Was Niki Tsongas A Joke, Too?

Rep. Patrick Kennedy has called Scott Brown’s election to the Senate “a joke”…

Sen. Scott Brown’s (R-Mass.) election has been shown to be “a joke,” the son of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) said Thursday.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) castigated Brown for having pushed to be sworn in ahead of schedule to permanently fill the Senate seat left vacant by the congressman’s father’s death in August.

“Brown’s whole candidacy was shown to be a joke today when he was sworn in early in order to cast his first vote as an objection to Obama’s appointment to the NLRB,” Kennedy said Thursday.

Kennedy was referencing some Democrats’ thoughts that Brown tried to bump up his swearing-in in order to give Republicans 41 votes, enough to filibuster the nomination of Craig Becker, a controversial nominee to join the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

I keep coming back to this, but how is that any different than Niki Tsongas getting the express swearing-in so she could help vote to override a President Bush veto?
Call it whatever you want–the joke will be on you in November and in 2012.

Patrick Kennedy Endorses “Marcia” Coakley?

So much for the value of the endorsement of Martha Coakley by the Kennedy family…Patrick Kennedy doesn’t even know her name!

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), speaking with a gaggle of reporters after the event, said that while state Sen. Scott Brown (R) offers voters a quick fix, in reality, the problems created by “George Bush and his cronies” are not so easily solved.

“If you think there’s magic out there and things can be turned around overnight, then you would vote for someone who could promise you that, like Scott Brown,” Kennedy said. “If you don’t, if you know that it takes eight years for George Bush and his cronies to put our country into this hole … then you know we have a lot of digging to do, but some work needs to be done and this president’s in the process of doing it and we need to get Marcia Coakley to help him to do that.” [emphasis added]

Perhaps the Kennedys would have endorsed Mickey Mouse for the Senate, as long as he had that “D” next to his name.

What The Polls Are Saying

Deval Patrick is tanking. Anyone surprised?

A majority of Bay State voters say Gov. Deval Patrick has mishandled the state’s economy, according to a poll released this morning.

The Suffolk University/7 News survey of 600 registered voters found that while 37 percent approve of the governor’s management of the local economy, 55 percent disapprove. Of that number, 29 percent strongly disapprove.

“It’s one of many data points that show the majority of voters are unhappy with the governor,” said David Paleologos, director of Suffolk’s Political Research Center, who conducted the poll from Nov. 4-8. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.

Oddly enough, Patrick leads the three-way contest against Tim Cahill and Christy Mihos, according to the Suffolk University/7 News survey.

Gov. Patrick’s negative marks have inched up to 47 percent since September, when they stood at 45 percent. Nevertheless, he remains predominant (36 percent) in a contest with state Treasurer Tim Cahill (26 percent), running as an Independent, and Republican businessman Christy Mihos (20 percent).

And still interesting to note that Christy Mihos still leads the way in the race for the Republican Primary.

Republican primary voters give Mihos the edge (33 percent) over Harvard Pilgrim Health Care CEO Charlie Baker (30 percent) in a GOP primary. Baker led Mihos among registered Republicans (33 percent to 28 percent) but Mihos, a former Independent candidate for Governor in 2006, outpolled Baker among Republican-leaning Independents (39 percent to 25 percent).

A general election scenario with Baker in the mix ticks Patrick up to 38 percent; Cahill remains at 26 percent; and Baker gets just 15 percent.

Doesn’t look like Charlie Baker is making much progress if he wants to get the Republican nod.

And what about the Senate special election?

On the race to replace Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s seat, 56 percent of voters are undecided over which candidate offers the best economic policies.

Attorney General Martha Coakley, a Democrat, topped the six-person race with 13 percent, followed by 11 percent for Republican state Sen. Scott Brown, 10 percent for Celtics [team stats] co-owner and Democrat Stephen Pagliuca and 9 percent for Congressman Michael Capuano (D-Somerville). Democrat and City Year co-founder Alan Khazei and Republican Jack E. Robinson were at zero percent.

