The latest Suffolk and WBUR/MassINC polls (along with the rest of the polling) do show a very slight tightening in the race between Ed Markey and Gabriel Gomez.
http://massnumbers.blogspot.com/2013/06/latest-markeygomez-polls-show-very.html
But an 8 point disadvantage is nothing the GOP should be happy about, especially given that Markey is holding even with Gomez among men, and has a whopping 17 point advantage with women (averaged across all polls). Gomez is not winning nearly enough independents to make up for the Democratic registration advantage.
http://massnumbers.blogspot.com/p/ed-markeygabriel-gomez-massachusetts.html
Please share widely!
against a well funded multi-decade federal office holder whose party controls this state. Not to mention that he’s going into a body where his party is in the majority.
No need to make a point here. Just wanted to see if someone was going to say I was wrong.
Which is short hand for: what’s your point?
A win is a win. There’s no prize for a close second, unless you count a gig on Fox News as a prize.
Which is why the politics of divisiveness is the way to go.
Pit the the suburbs against the cities.
The various colors against each other.
And all other groups against all other groups , it’s all worth it in the end because
As we all know, last time there was an open Senate seat filled by special election just a few years ago, Republicans pulled off a big upset. Why then in this special election did the “Mass GOP put up an unknown, inexperienced guy”? How come there wasn’t an A-list Republican candidate who could win the primary?
It’s not clear to me how much of the Republican leadership knew that Scott Brown did not intend to run in this special. It’s possible that with time to prepare that at least someone better prepared than Gomez would be running.
exactly what went on. A lot of people assumed Brown was running, but probably an equal number guessed that he had had enough for now. Remember that whoever wins this is running again in two years, and he had been running nonstop since early 2009.
Gomez was encouraged by MA GOP National committeeman Ron Kaufman. A lot in the GOP don’t like Kaufman. Most regular people didn’t think Gomez had a chance in the primary. Sullivan was the choice of the so-cons and the tea partiers (which is most of the activists) and Winslow was the choice of the insiders/establishment which is most of the money.
In the GOP the word “better” is debatable. Richard Tisei again? Bruce Tarr? Bob Hedlund? One of the sheriffs? (Cousins is actually a pretty solid politician, but he’s facing some ethics/legal issues lately). Gomez is doing a fair job for being inexperienced. My guess is he’s getting some good help and listening to them: work hard, make appearances, be vague when you talk.
Which only proves why he’s unsuitable. His debate answers and answers to reporters and voters on the trail have been shamefully devoid of any detail, or even any real connection to the questions asked.
I guess maybe you’re talking about Mr. Gomez.
The GOP has built its entire identity around the “politics of divisiveness” for decades — unless you suggest that Willie Horton and Welfare Queens are symbols of inclusiveness.
I don’t think it’s right. I think when faced (and this is for anything in life) with something that you would not stoop to, the answer is not to sink down but to demonstrate superior character.
I think in politics candidates should be about something other than just winning. Just my opinion. Obviously not shared by others.
that when you’re running in election, the point is to win and not necessarily to win by 15 or more points. Not that doing anything to win is OK.
I will be perfectly happy if Ed Markey wins by the margin that current polls indicate. I will be happy if he wins by less. Some Republicans may get sour-grapes enjoyment out of a relatively small margin of victory, but I’m A-OK with that. Not me. I just want another representative with a track record of fighting for issues that are important to me representing me in the US Senate.
That leaves out Mr. Gomez, who doesn’t have much of a record on issues I care about and in fact is somewhat difficult to pin down (he isn’t interested in changing abortion laws but he favors a mandatory waiting period. Hello?). I don’t even know what he’s been doing in his business career because he won’t tell us.
i don’t think that’s what he said
It is pretty clear what he meant. YOU were the one that brought up the “do anything to win” meme. Why don’t you parse out his sentence again and explain to us exactly how you support your assertion?
not this one.
I see no indication that anyone but Mr. Gomez is sinking down.
i’ve seen the commericals
I assume you mean the ones where he accurately shows Mr. Gomez opposing limits on assault weapons and high capacity magazines, and where he accurately highlights Mr. Gomez’s appearance attacking President Obama after the OBL capture.
I’ve also seen Mr. Markey maintain his composure in the debates while Mr. Gomez let fly with one cheapshot after another.
