Congressman and soon-to-be Senator Ed Markey (D. MA) picked up another big endorsement:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Caroline Kennedy -- author, attorney and daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy -- endorsed Rep. Ed Markey (D) in the race to fill Secretary of State John Kerry's former senate seat, the Boston Globe reports.
The Boston Globe's Matt Viser tweeted the news Saturday:
- Huffington Post, 4/27/13
Here's Kennedy's statement supporting Markey:
"Ed Markey is a national leader who has taken on the key issues of our generation and is creating a better future for our country, and that's why I am pleased to endorse him for the United States Senate," said Caroline Kennedy. "Ed has spent his career fighting for opportunity for all. Whether it is his commitment to ensuring health care for every American, safeguarding women's rights or protecting our planet from climate change, he has tackled tough challenges even in the face of strong opposition. Ed Markey works tirelessly for our future and the future of our children. Ed has worked to make America safer, healthier, fairer, and more secure, and I know he will bring that passionate leadership to the U.S. Senate to benefit Massachusetts and our country."
Markey of course expressed his gratitude for Kennedy's endorsement:
"I'm so proud to have the support of Caroline Kennedy, a friend and passionate advocate for our children, families, and seniors," said Rep. Ed Markey. "I share Caroline's commitment to taking on big fights for the people of Massachusetts, and in the Senate I will fight to defend President Obama's historic health care reform law, protect a woman's right to choose, and ensure all people have access to the opportunities to succeed in the 21st century."
On top of that, Markey also picked up some big press endorsements:
http://www.masslive.com/...
U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, 66, and U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, 58, both colleagues in the House of Representatives, have been waging a lively battle that has gotten more heated as their primary campaigns see the finish line.
Markey, a 37-year veteran of legislative action, has proudly touted his record on issues that resonate with Democratic voters from health care to global warming. He voted for Obamacare, he has long been a champion of the environment and he’s been a vocal supporter of gun control and a woman’s right to choose. Our page has championed those causes as well.
Lynch, the former iron worker who has served as the congressman for South Boston for 12 years, has bucked the Democratic party on some critical pieces of legislation. He voted against Obamacare over a technicality in the bill and turned a stubborn ear to the bill’s supporters including President Obama and Edward M. Kennedy’s widow Vicki Kennedy.
Our endorsement goes to Markey. He better embodies the values of the Democratic Party and he has proven over the years that he can work on both sides of the aisle to get things done in Washington. His work ethic mirrors that of Massachusetts political leaders who have raised this small state's stature to national prominence.
He deserves to move over to the Senate. - The Republican, 4/27/13
http://www.wickedlocal.com/...
There are so many reasons to vote for Ed Markey. Three reasons will be provided here.
First, Ed Markey has successfully fought for the right of all people to gain access to healthcare by voting in favor of the Affordable Care Act. Access to healthcare is an issue that affects all families. Along these lines, Ed Markey also promoted funding for research to prevent and treat diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease, which affect many in our country. For example, in 2008, he co-sponsored the Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act, to provide treatment for people with substance abuse and/or mental health problems.
Second, we applaud Ed Markey for his record on environmental issues. Feeling passionately about the state of the earth that we are handing off to our children and wanting it to be a healthy environment in which future generations may thrive, Ed Markey has helped by zealously supporting the Superfund bill that led to a clean-up of the worst toxic waste sites in our country. By doing so, he stood up for children, like those who developed leukemia linked to toxins from toxic industrial sites in Woburn. In addition, he co-authored the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act-legislation targeted to reducing global warming.
For brevity, we list only one more reason for our support for Ed Markey's candidacy (although there are many more): he has been a conscientious proponent of reproductive freedom and preventative health services for women. It is imperative that voters turn out on April 30, and please vote for Ed Markey for U.S. Senate. Thank you for your consideration. - Wicked Local Needham, 4/27/13
The primary election is this coming Tuesday, April 30th. The Atlantic notes that while Markey is the favorite to win, Congressman Stephen Lynch (D. MA-8) still has a shot at winning the nominee:
http://www.theatlantic.com/...
The expectations seem to spring from a national assumption that, in Massachusetts, the most liberal candidate always wins. To believe that is to misunderstand the state. Massachusetts is not monolithically liberal; it has regional idiosyncrasies, like anywhere else, along with a surprisingly strong independent streak. In other words, it has plenty of voters who might be inclined to support a Stephen Lynch. Indeed, a closer look at the political landscape suggests Lynch has better odds on Tuesday than you might think. (Disclosure: I previously worked for Cence Cincotti Strategies, which is now advising the Lynch campaign.)
Look no further than the state's voter-registration statistics to debunk the myth that Bay Staters are in lockstep with the Democratic establishment. While Republicans remain even scarcer (11 percent), Democrats constitute only 36 percent of registered voters. A majority of voters in Massachusetts (53 percent) are unaffiliated with either party -- and the state's open-primary system means they too can vote on Tuesday. That's a plus for Lynch, as a recent poll found him leading 41 percent to 35 percent among unaffiliated voters planning to pull a Democratic ballot.
