to Bellingham. Removing a district, combined with the population losses in Western Mass, would cause these districts to push even further into the Boston Suburbs, to the point where one could hardly call the Western Mass districts anymore. I’m sorry that your region is going to lose representation, but that’s the demographic reality.
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p>By the way, I did propose a map that keeps the 1st and second in more or less their present form. You can tell me if you think it’s feasible:
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p>http://vps28478.inmotionhosting.com/~bluema24/diary…
Barney Frank territory.
Telling Khaz, “you’ll half to call me to learn how to do the job” and a couple of other jabs. Cap had to first cap the two guys–especially the more liberal Khaz, before he has ANY running room to go after Martha. Given the time frame, a very tough thing to accomplish.
… though I missed the debate last night.
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p>And I have to say, he was a lot better than I expected. Well-versed on the issues; comfortable with complex ideas and policies. It would be silly to assume he’d be a dumbass, but he actually seemed to be taking the election fairly seriously. Even had a plausible explanation for why VC is like legislation: Have to sell an idea to several other people; get it vetted, checked out thoroughly; stakes are high … I could see it.