There is alot of talk today on BMG about endorsements. With Duke endorsing Capuano yesterday and The Globe endorsing Khazei today. What my question is to fellow BMG-ers is do they really matter and has an endorsement even swung away or towards a candidate. Who was the person who swung or deterred you?
Please share widely!
Just the way I am.
maybe she thought it meant she was pro-coakley?
…while I think the right endorsements are worth some votes from some voters, I do not believe/have no awareness though I could be wrong, that ANY endorsement has ever changed MY personal vote.
<
p>Just to clarify…
Often I’m 99% there and just am being stubborn, trying to maintain some illusion that I’m still open to being convinced otherwise. Ted’s endorsement of Obama pushed me over as did Kaufman’s and Donnelly’s endorsement of Capuano. So I’d probably end up in the same place anyway, but the endorsements sometimes act as a catalyst.
<
p>An endorsement this late in the game never has an effect on me (I almost always have my mind made up with a week to go).
While I strive to at least stay aware of how my opinion is being influenced by others, endorsements do influence that opinion.
<
p>While I am almost never swayed by newspaper endorsements, I find personal endorsements far more convincing — both for and against, when I know and can calibrate the endorser.
<
p>For example, I was undecided about the Massachusetts presidential primary until the very last week. I had been a Hillary Clinton supporter since before Bill Clinton left office — I’ve always felt that her strategic advice played a key role in his many successes. I have three daughters, my youngest being twelve during the campaign, and I have always held up Hillary Clinton as a role model for her (alongside Hermione Granger) — and still do.
<
p>As the primary campaign unfolded, I found myself increasingly weary of what I perceived to be the stridency of her campaign as well as its increasingly hostile tone (especially locally). I felt that her Massachusetts supporters were gratuitously divisive and far too quick to apply unnecessarily sexist labels to all but her most enthusiastic supporters. I found myself disappointed by her public posturing on issues, while simultaneously hurt by the quickness with which her supporters attacked me as “sexist” because I dared to challenge those stances. I was particularly disturbed by the trajectory of her public comments during the runup to and after the illegal invasion of Iraq.
<
p>On the other hand, I was also very impressed by Barrack Obama. I found the approach of Barrack Obama refreshingly positive, concrete, and inspiring. I saw in Barrack Obama the impressive political chops that I’ve always admired in Bill Clinton — but in Barrack Obama’s case, accompanied by a quiet fire of vision and commitment that I haven’t seen since the JFK/RFK era. I was therefore absolutely undecided coming right down to the wire — I was really unable to make up my mind.
<
p>In that context, I was persuaded by the endorsement of Ted Kennedy. His words connected perfectly to the conflict I was in the midst of. He eloquently articulated the sense of hope and inspiration I felt from Barrack Obama. I can still remember hearing his endorsement, feeling the tingling all the way from my head to my belly, and knowing that I had made up my mind.
<
p>While there will not be another Ted Kennedy during my lifetime, his example nevertheless demonstrates to my satisfaction that endorsements do matter.
Endorsements do matter to me. They can be a tie breaker when I like a number of people in a race.
<
p>Using this one as an example, Congressman McGovern’s endorsement was important to me because I value his judgment as to his knowledge of Congressman Capuano and what it takes to do the job.
<
p>Congressman McGovern’s endorsement was important to me when I endorsed Deval. I knew that I was philosophically closer to Deval than I was to Tom Reilly, but until Deval endorsed, I thought that he was too much of a long shot.
<
p>When Steve Grossman endorsed Howard Dean for President, it helped me to feel that it was OK to support Governor Dean here in Massachusetts, even though we had a favorite son.
<
p>Back to Congressman McGovern again, when I was trying to decide between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the Congressman’s endorsement made a difference, again as a tie breaker. In addition to trusting my Congressman’s judgment, as a volunteer, his team is a group that I am comfortable working with.
<
p>As an activist, I do look at the organization. Is it a group of people where I can be effective? Is the campaign strategy a good match for my skill set and interests? Going back to the Reilly/Deval race, John Walsh and Nancy Stolberg encouraged me to get on board and talked to me about the kind of campaign they wanted to run. I am not talking about kissing the ring but about an opportunity to have a good working relationship.