Desperate Coakley Launches Attack Ad

After losing last night’s debate, Martha Coakley decided that desperate situations call for desperate measures, and immediately released an ad attacking Scott Brown.

Why would she go on the attack? I like how Holly Robichaud answers that question.

Do you still believe the Boston Globe’s poll that Martha Coakley is ahead by 15 points?  If you do, I have some swamp land to sell you.

Yesterday Martha Coakley released an ad attacking Scott Brown.  It is the first negative ad by a candidate during this General Election campaign.  It begs the question: If Martha is leading in the polls, then why attempt to discredit a competitor who is behind?  Clearly Scott Brown is running a competitive campaign and this race is neck and neck.  Hence, Martha believes that attacking her opponent is the best way to win.  Furthermore, it also shows that voters are not responding to her message so she needs to make Scott out to be the bad guy. 

Interestingly enough, the ad was reported pulled already because “Massachusetts” is misspelled.

In response to Coakley, false, negative attack, Scott Brown has released a response.

 
Support Scott Brown for U.S. Senate!

He’s Misstra Know-It-All

Can Gov. Patrick get any worse?

Gov. Deval Patrick’s punchy campaign staff sent out an e-mail blast to supporters Monday night hoping to blunt yesterday’s Herald expose on the administration’s year-long hiring frenzy, flinching even before the brutal news hit the street.

But experts warn the attempted pre-emptive political strike is risky business for the slumping governor’s re-election bid.

“It just whiffs of desperation,” said Thomas Whalen, a Boston University political science professor. “It sounds like they can’t afford to have any bad news, so they’re trying to get on top of bad stories before they even come out.”

Patrick campaign officials sounded the alarm Monday night – hours before the Herald’s splash landed on racks. The report detailed how the administration has hired some 1,300 new employees this year – including a librarian for cons, a painter for public health and a “game biologist” – despite a spiraling fiscal crisis.

“The story may unfairly distort the Governor’s outstanding record of confronting our state’s budget challenges,” Patrick campaign manager Sydney Asbury wrote in the e-mail obtained by the Herald.

Asbury also urged readers to “forward the e-mail to 10 friends” in an attempted viral campaign to spin the story in their favor.

However, a subsequent Herald payroll analysis shows the administration in fact low-balled the projected annual salaries of some of the new hires by as much as $34,000.

Reached yesterday to explain the mistaken figures provided to the Herald, Sally McNeely of the state Human Resources Division, said, “It appears an error was made in the initial entry.”

Meanwhile, Patrick campaign spokesman Steve Crawford said the e-mail blast – which highlighted a 2,000-job net loss from the state payroll – was standard operating procedure. “We place a high level of importance on keeping our supporters informed and this is another example of that,” he said.

A rapid response to head off bad press isn’t new to political campaigning, but it runs the risk of spreading negative news to an even larger group, said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political science professor.

“It can end up drawing even more attention to the matter,” said Sabato. “Obviously Patrick has a very tough general election in front of him, and he has to come out swinging every time there’s a charge against him.”

UPDATE: More from the Globe.

SECOND UPDATE: More from the Beacon Hill Institute, Holly Robichaud and Globe.

THIRD UPDATE: More from Howie Carr and the Herald.

Countdown

Is momentum building for Charlie Baker?

Republican gubernatorial candidate Charles D. Baker raised more than $500,000 last month, his campaign said yesterday, yet another strong fund-raising haul in his bid to unseat Governor Deval Patrick, a Democrat.

Baker’s campaign raised $516,123 during the month, significantly more than any other candidate. Baker, a former health care executive, has raised more than $1.5 million this year from more than 5,000 donors.

The announcement was made about a week after Baker announced his running mate, Senate minority leader Richard R. Tisei of Wakefield.

“Voters are responding to our campaign for one reason: Charlie Baker is the only candidate who will stand up for taxpayers and put our fiscal house in order starting on Day One, and he has the record to prove it,’’ campaign manager Lenny Alcivar said in a statement. “Our strong fund-raising this year means the Baker-Tisei team will have the resources we need to win on Election Day and start a turnaround in Massachusetts.’’

UPDATE: Please join us Wednesday night on The Notes on Blog Talk Radio at 8:00pm EST Wednesday night. Our guests will be authors Dinesh D’Souza and Matthew Spalding! Plus, more from Scot Lehigh.

SECOND UPDATE: From Holly Robichaud, the Globe and Herald.

THIRD UPDATE: From the Globe and Herald.

No One Gives A Damn…

…what Mrs. Patrick thinks about the US Senate election!

Diane Patrick, the governor’s wife, issued an impassioned plea yesterday to elect US Representative Michael E. Capuano to the US Senate, but the congressman hedged when asked whether her support might help him against Attorney General Martha Coakley, the perceived front-runner and sole woman candidate.

“It’s more personal than anything else to me,’’ Capuano said of the endorsement. “I’ve said from day one, I’m not concerned about gender issues.’’

Although Governor Deval Patrick remains officially neutral in the four-way Democratic primary race, his wife called Capuano a “tenacious fighter’’ who would make a difference on the Senate floor.

“Mike is, number one, a brilliant strategist, and I don’t mean that in the sense of campaigning, but in the sense of getting the job done,’’ Patrick said at a campaign stop before about 150 people at the Dedham Community Theater. “What you see in Mike Capuano is what you get. He is the most genuine man I know.’’

The primary election, to be held Dec. 8, also includes political newcomers Stephen G. Pagliuca and Alan Khazei.

The endorsement by Diane Patrick, a law partner at Ropes & Gray, follows similar public support for Capuano from US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Kitty Dukakis, the wife of former Massachusetts governor Michael S. Dukakis.

Capuano said he is “proud’’ to receive Patrick’s backing, which follows the congressman’s early support for her husband’s gubernatorial campaign. But when asked to rate its importance, Capuano replied, “I have no idea.’’

UPDATE: More from Howie Carr and Jeff Jacoby.

SECOND UPDATE: More from the Boston Herald.

THIRD UPDATE: More from the Globe, Michael Graham, Holly Robichaud and the Herald.

What, Me Worry?

Everything’s just fine in Deval World!

Governor Deval Patrick dismissed poll results showing most voters disapprove of his handling of the job.

“We don’t govern by polls,” Patrick said following a groundbreaking event in Lowell yesterday. “We’re focused on getting the job done right now and governing for the long term.”

But considering the results of yesterday’s Suffolk University/7 News survey, there may not be a second term. The poll of 600 registered voters found that 51 percent disapprove of his performance and 55 percent say someone else deserves a turn at the top job.

Patrick expressed frustration over a poll question that revealed a majority of respondents believe he has mishandled the state’s economy.

UPDATE: More from the Herald, the Globe, Holly Robichaud and Howie Carr.

SECOND UPDATE: More from Red Mass Group, AP and the New York Observer.

THIRD UPDATE: From Red Mass Group.