Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Cahill Sues GOP Strategists for Conspiracy!

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Cahill has been a poor candidate at best, but Charlie Baker has given him a run for his money. Baker could be completely innocent of Cahill’s allegations–though encouraging Paul Loscocco’s defection is hard to brush off– but this lawsuit, even if it were baseless, promises to provide Baker and his campaign with bad press until election day.

There are plenty of documents to pore over, plenty of people to accuse, and plenty of campaign workers that need to be defended. And let’s just say it’s a bit suspicious that Cahill’s managers (who recently quit his campaign) worked on John McCain’s failed Presidential bid. Baker’s management also worked for McCain.

I’ve always thought there was a dirty tricks competition among a certain segment of GOP strategists. But with strategists like these, who needs opponents?

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  1. I’ve been thinking that Charlie Baker would do better in Mass if he could stifle the national GOP and its helpers.  The Republican Governors Association ads and activities don’t seem to be helping to boost the perception of Baker as a stand-up guy.  If I were guessing, I would think that Baker’s campaign itself has little to do with the Cahill defections; rather, it’s more likely national GOP groups. Baker would probably do better running his own campaign-I wouldn’t be surprised to find that he’s frustrated with his GOP national overlords.  

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    p>Now that the barrage of outside money ads has started on the New Hampshire campaigns, I’m seeing the same kind of campaign snot that I suspect may not help GOP candidates there, either.

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    p>The next few weeks will be tough for all of us to take-the negative political ads will well outweigh the Viagra ads on evening TV.  

    • What you saw is a “pre-roll”, an advertisement (15 seconds) paid for by the Deval Patrick campaign.

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      p>The video itself continues after the pre-roll.

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      p>Oh, and pre-rolls are an abomination that I despise.

  3. Bay State voters can be forgiven if they think they are in a spacetime warp that somehow placed them down in Illinois!

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    p>My only worry is that all of this brouhaha will make voters even more cynical and keep them away from the polls. Our challenge is even harder now, I think, to GOTV!  

    • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M…

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      p>

      Even after the initial battle on the third day, as Moby Dick swims away from the Pequod, Starbuck exhorts Ahab one last time to desist, observing that “Moby-Dick seeks thee not. It is thou, thou, that madly seekest him!”

      Ahab ignores this voice of reason and continues with his ill-fated chase. As the three boats sail out to hunt him, Moby Dick damages two of them, forcing them to go back to the ship and leaving only Ahab’s vessel intact. Ahab harpoons the whale, but the harpoon-line breaks. Moby Dick then rams the Pequod itself, which begins to sink. As Ahab harpoons the whale again, the unfolding harpoon-line catches him around his neck and he is dragged into the depths of the sea by the diving Moby Dick. The boat is caught up in the whirlpool of the sinking ship, which takes almost all the crew to their deaths. Only Ishmael survives, clinging to Queequeg’s coffin-turned-life buoy for an entire day and night before the Rachel rescues him.

  4. So far as we can tell from media reports, Tim Cahill has filed a lawsuit to prevent public disclosure of emails that indicate his campaign may have been illegally coordinating with state employees at the Treasury. We did not receive any written internal information regarding the Cahill campaign, period, but call on the treasurer to come clean about improper activities in his campaign rather than trying to cover them up through a lawsuit.”

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    p>Funny how specific it is as to what information was not received.  No written information.  Clearly any information received would have been emails and stuff, or electronic information.

  5. Additional bolding mine –

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    p>

    Doubtful it’s NATIONAL Republicans

    More like the rocket scientists running the Baker campaign, just like they so ‘helped’ Kerry Healey.  BTW – they were all McCainiacs together as well.  
    FULL DISCLOSURE – I supported Mitt and Christy, so my opinion of these ‘workers’ is predjudiced.

    I LIKE Charlie Baker – I remember thinking what a good speaker he was when he addressed the Midlesex Club along with Tim Pawlenty, or talked about healthcare at the GOP8.  It’s his campaign staff that is repellant. They’ve convinced him this is how the game is played, what’s needed to win, etc.  And their sleaze alientates even those who want to support Baker, as they sense the mismatch between candidate and staff, and wonder which is real.

     

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    p>And as far as the statements being wiswhy-washy literal truth-telling (‘written’ media… and so on) – well, the same inmates are running the asylum, aren’t they?

    • you detailed earlier.  They left an email trail?  Good lord.  Haven’t ready the lawsuit yet.  But I will tonight.

    • Baker’s campaign staff is the same A-Team from the Kerry Healey disaster of a campaign. Very sleazy and out of touch with the people. There is a reason why there were constant rumors the Scott Brown campaign had major issues with the Baker camp at different events.

    • are all Massachusetts guys, not coming from the outside to run campaigns here?

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      p>Given the McCain connection, my “article” on Baker drafting Palin wasn’t that far off.

