In what is perhaps the least surprising endorsement in years, the Boston Globe endorsed John Connolly for Mayor today. This was so pre-ordained that it would hardly be worth mentioning, but for some of what the Globe had to say.
Right from the outset, you see where it’s going. You’d think that the start of the piece would say something positive about Connolly, or even something negative about Walsh. Nope. It says that, basically, you’re probably an idiot because you don’t understand the race like we do.
There are some misleading narratives about Boston’s first open mayoral election in decades.
Seriously – that’s the first line. The obvious implication is that if you like Marty Walsh, it’s because you’re a rube. You’ve been taken in by him and his crafty union buddies, or something. Next comes this:
their priorities, loyalties, and leadership approaches couldn’t differ more.
Well, that’s silly. Of course they could “differ more.” As many observers – including several who write for the Globe – have noted, the “priorities” of the two candidates are in fact pretty similar. For candidates that “couldn’t differ more” on stuff that matters, you’d have to look at, say, the election for Mayor of New York City, to say nothing of the election for Governor of Virginia, where the candidates are a lot more “different” than Connolly and Walsh.
But, really, this is the best part:
State Representative Martin Walsh, 46, is more rooted in the establishment. His longstanding contacts with the traditional sources of clout — unions, neighborhood groups, elected officials — form the backbone of his campaign. His endorsements from city workers, former rivals, and State House colleagues have helped him advance in the polls. Most organized sources of power in the city are behind Walsh; Connolly’s base comes from more issue-oriented groups, and from grass-roots families and individuals….
[I]n choosing Walsh, back when there were 12 candidates in the race, some of these groups felt they knew what they were getting. Savvy, experienced operators with large blocs of votes don’t endorse candidates who are eager to push in unfamiliar directions. Walsh is more deferential to traditional political processes than Connolly; he must understand, on some level, that the endorsements he received are a down payment on maintaining the status quo.
Huh, you know, I could swear I saw something in a local newspaper just recently that suggested that “organized sources of power in the city” actually backed Connolly … now where could that have come from …
Oh right – the Globe.
Councilor John R. Connolly amassed his fund-raising haul in the opening weeks of the Boston mayoral general election by corralling donors of failed preliminary race candidates, obtaining support from some of Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s key allies, and seeking even more money from his reliable base of attorneys and developers, a Globe analysis of campaign financial records shows….
records show that significant chunks of Connolly’s war chest have come from those working in the legal, real estate development, and financial sectors who have contributed at least $700,000 to his campaign since January.
Interesting how the Globe’s actual reporting that Connolly has a “reliable base of attorneys and developers” directly contradicts the Globe endorsement’s assertion that “Connolly’s base comes from more issue-oriented groups, and from grass-roots families and individuals.” Really, WTF.
Of course, some developers and attorneys are backing Walsh as well, just as some union members and community groups are supporting Connolly. But the point is this: if the Globe is suddenly all worried about which candidate is supported by “the establishment,” by the forces interested in “maintaining the status quo,” doesn’t it seem a tad disingenuous not even to mention where the “legal, real estate development, and financial sectors” are lining up? Who is more “establishment” in Boston than that?
And another thing: when did politicians like Linda Dorcena Forry, Sonia Chang-Diaz, Tito Jackson, and John Barros, and groups like Oiste, Chinese Progressive Political Association, and Right To The City Vote!, among many others, suddenly become The Man? Apparently, these characters are actually well-organized tools of the establishment, desperate to see things stay just the way they are. Because, you know, things are so awesome right now in the communities that those people and groups represent – it’s like a freaking gravy train over there. I don’t buy it.
Finally, I couldn’t help noticing that, save for a couple of mentions of the recent arbitration award to the city’s police (which both Walsh and Connolly oppose), the Globe endorsement barely makes mention of what is almost surely at the heart of their distaste for Walsh: his long-time association with unions. Practically every op-ed piece the Globe has run on this race, as well as many of the news stories, have opined that Walsh’s biggest problem is that he can’t assure voters that he will be “independent” of unions. Indeed, that point was the Globe’s principal argument against endorsing him in the preliminary election. Yet this point doesn’t even come up in today’s endorsement? Suddenly the Globe is more worried about Walsh being a tool of the “establishment” who wants to “maintain[] the status quo,” rather than about his being a union lackey? I don’t buy that either. I wonder if the recent polling has spooked the Globe into thinking that the union lackey attack is failing, and that they need to pivot to something else? Weird.
The Globe’s endorsement is long, so go read the whole thing. I’m not going to pick apart every little detail, and there is some interesting stuff in there amid the crap. I just thought that the “misleading narrative” (to quote the endorsement’s first line) that the Globe chose to create about Walsh today was especially bizarre, and worth calling out.
My vote in this race, if I had one, would go to Walsh, but Connolly is a good guy, and if he wins, he’ll probably be a good mayor. But I do wish that the Globe’s coverage of this race, up to and including today’s endorsement, had been better. It has, frankly, sucked.
