Some things on my mind with a mere 10 days to the election....
--Bill Keating's campaign, and supporters, need to be careful not to overplay their hand with the Jeff Perry scandal; they don't want to give an opening for Perry to paint himself as the victim of a concentrated attack by the great Massachusetts liberal political/media machine. So far, they seem to be restraining themselves, for the most part, but it's a tricky line to draw.
--Here's what's always confused me about Perry: putting aside the whole strip-search thing, what has he ever done that makes him more qualified for office than any Joe Schmoe in the neighborhood with conservative opinions? As best as I can tell, he's had a string of start-and-stop careers, of which I've never heard a single positive story, and then he's been a do-nothing state representative. Am I missing something? Is there some achievement, success, or contribution I'm missing?
--BTW, everybody I've asked thinks Charlie Baker has misplayed this Perry thing, which I believe is roughly the 28th consecutive thing that's been true of.
--Speaking of which, I have a favor to ask of any Democratic Massachusetts candidates or their campaigns out there: could you please fuck a few things up, so I can criticize you guys for a while? I'm afraid I've been coming across as partisan in my analysis this campaign cycle, because the local Republicans keep doing so many stupid things. Plenty of you Dems are running flaccid campaigns, but you're not pulling any major bonehead moves like the Republicans are, and it's making me look bad.
--Oh and look, the one race I thought the MassGOP might win despite themselves, for State Auditor, may be heading into the crapper too. Always good to have a story that A) calls into serious question your basic competence perform an audit, when you've made that the heart of your campaign; B) reminds people that you're a long-time Beacon Hill insider, when you've been running as a storm-the-gates outsider; and C) links you to one of Beacon Hill's signature corruption stories, when you're running to be a watchdog.
--I wasn't planning to comment on the Boston Herald's self-described "stunning" story that a $55,000 advance staffer for the Governor also handles the First Lady's appearances. Hey, if that use of public money burns your britches, all right then. But then WTKK host and one-time Herald scribe Michele McPhee started blasting on Twitter and Facebook "HAS ANYONE EVER SEEN DIANE PATRICK AT A PUBLIC EVENT? I swear on a stack of Bibles I have not." I take that as an accusation that the staffer is paid to do nothing, but what it actual shows is that McPhee doesn't get out to many domestic-violence related public events, and can't be bothered to make a simple phone call before flinging insinuations, or a Google search for that matter. Diane Patrick is well-known to be active and very much out there on that issue -- in fact, she headlined a major Jane Doe/Verizon/WGBH public event just five days before the Herald article came out. And, she's scheduled to be at an Asian Task Force on Domestic Violence tonight, if McPhee wants to actually see DIANE PATRICK AT A PUBLIC EVENT with her own two eyes.
--And while I'm publicly flagellating perfectly nice Herald writers who I like personally, here's a memo to GOP Attorney General candidate Jim McKenna: if, to support the claim you've made the centerpiece of your campaign (that Martha Coakley granted immunity to Dianne Wilkerson), your first and main piece of evidence is that Dave Wedge wrote it once in the Herald, there are some people who will stop taking you seriously.
--Getting back to the Commonwealth's First Lady, I am told that she will be stopping by the Charlestown Mothers Association's gala tonight. That's in addition to LG Tim Murray's scheduled appearance there. I do not see the event on either Charlie Baker's or Richard Tisei's public schedule. Big error. Those women are no freakin' joke. Boston pols grovel before them. You don't want to pass up a chance to suck up to the CMA.
--And finally... There was one thing that brought everyone together last night; Patrick, Baker, Cahill, and Stein fans all clasping hands, brought together by the one great bond that unites us all: watching the New York Yankees go down to humiliating defeat.
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