    •    This campaign had been a substantive debate about the issues and solutions to our Commonwealth many challenges.  Now, its degenerated into a junior high school blame game.   I’m with Charlie, and was watching like everyone else his campaign move higher in recent polling.   The people running the campaign know no other way then to go after Tim Cahill—I was on the other end of this in 2006 and instead of a laser-like focus on the Democrat, they were obsessed with the Independent.  That these strategic bozos have embraced Lostcauso and that this plays out day after day is good for only one person in this race–the Governor.  We all know they’re laughing over at Patrick/Murray headquarters.  Anyone espousing that Doug Rubin is in the middle of this has no clue about reality.  But, that’s the Healey folks tried and failed game plan, and that’s all they know.  
          Charlie should have been in another time zone when Lostcauso held a press conference last friday.  Again, a colossal FUBR.  

  6. NECN is reporting that Bob Meldrum ‘s Gmail account was mistakenly set to forward to his Cahill campaign account. Cahill got this off of his servers over the weekend.  I cannot find the emails themselves anywhere, but WBUR does have a better version of the lawsuit posted.  Emphasis mine.

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    25.  Despite their recent promise not to go to work for Mr. Cahill’s opponents, the defendants immediately followed Loscocco into the Baker camp. On October 3, 2010, Zanetti informed Yob and Weaver that he was scheduled to speak that day with Tim O’Brien, Baker ‘s campaign manager, “re putting out some of the problems re the campaign,” and urged Yob and Weaver “to join the call,” promising that he could “try to schedule at a time convenient for you.” This email is in the email chain attached as Exhibit H.

    26.  Later the same day, Zanetti informed Weaver, Yob and Meldrum that “the Baker folks would really appreciate” information about the Cahill campaign. Referring to a conversation he had already had with Meldrum, Zanetti said that Meldrum “has some stuff ” and opined that, “I think we should give them everything we have.” Still later on October 3, Weaver answered affirmatively to Zanetti’s question: “Can we give them the stuff Adam [Meldrum] has?” These emails are in the email chain attached as Exhibit H.

    • …are here:

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      p>http://www.boston.com/news/loc…

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      p>http://www.boston.com/news/loc…

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      p>They do seem to show that Meldrum, at least, was involved in GOP plotting while still employed by Cahill.  Disgraceful.  Still, Cahill could have just released the emails without the lawsuit, and gotten the same pr benefit without the risk of being painted as litigious whiner…and if he still wanted to pursue this later (whether for damages or just vengeance), filed suit after the election.  

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      p>They only potential benefit I see to filing  a lawsuit now (no time for discovery before the election) is the injunction he is seeking against his former people using any docs they took with them.  Best guess, he thinks they might have something damaging and the lawsuit is a preemptive strike to try to stop it.    

      • I was able to track down the entire complaint w/emails.

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        p>Damn, this is just insane.  O’Brien is in there, the discussions of Loscocco leaving … everything.  This is ugly and it’s connected to the Baker campaign.

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        p>I don’t see a way out for Baker here, especially with his rendezvous with Loscocco at the Seaport hotel before Cahill even knew of the defection.

        • Can someone OCR the PDF?

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          p>I skimmed it and one email exchange stuck out that puts to rest the Baker camp’s claims against Cahill.

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          p>Exhibit H

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          p>Oct 3rd at 1:09pm, Weaver replies to Yob who was asking about coordination between Cahill/Patrick or Cahill/Lottery, “Well, in fact, there was no coordination”

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          p>Oct 3rd at 1:20, Weaver replies to Yob again who insisted that he felt there was coordination.  “Was what? coordination? hardly.  Paul was kept out of the loop.”

        • Your link to the full suit has more emails not provided by the Globe, plus the agreement between Cahill and his erstwhile GOP consultants.  No matter who one is with in this race, it’s incredible reading for any political junky.

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          p>This line from a Sept 26 email from Loscocco’s friend/lobbyist Jason Zanetti to the former Cahill consultants John Weaver and John Yob is priceless (p. 35):

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          p>

          I like the timing here because it we proceed as discussed, I think Paul will be credited with putting Baker ahead of Patrick in the next poll and hopefully on election day.  Will definitely make for great PR for Paul and help repair his standing in the Republican Party for years ahead.

           

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          p>Hahahaha…How is that working out, guys?  One of the few things clear about this situation is that Mr. Loscocco will never be trusted by anybody in Mass politics again.

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          p>Perhaps more seriously, Zanetti goes on the same email (which, bear in mind, was sent the Sunday before the Friday Loscocco defected and the Thursday night meeting with Baker to seal the deal):

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          It would be great if we could have one meeting in DC on Thursday morning and assuming that all goes will a meeting in Boston on Thursday afternoon/evening at a private location likely with the principals present.

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          p>One can safely infer that “the pricipals” are Loscocco and Baker, who did end up having a private meeting at the Seaport Hotel Thursday nght…just like these guys planned.  Baker says he didn’t hear anything at all about Loscocco joining his team until Thursday day when agreed to meet with Loscocco that night.  I wonder how Baker feels that Zanetti and two GOP consultants not working for his campaign were able to plan four days in advance to put him in a “private location” with Loscocco to finalize something Baker knew nothing about until the day it happened?  Baker has got to be incredible busy at this stage, how in the world could they plan on Sun for Baker to meet with Loscocco Thurs afternoon/evening specifically?  Might the candidate not have other things on his plate one month before election day?  If you believe Baker’s version of the timeline (as I am inclined to), it’s hard to escape the conclusion that Baker is not at all be in command of his own campaign at this point.  

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          p>Anyway, with friends like these…    

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