This year seems like 2010 again in Massachusetts where residents will endure another special election. Three years ago they replaced the lionizing liberal Ted Kennedy, whose untimely demise was a Big Win for the GOP and the rest of the country, permitted Scott Brown, an unknown state senator from Wrentham, to roar from behind by double-digits and win what was known as the People's Seat by five points.
He beat out a long-established liberal Atty. Gen. Martha Coakley, who could not ride the coattails of the flagging President Obama or his unpopular ObamaCare health insurance mandate.
Last winter, the state’s senior senator, John Kerry, won the nod to become Secretary of State, a long-sought position, replacing the unabashed yet embarrassed Hillary Clinton, with Benghazi on her back, opening her 2016 Presidential run.
With Sen. Kerry carried away by the diplomacy brigade, another Senate seat lies vacant in Massachusetts. The erstwhile Sen. Brown lost his re-election bid last November to Elizabeth (Faux-cahontas) Warren by the same five-point margin he had won by two years earlier. He would have been better represented without a national anchor, Massachusetts-linked Mitt Romney, dragging down his chances in the special election for the Kerry seat. Concerned about the wear and tear on his family, along with the fatigue of running a third statewide campaign in three years, with a fourth in his future should he win again, Brown stepped away from politicking for the time being. Rumors suggest not so much a gubernatorial bid to replace Deval Patrick, but a carpetbagger move. He could change his residency to New Hampshire and run against former Gov. Jean Shaheen.
Anyone at All Interested?
With Mr. Brown out, Massachusetts Republicans scrambled for a Republican to run for the Kerry seat. Former state Sen. Richard Tisei ran a strong but losing campaign to return to Congress against John (My Wife's the Gambling Criminal) Tierney. Mr. Tierney squeaked in by one point. Finally, three GOP contenders emerged: Gabriel Gomez, a private financier and former Navy Seal, squared off against Michael Sullivan and Daniel Winslow. Despite the political name recognition and newspaper endorsements for Mr. Sullivan, Colombian-American Gomez won the primary for the nomination.
The Democrats had two strong contenders in their primary, Congressmen with liberalism unchecked: John Lynch of South Boston, and Edward Markey, by way of Chevy Chase, MD. After more than three decades of a middling record of tax increases, influence peddling, and cap-and-trade carping with climate change comrade Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles/South Bay), Mr. Markey won the Senate primary for the June 25 special election. Blogs and commentaries sizzled fast and furiously. Democrats who had supported Mr. Lynch would not budge an inch for Ed (Malarkey, Marx-ey, Crypt-Keeper) Markey.
Comparing Assets
Mr. Gomez is photogenic, youthful, a soldier, and has no history of dabbling in politics and governance. As for Mr. Markey, a politician who cannot pride himself on anything but his mansion in the Washington D.C. suburbs, has served in Congress since 1976 in a state 11 percent Republican registration. He will prove difficult for anyone moderate, moderately conservative, even a New Republican like Mr. Gomez, to beat.
Right away, polls announced Mr. Markey ahead 44 percent to 40. Even in liberal Massachusetts, Mr. Markey is an out-of-touch elitist, a redundancy to the rest of us, but a tautology still lost on Bostonians. Mr. Gomez has his ethnic background, a plus for Republicans since the party still insists it lost the brown vote last year. In reality, it was the non-white vote since many whites did not vote. Mr. Markey and Mr. Gomez have been slinging mud ever since. With the Obama administration sinking under scores of scandals (AP, EPA, IRS, Benghazi, OMG!), with ObamaCare wreaking havoc on businesses, including medical device companies in Massachusetts, Mr. Markey has much munching against him. He opposed the tax, yet voted for it (much like Sen. Kerry and authorization for the Iraq war).
Mr. Gomez, pro-gay marriage and pro-life, claims to be a different Republican. Critics see a darker version of Mitt Romney because he earned lots of money. (Mr. Markey drove an ice cream truck before entering politics). After two nasty, unsubstantial debates, filled with talking points, Mr. Markey still has missed the mark. Mr. Gomez, however, is not going strong, either. Debilitated and disillusioned, the electorate signals a wider win for the middling Mr. Markey.
According to MSNBC's Chuck Todd, Markey-Gomez is like the ho-hum Los Angeles mayoral race. With a low voter turnout, Mr. Markey will win. Perhaps voter apathy will signal that voters have stopped looking to Washington for answers. Mr. Markey in the Senate may end a viable Massachusetts GOP comeback Do the voters care?
Arthur Christopher Schaper is a writer on issues eternal and unchanging, timeless and timely. A life-long SoCal resident, Arthur lives in Torrance.
Twitter – @ArthurCSchaper
arthurschaper@hotmail.com
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