Well isn't this dandy:
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/...
Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) on Thursday formally launched his bid to fill the Senate seat left open by incoming Secretary of State John Kerry in the Massachusetts special election, The Republican of Springfield, Mass. reported.
A moderate Democrat, Lynch will vye for the party's nomination against the more liberal Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA). Markey has the backing of the state and national party establishment, and a poll released Wednesday indicated that would-be Democratic primary voters in the Bay State overwhelmingly prefer him over Lynch. But Lynch said at his campaign's kick-off event that he believes his centrism will bode well for his prospects. - TPM, 1/31/13
Stephen Lynch is anti-choice and voted against the Affordable Health Care Act. BuzzFeed also points out some other daunting factors about Lynch:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/...
Lynch voted to authorize the war in Iraq in 2003 and was the only member of the House of Representatives from Massachusetts to vote in favor of a 2006 Republican resolution opposing a timeline for the withdrawal or redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq.
He has also flip-flopped from his past opposition to an assault weapons ban. He now says he "fully supports President Obama's reasonable gun control recommendations," including re-instituting "limits on military-type assault weapons, high capacity magazines and armor piercing bullets while we expand and improve background checks."
But while a member of the Massachusetts state legislature Lynch voted against an assault weapons ban saying "let's not get sidetracked by feel-good legislation."
Lynch has been noted for his turn around on gay-rights. He opposed partner benefits and hate crimes legislation sponsored by gay-rights groups while a state Senator. - BuzzFeed, 1/30/13
PPP's poll showed progressive Congressman Ed Markey (D) crushing Lynch in the primary and shows that Markey would be a stronger candidate against Scott Brown (R) in the general election:
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/...
Brown starts out leading Markey by just 3 points in a head to head match up, 48/45. 69% of the voters currently undecided voted for Elizabeth Warren in November, while only 17% of them voted for Brown. If those folks ended up voting for the same party that they did in November, Markey would lead Brown by a point. Brown may be starting out at 48%, but it's a very hard path to 50 for him given who the undecideds are.
The comparatively large number of undecided voters who lean Democratic is a function of Markey having 73% name recognition at this point compared to 93% for Brown. Markey starts out as the much stronger potential Democratic candidate- Lynch trails Brown by 9 points at 48/39.
The primary for the special election looks like it will be a blowout. Markey starts out with a 52/19 lead over Lynch. Lynch actually has a net negative favorability rating with Democratic voters- only 27% see him positively to 28% with a negative opinion. Markey, on the other hand, is quite popular with the party base- 58% of Democrats have a favorable opinion of him to only 13% with an unfavorable one. - PPP, 1/30/13
Meanwhile, Scott Brown hasn't stated whether he will run again for the U.S. Senate as the GOP nominee but he is "leaning strongly toward running" towards running again:
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/...
According to the AP's sources, Brown could throw his hat in the ring next week. The special election has been scheduled to take place on June 25. Defeated in 2012 after winning a special election in 2010 to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Brown will be a formidable candidate for Democrats. A poll released last week showed him trouncing Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), the frontrunner to secure the Democratic nomination in the special election. - TPM, 1/30/13
The last thing we need is an ugly primary and I have zero doubt that Lynch will run an ugly campaign against Markey. Markey is our ideal choice and has been endorsed by Senator and Secretary of State, John Kerry, the DSCC, Vickki Kennedy, Barney Frank and Senator Elizabeth Warren. He's a climate hawk, pro-choice and the right colleague for Warren in the Senate. Warren has been warning supporters about a possible Brown comeback and the ramifications it would have:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
The Massachusetts Democratic Party is using freshman Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in an email to supporters, warning that a vote for former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) in the likely upcoming Massachusetts special election is a vote to cancel hers out.
Doug Rubin, one of Warren's top advisers, describes in an email how proud he was to see Warren sworn in to the Senate, but notes that the experience "was also a wake up call."
"That's because the special election that will occur when John Kerry becomes our Secretary of State could allow Scott Brown to return to the U.S. Senate. And if that happens, his votes will cancel out Elizabeth's and wipe out all the hard work of the last campaign," he writes.
Rubin goes on to admit that in 2010, during the special election that brought Brown to the Senate, "we were caught sleeping and we can't make that mistake again." - The Hill, 1/17/13
You never know what might happen but I for one do not want either Lynch or Brown in the U.S. Senate. Let's give Markey the fuel he needs to win both his primary and his race:
http://www.edmarkey.org/
P.S. I'm burned out today after releasing six Senate diaries yesterday. This will probably be my only diary today.