Fact Check: Gomez Claim On Markey’s Effectiveness Doesn’t Hold Up
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez made headlines Monday for attacking his opponent, Democratic U.S Rep. Edward Markey, on national security.
But he also dropped a line he’s offered up several times of late: Markey, he said, hasn’t sponsored a single bill in the last 20 years that became law.
It’s a sweeping claim, designed to undermine the central rationale for Markey’s candidacy: that with experience, the Democrat has developed into an effective legislator.
. . .
Independent observers say the argument doesn’t hold up.
“It’s, at best, a shaky attack,” says Norman J. Ornstein, a resident scholar at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute and one of the country’s most respected Congressional observers. “I’ve watched Markey since he came to the House and I’ve written many times before that he’s one of the most effective legislators” in Congress.
Mr. Ornstein clearly needs a dose of unique perspective.
Ornstein would be so open about it. Don’t these conservative guys stick together? Maybe AEI needs some Democratic bogeymen in office to boost fundraising.
AEI stepping in to defend a democrat (and a pretty liberal one at that) is highly unusual. Moreover, the silence from the national GOP (with the exception of maverick McCain) re. Gomez has been deafening. Even if they think he has no shot, the mere existence of a latino repub nominee is an opportunity for them to at least try to make up some desperately needed ground in that demographic group. I could understand if they don’t want waste $$$$ on a lost cause, but they’re not even talking him up. Strange.
when it comes to the national GOP. He was, after all, the co-author of the famous 2012 op-ed declaring that, “let’s just say it, the Republicans are the problem.” If only more conservatives with integrity would do the same.
And I see that Ornstien is close personal friends with Al Franken, so he may be more than a bit of an outlier in today’s gop.
He considers himself a non partisan centrist and calls himself the left wing of the AEI. In either case, he is a small c conservative in the sense of being a longtime keen observer of the Washington establishment. When he says Markey gets a lot of work done he means it, especially when he is quick to point out how unproductive most of the other members are.
We seriously get the best of both worlds with Warren and Markey as our team, they would be even better than Kerry-Kennedy were.
It never seemed to me that John Kerry ever got very much done. He held office forever, he was a reasonably reliable party-line vote, but I have a hard time identifying ANY issue on which he demonstrated leadership.
In fact, the last time I saw John Kerry actually get out front and make waves was in 1971. I’m not trying to be snarky, that’s just the way I see it. He was late in opposing the invasion of Iraq, too willing to ignore the war crimes of the prior administration, and too reluctant to lead on pretty much any big issue I can think of.
I, frankly, think that Ed Markey will make a far superior Senator than John Kerry. I think that the Warren/Markey team is absolutely stellar, and I think the biggest “risk” is that Ms. Warren will end up leaving office in order to become President.
Retrieving POWs/MIAs from Vietnam.
I am very excited about this team and convinced it will be the best delegation in the Senate. In some ways Markey will be indebted to Warren for grassroots support, in other ways, she will be indebted to his experience and breath of knowledge. The bills they can write, sponsor, and pass together will be astounding. This is not hyperbole, it is fact. Ed’s gotta win first though, all the more reason to hammer his empty opponent and go door to door.
but that leadership was within Washington, not an attempt to sway the vox populi.
In the mid 80’s he led the congressional investigations into the US govt involvement with drug trafficking, and produced the Kerry Report on that touchy subject.
Of course, this entire episode has pretty much disappeared down the memory hole.