1. I had the same reaction you did — now the unions, John Barros, and Charlotte Golar Richie are “traditional sources of clout?” How about, you know, lawyers, developers, bankers, the Globe and Herald editorial board, etc., etc.?
2. Today of all days, there’s absolutely no shame in being called a “Lackey” of any kind.
He pitched great this year!
Walsh violated the state Ethics law by introducing legislation that benefited the Building Trades. “But the new bills uncovered by the Herald appear to have directly affected unions that Walsh represented in his Building Trades Council job.” Read Battenfeld today. Sure, go ahead and tell me that Battenfeld’s a clown and the Herald hates unions. I already agree with you on those points. But, that doesn’t change the facts.
It’s a bit humorous to read the largest, most influential media outlet in the city/region complain about misleading narratives. Essentially admitting they’ve failed in their mission, no?
The Globe is in a funny spot. Does its endorsement matter? I think it still does for people on the fence, but there are fewer people on the fence in a local election.
We had a great piece on here about newspaper endorsements not mattering a whit, but the polls were pretty accurate. Here (with a tougher race to poll), the polls vary so widely that someone’s going to be proven wrong.
The Globe has evolved to hold unions in open contempt.
…Freedom is Slavery…
Editorial: The case for Mayor Walsh
Note: I realize the piece was written by Bill Forry who’s wife has endorsed Walsh.
Matters to lawyers, rich developers, and pointy-headed intellectuals.
You just named a lot of people.
I don’t see why any of those groups of people would really care all that much what the Globe had to say. I doubt many of the latter category would even bother to read the editorial much read the Globe at all.
I really don’t think the endorsement matters all that much except for perhaps a small number people who haven’t paid any attention to the race and don’t have a consensus of friends or neighbors to defer to.
I doubt it will help Connolly all that much. FWIW, I felt they were basically pretty nice to Walsh in this endorsement.
Here is why some folks care: they respect institutions and they may have interests beyond the narrow ones projected on them.
Yes, the ideal is that we research candidates and their positions. We study and think deeply about issues and proposed policies from across the spectrum. We talk about these issues with people of varied knowledge, experience, temperament and bias, challenging our own assumptions and those of the candidates standing for consideration.
But most don’t. And this isn’t to say they are incapable or uninterested. Newspapers, provide a service, though you may fairly question the quality if you want and they deserve the scrutiny and some of the resulting derision. They learn more about the candidates and issues than most. They gather, they analyze, the present. They have training, a process and standards that still result in a more professional, trustworthy product than the average online site operating independently.
Not everyone trusts them, and few completely. But to completely disregard the coverage and judgement of a major institutional paper like the Boston Globe strikes me as a bit immature.
I read it every day, and unlike many here, I actually think it is a pretty good paper. I just don’t think their endorsement is going to matter all that much to the outcome of the election.
But just to be clear “why would they care” was meant specifically to refer to tudor’s assertion that the endorsement matters to “lawyers, rich developers, and pointy-headed intellectuals”.
but must not have conveyed that very well. The reference to “pointy-headed intellectuals” comes from George Wallace, and was meant to poke fun at the unflattering stereotypes the Walsh campaign and his supporters use to characterize Connolly and his supporters.
I mistook the intent of your sarcasm.
What makes them so hip is they tell us what the Establishment is, so we can know what to be against.
Education policy is made by philanthrocapitalist organizations like Boston Foundation and astroturf organizations like Stand for Children. They decide what should be done in spite of evidence to the contrary. Because teachers rarely get a meaningful seat at the table, about all we have is the power to say no. The Globe is managerialist, blindly privileging its class over people who do the work.
So, in addition to owning the Red Sox, John Henry owns the Globe now. Did his ownership impact this endorsement? Does this endorsement show us anything about the possibility of John Henry’s antipathy towards unions?
The Globe’s favored Connolly and his agenda since long before John Henry showed up. I don’t know anything about his views on unions, but he’s generally supported Democrats.
who do they think they are to be complaining about the establishment? The Boston Phoenix?
This is of course why they’d so fundamentally misunderstand who is and isn’t establishment. David — your list of “establishment” examples is priceless. The Globe must be out of its mind to think they could label groups like Oiste as establishment and cast themselves as the courageous indie group that has to challenge them. ROFL.
who finds the advocacy of the Walsh campaign, but most especially its supporters, present company included, intemperate? This is One Boston? Why the need to belittle the Globe, Connolly supporters, or the despised elements of the Boston electorate (e.g. hedge fund managers, real estate developers, gays who don’t support Walsh) that are thought to be the bulwark of the Connolly vote?
😉
as I’m quite sure there are others offended by the tone of, say, the Greater Boston Labor Council, mailing, which I got as a union member.
I can both “despise” the Globe and subscribe to it at the same time. :p
I don’t have an issue with rank and file Connolly supporters. Hedge fund guys, however, deserve the scorn. They can’t both take our country to the brink and expect to be loved all at the same time.
I have no issue with real estate developers, I just think they have their biases and is important people are aware that Connolly’s career was spent working for them – just as you and others have frequently brought up unions with Walsh. Careers have always been fair game in political campaigns, it is only fair Connolly receives the same scrutiny Walsh has had all along.
