Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Something Fishy

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This story about the GOP offering to put Mark Fisher on the ballot and Fisher rejecting the offer and demanding money is pretty crazy. I’m not saying it didn’t happen—it seems from the quotes from the sparring lawyers that it did. But why doesn’t the GOP just go ahead and put him on the ballot, then? Won’t that moot the case? What damages has Fisher suffered, other than his attorney’s fees, which I assume are not recoverable? Something is fishy here.

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  1. Looks like Tea party nut Fisher, is even dumber that the MA GOP, and that says a lot. But Fisher just bailed them out.

    “We’re trying to negotiate a reasonable settlement and you have to start somewhere,’’ he said.

    The attorney said that Fisher’s request for compensation was reasonable and not illegal because the candidate has “put out a lot into this” and should be rightly compensated.

    Fisher argues that party leaders cheated him out of a spot on the ballot at the Republican convention in March.

    “Mark Fisher wants to be made whole financially,” Harvey said.

    According to Ciavarra, Fisher responded to his warnings by lowering his request to $650,000.

    Harvey said Tuesday night that the $650,000 figure is still negotiable.

    Ciavarra said the GOP has offered Fisher a spot on the September primary ballot.

    During a series of negotiations, however, Ciavarra said Fisher rejected the committee’s offer and “continues to insist on a high 6-figure settlement rather than access to the ballot.”

    Harvey suggested that a spot on the ballot was not enough, however.

    He said Fisher needs to be compensated for what he has been through.

  2. But also wonderful. A perfect metaphor for the GOP.

    Instead of demanding, say, a revote, a recount, or some other vote-based procedure, he demands cash.

      • The kidnappers kept lowering their ransom demands because Danny Devito wouldn’t pay, prompting Midler to cry:

        I’ve been kidnapped by K-Mart!

  3. Harvey suggested that a spot on the ballot was not enough, however.

    He said Fisher needs to be compensated for what he has been through.

    What he has been through? One is tempted to think he’d sue the legislature for a million in emotional distress damages if they didn’t pass his Tea Party budget.

  4. I blame myself, I will never again underestimate the buffoonery of the MA GOP. Fisher’s response:

    Tea Party gubernatorial candidate Mark Fisher today ripped the state Republican Party for releasing a letter claiming he asked for $1 million to drop his lawsuit against it as a “desperate move by desperate people” and promised answers in the coming days.

    The party’s attorney “was always the first one to come to us asking for a settlement. Now it makes it appear that we’re trying to do something,” Fisher said in a brief telephone interview today. “We always said, if they want to offer legal damage … it always has to be part of a bigger package of me getting on the ballot. There’s no buying it. We want to be on the ballot.”

    then he went on to say that the letter released was politically motivated and meant to intimidate:

    Fisher said he believes the release of the letter was timed to undercut him as he readied to submit signatures with the hopes of getting the 10,000 necessary to get on the ballot. Fisher said he’s confident he has them, though no official tally has been released by state officials.

    “They were waiting the whole time. This is their last attempt at intimidation,” the Shrewsbury Republican said. “It’s a desperate move by desperate people.”

    Fisher said he’ll have a presser later in the week.

    • That’s my question. And Holy crap, it they weren’t.

      Some within the Republican State Committee had been working to getting Fisher on the ballot and to try to resolve this mess as the MA GOP leadership has failed miserably during their convention and actions in the aftermath.

      So now, as I understand it, the MA GOP lawyer showed a letter to the state committee to paint Fisher in a bad light, but the problem, Fisher didn’t initiate, the MA GOP did. They took Fisher’s response and framed it that Fisher didn’t want to be on the ballot and was only looking for money. This is ugly, very ugly. If the plan was to deceive the state committee to undercut Fisher someone needs to take responsibility and resign.

      • It could have come from a candidate with a vested interest in things. The party may have been unaware of such an offer.

      • That should just be the start. t looks to me there’s plenty ground for the state to initiate a criminal investigation.

          • that intentionally manipulating nomination procedures contrary to established rules in order to deny someone ballot access could be a crime, though I am not sure about that. (I’m not saying that’s what happened here.)

            • Changing the procedures for nominating add-on delegates? They were supposed to pick youth add-ons based on being “active in party organizations” but did a lottery instead.

              • It’s a bit different bc it’s not obvious how it would impact the outcome, so it may have been done as a convenience to the DSC if they were simply too lazy to review all the applications, rather than to tilt the playing field as with the Republican nominating process. But the selection process was certainly not what they advertised to the public that it would be.

    • If the Massachusetts Republican Party is not politically motivated, then they are doing something wrong.

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