More data on the poll from Suffolk University…

On the Democratic side of the Senate race, 44 percent chose Coakley, followed by 17 percent for Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca, 16 percent for U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, and 3 percent for City Year founder Alan Khazei. Twenty percent were undecided.

“Steve Pagliuca scored the biggest improvement since September,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “He traveled from zero to second place by flooding the air waves with TV ads. However, he still has not secured the most aware Democratic voters who are choosing Coakley and Capuano before him.”

On the Republican side, state Sen. Scott Brown (45 percent) led Jack E. Robinson (7 percent) with 47 percent undecided.

In General Election head-to-head matchups between the Democratic contenders and the GOP’s Brown, only Khazei fell short, with 33 percent of voters choosing Brown and 30 percent Khazei.

Still of lot of indecisiveness going on here. There’s still some time left before going to vote, and a lot can change.

The Race For Ted’s Seat

The race for governor is taking a back seat to the very high profile race to fill the senate seat vacated by the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy. Attorney General Martha Coakley was the first to throw her hat in, and it comes as no surprise that she was quickly endorsed by EMILY’s List. As far as other Democrats, expect Rep. Michael Capuano and Rep. Stephen Lynch to follow suit.

And what of the Republicans? All speculation to date, but the list of possibilities include former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card, State Senator Scott Brown, and Curt Schilling. There was a rumor that Chrisy Mihos would have stepped aside from the gubernatorial race to run for Kennedy’s former seat…and thankfully, he is staying put. Former Lt. Governor and failed gubernatorial candidate Kerry Healey has also said she will not be running–thank god.

Curt Schilling will be best remembered for a bloody sock. Let his legacy be that, and not tainted by going into politics. Possible voters apparently agree.

So what about Andy Card and Scott Brown?

Andy Card has said he is interested in the run; and when asked about the possible fall back for his connection to the George W. Bush Administration, he only said, “I’m running as Andy Card.” True, but it wasn’t long ago Senator McCain was defending himself against criticisms that he would be Bush’s third term. Sorry Mr. Card, but this isn’t 2004, this is 2009. If old Teddy had passed five years ago, I’d be much more open to your candidacy for this Special Election. As of today, I need to be convinced.

Scott Brown, on the other hand, has been widely considered a possibly Lt. Governor pick, and he would make a great compliment to the gubernatorial race. However, with this opportunity to fill Kennedy’s shoes, and I think we got an even better opportunity here. While name recognition is limited, he is considered a “rising star” in the Republican Party. His lack of name recognition could be his strongest asset. While Card could fall victim to his political connections, Brown would be virtually immune to it.

This opportunity is a rare one, and we need to put our best cards on the table. I hope the Old Boy Network of the Massachusetts Republican Party that has time and time again failed us makes a good decision for once.

Deval Would Okay Law Change For Teddy’s Successor

So, back in 2004, Kennedy urges the state legislature to change a law giving the power to the governor to appoint a successor for a Senate vacancy, in order to prevent then-governor Mitt Romney from picking a replacement for Senator John Kerry, had he won the 2004 presidential election. Last week Kennedy urged Deval Patrick and the legislature to change back the very same law.

And Deval is all for it.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said Wednesday he would support changing state law to allow him to appoint an interim successor to Sen. Edward Kennedy’s seat while a special election is held.

Unlike most states, a successor to a vacant U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts is chosen by special election, not appointed by the governor.

In a recent letter to lawmakers, Kennedy, who died Tuesday night, said the law should be changed to allow the governor to appoint someone to serve in the Senate during the course of the election—provided that person pledge not to run for the seat.

In radio interviews Wednesday morning, Patrick called the idea “entirely reasonable” and told WBUR-FM that he would sign the bill if it reached his desk.

“Massachusetts needs two voices” in the Senate, Patrick said.

If having two voices was a big deal, Kennedy could have resigned months ago. So, to hell with Kennedy’s request… If you don’t like the law how it is now, you shouldn’t have demanded it changed.

The law, as it stands now, is Kennedy’s last legacy. Deal with it.

Oh, and Democrats should realize how tasteless it is to wrap Kennedy’s name around an unpopular and bad health care bill they are trying and failing to pass.