It’s only fair that Walsh gets the same treatment that Connolly has had all along. I didn’t realize that after Walsh went to prep school, that he was a laborer for only 2 years, a position that he got through his well-connected uncle. After that, he served in management positions in organized labor, which he also got through his well connected uncle, while collecting another check from the state as a State Rep. To listen to Walsh, you’d think that he was a union laborer for years before he went into “public service.” Not so. It’s kind of funny that Connolly taught for longer than Walsh was a laborer. Walsh is classic Boston establishment. Prep school, union management through family connections, Boston College, state legislator (elected with union support). Guy was pulling in almost $300,000/year. There’s nothing wrong with any of that. It’s Walsh’s misleading of the voters about his background that’s the issue.
Walsh doesn’t run around talking about his work as a laborer. He’s almost always identified as a labor advocate or labor leader. If you’d like to suggest Walsh’s dad and uncle, immigrants off the boat from Connemara who worked the docks and rose over 20 years to office in a union local, to the Secretary of the Commonwealth and a state judge (Connolly’s parents), I have a bridge to sell you.
I don’t understand your last sentence. Who’s comparing (or gives two hoots) about their parents…. If JC’s mom was a crack dealer, he’d still be qualified to be Mayor. If MW’s dad was in the mob, he’d still be qualified to be Mayor. It’s JC and MW running for Mayor not their parents. Walsh is classically connected in a Boston kind of way. I just don’t want anyone thinking that MW is the one who jumped off the boat from the Emerald Isle because to listen to him, that’s what you’d think.
he’s evah been outta Bah-ston in his life. YMMV.
My last sentence (which is missing a word or two) was based on your spurious suggestion that Walsh is “classic Boston establishment” as much as, if not more than, the Harvard-educated son of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Agreed. It’s not intended to be spurious at all. BC is MUCH more “establishment” in this town than Harvard.
http://www.bc.edu/offices/pubaf/about/faq.html#q13
and what’s printed in the MSM.
In the MSM, there has been an incessant focus on union issues re: Walsh and only recently have they even printed anything on Connolly’s legal career — and still very little.
So, yes, I stand by what I said about equal treatment.
n/t
The Globe and The Herald come at things from very different perspectives and so do their editorial boards. Both papers have endorsed Connolly. My guess is that Walsh’s supporters say it’s because both papers are anti-union, and both papers suck (or, as David put it, the Globe’s coverage of the Mayor’s race sucks). Fair points to be sure. But, even if that is the case, is it fair to ask if there’s more do it than that? Is it possible that two papers with different editorial philosophies looked at the two candidates and each concluded that Connolly is the better choice for Boston’s future? I don’t think that these endorsements are the “end-all-and-be-all” but I do find that the commentary on here lacks some perspective. In all seriousness, here, let’s play a little game: Which endorsement means more The Herald’s or Charlotte Richie’s?
Well, exactly. Still, it’s worth calling out the papers for BS when they start slinging it.
I’d guess Walsh will do OK in the parts of Boston where the Herald is most widely read. The Herald is very helpful, though, if you’re running in Braintree.
I could have told you both papers would endorse Connolly five minutes after the preliminary. Why is that? Let’s see. The Herald disdains Walsh because it’s right wing and anti-union across the board. The Globe disdains him because, as David so aptly put it, it’s reflexively managerial and elitist, and has a fetish for education “reform.”
Liberals who would like to own a newspaper? Make a big offer for the Herald, hire real reporters and do your damnedest to tell whatever narratives you uncover rather than the ones you want to tell.
It would be a great experiment to find out whether people still recognize straight reporting, value it and buy it.
If anyone actually does this you’ll get my resume in a flash. heck, I’d work for nothing if need be.
sold me a winning Powerball for once, I’d be right there.
I agree with David and Fenway49! Calling bull*&^% on the papers is wonderful, and we all know that they deserve it. I think that CGR’s endorsement is worth much more than the Herald’s is to Walsh. And, Fenway, I agree with your assessment that it means more because natural Walsh voters in Boston are probably Herald readers anyway so it means more to him to have CGR’s endorsement. (Sorry for the disgusting generalization).
Is the Connolly campaign paying BMG to run ads on this site? Commerce. God, I LOVE this Country.
Possibly part of a remarketing Adwords campaign from Connolly. I started seeing the ads as soon as I went to JC’s site then back here.
Source: I do adwords remarketing as part of my job 🙂
Thanks, geoffm33, shows you what I know…..
Thanks, David. I also like both Connolly and Walsh, but would vote for Walsh if I had the chance. Other than that I have no particular stake in the race — I think the city will be well-served by either.
As someone with no real skin in the game, I have also been disappointed by the Globe’s coverage of the race. I hope that they are reading BMG. This post is particularly well articulated.
Bravo.
David,
Just a question. Ayanna Presley and John Connolly were practically joined at the hip not so long ago. Where is she now on the mayor’s race? This seems like a neglected story which might throw some interesting light on the final hours of the campaign.