This weekend, Gracie’s ice cream store in Union Square, Somerville created a special “Green New Deal With It” mint-chip ice cream, in honor of Ed Markey — proceeds to Black Lives Matter Boston. There was a line … around … the block.
Mask check at the @EdMarkey / Gracie’s BLM fundraiser: 100% #IceCreamForChange pic.twitter.com/cFsMPfKfTy
— Paul (@pawlbologna) July 19, 2020
And when a bunch of Broadway stars hitched their names to a Joe Kennedy III fundraiser, they probably thought it was a PR freebie. But … people complained! Turns out theater fans like Ed Markey!
Broadway Sings for Joe Kennedy III, the previously announced July 21 virtual fundraiser presented by Group5 Productions in conjunction with the Campaign for Kennedy from Massachusetts, has been postponed until further notice following the departure of several performers.
So, this is great. Pish-tush to all the talk about Ed Markey being “boring”, as some boring pundits had sniffed. He’s a cause, an icon. The yutes love him. I think Markey has been hip for a long time, and this kind of fandom is overdue for the writer of the Green New Deal and reams of powerful climate/environmental/consumer legislation over the years.
But yes indeed, he is an establishment Democrat. He’s been there since 1976. He plays nice with other establishment Dems in Massachusetts, and always has. You will not get drama from Ed; everyone is a potential ally, maybe not today, but tomorrow. He was (is?) friends with the Kennedy family. It’s fair to say he has become more progressive in recent years, but that’s also as our lived realities have become ever more precarious: The need for bigger and bolder interventions have become more apparent. Racial justice is central, finally, in the public consciousness. Pugnacious champions of the left like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren didn’t come out of nowhere. Having been ahead of the curve of a handful of issues for decades — nuclear weapons, climate change, consumer/tech issues — it’s pretty organic for Markey to be a progressive champion du jour. Why not?
I just hope it’s not missed that the Democratic Party in Massachusetts has room for that. Former party chair Phil Johnston was a Bernie delegate, after all. We’ve got everyone from Jim McGovern to Jamie Eldridge — who chafes with the party but is still hanging in there — to Ayanna Pressley and Mayor Joe Curtatone. We’ve had progressives in office and in apparatus roles, at every level, some for decades. I wish there were more; they’re slowly filtering into the House in increasing numbers. I wish we had a Speaker of the House like Ed Markey — a canny/visionary progressive who gets things done. We can dream.
Will this kind of pop enthusiasm translate into actual votes? I’m skeptical! In the end it didn’t work out for Bernie. That’s why we hit the phones.
jconway says
A little over the top, but I guess we all need some good news. I think I’ve seen a shift in politically active friends becoming a lot more vocal about supporting Markey and dinging Kennedy on things from ducking on climate to his recent votes against taxing hedge fund investments (of which he personally has a stake). The mail in nature of this primary also makes it less predictable.
I do think Ed is ultimately hurt by fewer students being present in the state for this primary, I think immigrant communities could be the real kingmakers. The blue collar places like Revere, Lowell, Lynn, and Lawrence that backed Bernie over Biden and Warren. So we will see. The Alex Morse/Richard Neal race could have interesting coattails, but again, the students are back home.
Part of the reason I defected from the Kennedy camp was the fact that Ed has grown as a candidate in this race and is a much more present communicator in communities of color than he was before. I think he has a better grasp of the specific issues than Kennedy who defaults to platitudes. Lastly it’s looking likelier the Green New Deal or some variation has a real shot in the next Senate. That matters a lot more than punishing Ed for decades old votes.
Charley on the MTA says
It’s totally over the top, as any hero-worship is bound to be. But give a technocrat his love while you can. Dukakis only got it after he was long out of office.
Ach, I’ve been meaning to write about Biden’s climate plan. It makes Ed’s stewardship in the Senate that much more important. He’s the QB.
Joe’s right: It’s not just how you vote!
bob-gardner says
“People complained”? Your link doesn’t show that.
Charley on the MTA says
https://www.theatretalkboston.com/post/joe-kennedy-event-postponed
Trickle up says
Go to Twitter and search for “joe kennedy.”
Despite my own somewhat emotional take on this race, I do not endorse all the snide in those Tweets–some are mean-spirited.
