Polling in the Democratic primary for the special election for Senate in Massachusetts has consistently placed Attorney General Martha Coakley first. Past that, it's a bit of a jumble: Representative Mike Capuano is second or battling for second with businessman and former Republican Steve Pagliuca, and City Year founder Alan Khazei is generally in fourth place, though in one recent poll is tied with Pagliuca for third.
Now, the Boston Globe -- the state's largest paper -- has endorsed Khazei.
The 48-year-old Khazei offers a strong vision for success in the Senate, channeling the energy of activist groups and private-sector policy incubators while dedicating himself to the laborious task of building legislative coalitions.
He offers a time-tested and relevant example of this approach: his two decades of work bringing together politicians of both parties and citizen-activists to develop a national service plan. The recent service bill named for Kennedy and providing for 250,000 volunteers in a domestic Peace Corps is largely the fruit of his labors.
Khazei promises to apply the same principles to other issues, believing that building a grass-roots network for change while demonstrating both commitment and a willingness to compromise in pursuit of common ground can break down political barriers. This isn’t just hopeful rhetoric. Khazei speaks admiringly of streetwise education reformers who, having seen challenging conditions in urban classrooms, dreamed up such innovations as charter schools and Teach for America. Along the way, these activists had to elbow their way around established interest groups that tried to squeeze them out of the policy debate. With the support of an energetic and idealistic senator, public policy can flourish.
Extended to issues like health care, the environment, energy, and job training, this entrepreneurial model of progressive politics offers hope for real improvements. It moves away from Reagan-era skepticism about government without relying on traditional government programs to provide all the answers.
Capuano, the Globe's editorial board concludes, displays too much populist anger. Coakley, on the other hand, has "a personality that would play well in the Senate," but shows zero inclination to lead on the issues, preferring a wait and see approach to, for instance, jobs creation.
It's basically Globesilocks and the Three Bears, and Khazei comes out just right -- he wants to take action on little things like the jobs crisis, but without any untoward displays of anger.
It is unlikely that any endorsement could shift the dynamics of this race, given Coakley's advantages as the only woman and the only statewide elected official in a four-person field. This endorsement, though, is basically the Globe punting by choosing the "impassioned amateur" at the back of the pack, where the endorsement is most likely to be seen as important while being least likely to be seen as decisive in a win or loss.