The small but merry band of MA Republicans has given us a goodly number of chuckles over the last couple of days. I had a good time fisking the MA GOP’s Tim Buckley’s now-famous “humiliating error” press release. The hilarious dust-up between Phoenix reporter David Bernstein and RMG’s intrepid Rob Eno is not to be missed. Right here on BMG, Eric Fehrnstrom was apparently just outed as the genius behind the satirical Twitter account “CrazyKhazei,” apparently because he was logged into the wrong account when he clicked “tweet.” Scott Brown’s campaign released perhaps the worst campaign video since Charlie Baker’s flapping hands/green screen debacle (which, tragically, has been taken down), and then doubled down by trying to raise money off it.
And now the Herald’s Holly Robichaud has jumped aboard the anti-Elizabeth Warren bandwagon. Some choice selections from her hilariously angry column:
The last candidate to do a listening tour was Hillary Clinton. That didn’t work out so well.
Yeah, except that Hillary won.
As a Harvard professor married to another Harvard professor, she may find connecting with middle-class voters a tough sell, and these closed-door meetings don’t seem to be any help in that regard.
Huh, funny, ’cause everything I hear is that the response at these “closed-door meetings” has been overwhelmingly positive. If Holly has any evidence to the contrary, she sure doesn’t let on what it is.
When the public is allowed to talk with Warren, she will have a lot of explaining to do about her role in overseeing TARP. Taxpayer funded bailouts of large financial institutions are not exactly polling well these day with the middle class.
Yeah, I’m actually glad you brought that up, Holly. Most of Elizabeth Warren’s fame comes from her role in advocating for and then setting up the consumer protection agency. But her first big DC job was to head up the Congressional Oversight Panel (COP) charged with figuring out where all the TARP money went. Now, to read Holly’s comment, you’d think that Warren was actually involved in the bailouts. But, of course, that is precisely wrong. The COP had nothing to do with implementing TARP or bailing anyone out. Rather,
COP is empowered to hold hearings, review official data, and write reports on actions taken by Treasury and financial institutions and their effect on the economy.
Through regular reports, COP must:
- Oversee Treasury’s actions
- Assess the impact of spending to stabilize the economy
- Evaluate market transparency,
- Ensure effective foreclosure mitigation efforts
- And guarantee that Treasury’s actions are in the best interest of the American people.
Warren did all that during her tenure at COP, including the publication of numerous reports – and she thoroughly annoyed a lot of people in Washington, famously including Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, in the course of trying to figure out what happened to the TARP money, and why. I think when “the middle class,” about which Holly professes such concern, learns about Warren’s work at COP and watches her grill Geithner about AIG or about the banks, they will be delighted.
Finally, I cannot resist noting this devastating critique of Warren’s candidacy, proffered by a Republican State Committee member and relayed by Holly:
“Who is this Elizabeth? Most women with that name go by Betty or Beth,” said Angela Davis, a member of the Republican State Committee.
It’s hard to know what to say about that. I will note that stalwart Republican Charles Fried, who yesterday wrote an op-ed in the Globe that raised serious questions about Scott Brown, also expressed admiration for his friend and colleague, “Liz Warren.” But I suppose only communists go by “Liz.”
hesterprynne says
might know who this Elizabeth is.
johnk says
an inevitable train-wreck.
chrismathh has confirmed Rob Wellington is currently on Scott Brown’s payroll and obviously Fehrnstrom in FEC filings for this year. Scott Brown’s new media guy got the domain name and his public relations guy posted comments on a similar named twitter account. So am I wrong in stating that the comments on crazykhazei can be directly linked to the Brown campaign?
lynne says
is definitely an attempt to portray her as elitist…”See? She doesn’t go by common nicknames even! You must call her by FOUR WHOLE SYLLABLES!”
Except I know QUITE a number of Elizabeths which prefer, even insist upon, the full name of “Elizabeth.” Also, only older people think “Betty” is a common nickname of the name…very few people under the age of gray hair use it. Even Beth isn’t that common any more. (Liz or Lizzie are more common these days, or even Ellie.) Way to stay in touch, Angela Davis, member of the Republican State Committee!
Also, if you miss the “e” on the end of my name I will blow a gasket. 😉
merrimackguy says
Especially Brown, who doesn’t need them for sure.
BTW sometimes it makes sense to reinforce sterotypes to energize other groups to vote for you, especially if the people you are sterotyping aren’t voting for you anyway.
Republicans lose Cambridge about 80:20, and cities in general. If they want to rail against them to jeck up your town votes, sounds like a good strategy to me.
You probably just gave Buckley more attention than he’s ever gotten from Republicans.
David says
I live to serve. 😉
kirth says
“…Angela Davis, a member of the Republican State Committee.”
I wondered what she’d been doing since the ’60s.
Christopher says
Elizabeth Warren herself talks about how she grew up “on the ragged edges of the middle class”.
David says
The Republicans are supposed to be all about rugged do-it-yourselfers who pull themselves up by their bootstraps and succeed despite their humble origins. But then when somebody who isn’t a Republican actually does that, that person is apparently an elitist traitor to the middle class.
Just another of the many great mysteries of the modern GOP.
Christopher says
…Elizabeth Warren said that it seems to her that Brown and his allies are trying to call her “an elite hick”.
John Tehan says
…one of our differently-winged brethren called Obama “an elitist communist” – very similar to “elite hick”, no? I commented at the time that this notion – that someone could hold two such contradictory world views at the same time – is an idea that could only exist in the mind of a Republican, where they’ve elevated cognitive dissonance to an art form. The same certainly holds true for “elite hick”.
Christopher says
…but a “Fascist” and a “Czarist” as well. Plus did you hear about his religion? My sources tell me that he is secretly a Muslim who attended that radical Chicago church led by Rev. Jeremiah Wright!:)
kbusch says
In answer to Seascaper, I took a look at who votes for Democrats and who for Republicans based on income. Sure enough, the more money one makes the more likely one will vote Republican. That doesn’t tell all of the story though. There have been two shifts in public opinion.
First off, Clinton-era triangulation has tended to dilute the for-the-working-guy appeal of Democrats. This is most apparent in Appalachia.
Second, George W. Bush got a lot of professionals, formerly Republicans or Republican moderates, to vote Democratic.
So there has been a shift. Republicans mouthpieces (Eno, e.g.) like to emphasize the “elitism” of Democrats in order to grab a larger share of the not-so-well-off middle class. Republicans may have retained the loyalty of the managerial class, but it is lawyers, professors, and doctors who are more easily accused of being elites.