Like I said, Mr. Markey is demonstrating superior character, especially in contrast to his opponent.
“I’m more experienced and my views are more in line with what the people of Massachusetts want”
Or “I have a record of 37 years of legislation, here it is, so now you know how I stand”
I would assume that someone such as Rep Markey would not have to resort to bashing a person who couldn’t even win a selectman’s race, but I am wrong.
I have seen several ads where Markey emphasizes his long legislative record without bashing Gomez at all. And the ads that do “attack” Gomez by highlighting Gomez’s stated positions using his own words and video.
Meanwhile, Gomez’s ads are content-free when it comes to his own policies. If all I saw was his ads, I wouldn’t know anything other than he was a Navy Seal, and he isn’t Markey.
Mr. Gomez has chosen to focus on the length of Mr. Markey’s service (apparently that’s all he’s got). Mr. Markey has instead chosen to use his advertising to draw a clear distinction between himself and Mr. Gomez on issues that Mr. Markey considers important.
At no time has Mr. Markey offered anything that can accurately be described as “bashing”.
That’s not what stomv said, it’s your little riff.
In fact in Mass. I’d say the scorched-earth stuff that seems to work such magic in other parts of the country does not do so well here, see pond scum fauxcahontis.
i don’t think that’s what i said
and when did that person consent to you putting keystrokes under his or her fingers?
I searched the thread and found a stomv, and he wrote nothing of the sort you suggest. If you are interested in an honest dialogue, lets have it. From my perspective, it looks like classic trolling. You get a succinct and direct response, and then unwind it any way you like, directly setting up strawmen you claim this other person (in this case, stormv, whoever that is) set up when, in fact, that person did no such thing.
Honest debate and discussion? Let’s have it. When you’re ready to behave politely, I’m game for a conversation.
I believe I have been polite all along. It’s you that has continued the debate. I said absolutely nothing on this thread except a factual statement and you felt a need to contest even that. You should have gone back to the old thread rather than continue the discussion here.
Now all these people have wasted all this time over nothing.
I continued the debate, eh? Said absolutely nothing on this thread except a factual statement, eh?
It’s not polite to put words in someone else’s mouth. You have eight (!) posts on this thread and this is my third, but assert that I continued the debate. If you can’t review your posts and see a litany of opinions (which aren’t facts, btw) then you need serious help.
In short: don’t be a dipweed, don’t assert other people’s opinions when you’ve got no text to defend the assertion, and learn the difference between opinion and fact. Please. For the good of your country.
…I set up for you the last time someone (DFW?) called you stormv:
I’ve received a few emails from the Markey campaign and other Democrats citing a Republican poll that has Markey up by only one point (45-44). I have not seen this poll mentioned anywhere else. Should it be taken seriously?
ALSO, in my neighborhood in Wayland there are several homes that typically display Republican lawn signs (most recently, for Brown, Romney, etc. – their right wing ideology also extends to our recent town election). But so far no signs for Gomez. Hopefully this is symptomatic of Republican lack of enthusiasm for their candidate.
But I don’t believe it, likely the same outfit that had Romney defeating Obama. Markey has this in the bag, just trolling for dollars. You don’t even need to bother to vote.
http://mclaughlinonline.com/lib/sitefiles/MA_Statewide_-_Exec_Memo_-_June_7th.pdf
That outfit’s polls are always off, and always in favor of the Republican. But, ahem, Markey supporters should get out and vote anyway.
(obviously for Markey) and will not be taking Dan’s advice that I shouldn’t bother.
Hopefully all Markey supporters will do the same.
voted today by absentee ballot for Markey, since we’ll be out of state for the election.
Sorry to disappoint you, Dan. But nice try!
Not that signs mean that much, but I do find it interesting that my neighbor who sported large Scott Brown signs on his house and cars put up a small Gomez sign shortly after Gomez won the primary but took it down a couple of weeks ago. I wonder if Gomez did something to piss him off…
Signs don’t mean that much, but I’ve seen nothing like the outpouring for Scott Brown. One guy near here who’s had a sign for every Republican nominee in memory (last fall it was Romney, Brown, Bielat, and the State Rep. candidate who got about 10%) has no Gomez sign out. Makes you wonder if the base is not enthusiastic for him.