The Lynch campaign is optimistic its candidate resonates enough with independents to get them to the polls. "Unenrolled voters in Massachusetts are more likely to vote in Democratic primaries than in Republican primaries," says a spokesman. "You've just got to give them a reason to vote. Our guy has done that repeatedly."
In Massachusetts, those reasons for voting can be very different depending on whom you ask--even among voters of the same party. In fact, Massachusetts may have starker differences among Democratic voters -- on policy preferences, personal motivations, and socioeconomic status -- than anywhere else. A tour of the state reveals how many factions the state's Democratic coalition truly comprises.
Stereotypical progressives are certainly a big part of Massachusetts. They include GLBT activists in Provincetown on Cape Cod, young idealists in Cambridge and Boston, artists in the bohemian Berkshires, and intellectuals in the college towns of Amherst and Northampton in the Pioneer Valley. This progressive voting bloc bleeds into the more pragmatic vote of Boston's western suburbs and the North Shore. Wellesley (professors) and Newburyport (art gallerists), for instance, house intellectuals who double as affluent Yankees, a demographic that better describes these areas on the whole. These are the socially liberal, fiscally conservative voters who were key to moderate Republicans' sometime success in Massachusetts but now often pull the lever for Democrats.
But equally significant elements of the state's Democratic coalition are socially conservative, fiscally liberal voters -- like Stephen Lynch. These populists tend to be the working-class residents of Massachusetts's many secondary urban areas, such as Worcester, Springfield, Brockton, and Lynn. They are also the state's most diverse bloc of voters, encompassing Hispanic communities in Lawrence, Chelsea, and Holyoke and Asian enclaves in Quincy and Lowell. But they also include less recent immigrants like the Irish of South Boston, the Italians of Everett, and the Portuguese of Fall River and New Bedford. The one thing these voters have in common? They are predominantly Roman Catholic. Overall, Massachusetts is the most Catholic state in the country (45 percent of the population).
To see how the socially conservative wing of the party can tilt elections in Massachusetts, we don't need to look far back. In November, Question 2 on the Massachusetts ballot asked voters if physician-assisted suicide should be legalized in the state. In arguably the most liberal state in the country, it seemed like a safe bet for passage -- until the controversial measure, vigorously opposed by the local Catholic archdiocese, lost on Election Night, 51 percent to 49 percent.
Ironically, the cities that voted most lopsidedly against physician-assisted suicide were not Republican bastions -- they were some of the cities that voted most lopsidedly for Democratic candidates. Question 2 received less than 42 percent in 29 Massachusetts cities and towns -- but 28 of those 29 also voted for Barack Obama over Mitt Romney, proving their Democratic bona fides. In eight of the 11 most anti-euthanasia communities, Obama even cleared 70 percent. The point is really driven home when you look at the full results in the blue-collar communities we're concerned with:
From this, it's evident both that social conservatism dominates many urban centers in Massachusetts and that those cities are nevertheless loyally Democratic. That could be a recipe for success for Lynch in these areas. From the list, he even appears to have a shot at winning his hometown of Boston -- often thought by outsiders to be a city of educated liberals, but containing an enormous working-class population as well.
Across the state, Lynch can win if he can turn out this populist bloc better than Markey can turn out progressives. Markey is thought to have the edge in the field thanks to a substantial fundraising lead, but Lynch has an easier logistical task ahead of him. His votes are clustered in these dense cities, while the Markey campaign must get out the vote in the sprawling Boston suburbs and the vast Berkshires; Markey will need every bit of his monetary advantage for how thin those resources will be spread. Plus Lynch may get additional tailwinds from a special state senate election the same day--in the Boston district he once represented. That means there will be twice as many people squeezing votes out of South Boston and Dorchester as usual--a boon for their native son.
Lynch can also count on the efforts of union members, such as firefighters and nurses, who are well practiced turning out the vote in urban areas. In a low-turnout environment (in the 2009 special Senate election, only 668,926 of a potential 3.7 million or so voted in the Democratic primary; that's 18% turnout), small niches of dedicated, loyal supporters can make a big difference. - The Atlantic, 4/26/13
So voter turnout on our end on Tuesday is essential to winning the nominee and winning the general election. The Boston Globe summed up Lynch perfectly:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/...
As he has been in the House, Lynch would be a sympathetic ear and supportive voice for organized labor, willing to promote their cause and push their issues on the Senate stage. He’d also focus energetically on protecting Massachusetts’ interests and on meeting the state’s nuts-and-bolts needs.
He would not, however, be a big-picture senator or a see-around-the-corner leader on national issues. Nor would he prove adept at the personal relationships that help the best senators succeed. In the House, Lynch has been a loner whose occasionally brusque manner has sometimes alienated even fellow Democrats. Absent a sudden midlife emotional-IQ growth spurt, there’s little reason to think he’d be different as a senator. - Boston Globe, 4/26/13
So lets be sure to make sure we can get the vote for Markey on Tuesday. If you live in Massachusetts and would like to volunteer or contribute to the GOTV efforts on Tuesday, you can get involved here:
http://www.edmarkey.com/