By my gosh, look at that.
jconway says
It’ll be interesting to see what happens if Joe loses. A big reason I think he will win is that he’s closer to the center of the rank and file of state party than Lefty Twitter. If he loses to Markey though, it’ll be a shift to the left (ironic since it’s for an incumbent) and sends a warning shot to other challengers that they need to court the left if they want to win their primaries. That’s another reason for my own shift to supporting Markey, it became more and more obvious that Kennedy was courting Baker/Biden voters and abandoning his earlier approach or courting communities of color.
Trickle up says
Does Twitter have a lefty bias? (Or just a snarky one?)
I assumed I was in a personal Markey bubble, but when I searched for Joe, that’s what I got.
When I search for Ed, I get much the same.
It’s possible, as JC suggests, that Markey is too progressive for Mass. It’s my big fear, actually.
I just did not expect the twitterverse to be so pro-Markey. I don’t assume it proves anything–I was just surprised.
BTW I think some of that stuff about Joe is unfair. He is allowed to evolve on issues too–should be applauded for doing so.
Charley on the MTA says
Markey is about as progressive, relative to his era, as Ted Kennedy was to his. And they work very much the same way: Push push push, pound the table when necessary; master the details; keep relationships; and once you’ve moved the negotiation to favorable territory, cut the deal.
(I was just on a Zoom call/tribute to Markey from veteran consumer advocates, and Henry Waxman and Jim Aloisi. They were effusive in their praise for Markey; for how he gets things done; for his mastery of consequential details; for doing the work whether anyone notices or not; and for the impact of his accomplishments. It was … old school, in some very good ways. I’ll have more soon.)
jconway says
I think almost all of the “Ed’s done nothing as a Senator” takes from Kennedy’s camp bely the fact that the Senate has been totally dysfunctional for Markey’s entire tenure. Ted could make bipartisan sausage with the likes of McCain, Hatch, and Graham. Even Markey had Chris Shays. That kind of Republican is literally, politically, or spiritually dead today. With a looming trifecta, it makes way more now sense to send back a workhorse since the track will be up and running again.
Charley on the MTA says
And yet … Markey co-authored robocall legislation with John Thune, and got toxics legislation through a Republican Senate.
Stuff like that is weird; sometimes there’s bipartisan consensus because everyone just agrees, or people stopped caring enough to fight.
Christopher says
We also have to remember that consensus doesn’t sell papers so we don’t hear about that nearly as often.
jconway says
That’s a good point. When I taught civics I reminded my students that most SCOTUS decisions are mundane and unanimously or near unanimously decided. Not the weighty 5-4 nail biters we see on the news. Even some of the landmarks were unanimous.
jconway says
I still think Joe is a good guy and would make a good Senator, it was always about the timing. The primary made sense if we were not in the middle of a pandemic and not likely to attain a Senate majority. It made sense if it was a real run to Markey’s left. So we will see how the majority mail in primary plays out.
Charley on the MTA says
So, Ed’s social media guy has been running a relentlessly positive, upbeat, funny, ice cream-and-Air-Jordans operation. It’s amazing to see. And it suits the candidate well.
I would really hate to see that good energy swamped by lefty twitter, thinking Ed is checkdown Bernie Sanders, and doing the same stuff that cost Bernie votes.
(That may be the unintended subtext of my post here.)
SomervilleTom says
Funny how many things still boil down to the difference between “my guy is awesome” and “your guy sucks”.
jconway says
Hopefully ranked choice changes that. It would have been nice to have had a four way civil campaign with Pemberton and Riordan included as well. Public financing is the next missing piece to make that vision a reality. Everyone gets the same amount at the start of the campaign and cannot spend or raise any more. Really reduces the advantages of incumbency or personal wealth Markey and Kennedy used to duopolize this race.
Christopher says
When I saw ice cream and establishment Democrat in the same headline my first thought was this would be a post about Steve Grossman! As for Markey v. Kennedy I continue to support the former as well as believe both are progressive even if their issues and audiences are slightly different.
Charley on the MTA says
EXACTLY – had so many Steve Grossman vibes. (Another decent super-establishment Dem.)
jconway says
As an aside, it’s too bad ranked choice wasn’t around for his primary against Coakley and Berwick. Most Berwick voters I know liked Grossman better than Coakley and vice versa. Another quirk of that race is they were quite friendly with each other and my old boss (Falchuk) since they all live in the same neighborhood and go to the same temple. Glad all three are pushing ranked choice today.
jconway says
In the pre-pandemic days Kimball Farms was the Manny’s Deli of MA Democratic primaries.
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/18/892442279/opinion-an-ode-to-mannys-cafeteria-and-delicatessen-in-chicago
Charley on the MTA says
“kiddie” size, LOL