Notes From D. R.

WHO'S THE MAN?

At this point, isn't it obvious that the only credible choice the Republicans have for the 2008 Presidential contest is Mitt Romney?

I mean, who else do they have? John McCain? Does anyone in the conservative base really buy this guy anymore?

Rudy Guiliani? Yeah, right. A pro-abortion candidate will get the GOP nomination the same day a pro-lifer becomes the Democrat Party's standard-bearer.

Condi Rice? Please. Am I the only one who thinks that the whole Condi-for-Prez thing is borne of the same PC mentality that leads people to think that Deval Patrick would be a good governor of Massachusetts?

George Allen? Successfully smeared as an extreme right-winger by the mainstream media. Same goes for Sam Brownback and Rick Santorum.

Newt Gingrich? Great guy...admired him in the '90s...doesn't stand a chance in hell...too much personal baggage.

It's Mitt, folks. He's the only one with the leadership, the charisma, the intelligence and the track record to pull it off.

Will his Mormon faith hurt him? Perhaps it could be a problem if the Democrats back a guy like Mark Warner, who has depicted himself as a man not hostile to "traditionalist Christianity." However, if Romney's facing someone like Hillary Rodham Clinton--arguably the most pro-secularism figure in modern US political history--then he doesn't have that much to worry about.

Romney's the right pick--on national security, on life issues, on judges, on the economy. It's hard to envision any of the other candidates being able to go the distance against the Democrat-media complex. Mitt has. If the Boston Globe couldn't stop him, how can the New York Times?

Mitt's the man in 2008. To quote that annoying Yung Joc song, "I know you see it, I know you see it..."

UPDATE: The Globe on Romney.

Weekend Box Office: Wide Open

Open Season tops the charts.

Law And Disorder

A Florida Republican Congressman resigns in the wake of a sex scandal--and a Minnesota Democrat Congressional candidate with ties to the anti-Semitic Nation of Islam could win in November. More from the Washington Times and Power Line.

Speak Out

In a shocker, Senator Ted Kennedy agrees to his first debate in twelve years.

Going To The Chapel?

More gay-marriage controversy in Massachusetts.

UPDATE: More from the Globe, the Washington Times, and the New York Times.

I'M STILL STANDING

There is one reason why I want to see Kerry Healey and Jack Robinson become, respectively, the next governor of Massachusetts and the first Bay State Republican congressman in a decade: because both wins will shock the hell out of those who promote the "conventional wisdom."

Already, the arrogant prognosticators are proclaiming Healey and Robinson's respective opponents, Deval Patrick and Stephen Lynch, the guaranteed victors in their races. The puffed-up pundits can't even entertain a scenario in which Healey and Robinson could go over. It's simply beyond comprehension that people could reject a vague, ultraliberal, blow-dried candidate who can deliver speeches but nothing else, or a flip-flopping, unaccomplished, profane hack.

To the professional predictors, Healey and Robinson are unsophisticated, unserious candidates. Their business and educational achievements aren't relevant; after all, if you didn't come out of Harvard and the corporate world praising the virtues of the Democrat Party, there must be something wrong with you.

It's sickening to see Patrick and Lynch being deified while Healey and Robinson are demonized. However, on November 7, it will be funny to see how those who guaranteed Patrick and Lynch's victories will spin the opposite results.

We know that there will be an attempt to cast aspersions upon those who decided to vote for Healey instead of Patrick--but how will they explain Lynch's defeat at the hands of the independent-minded Robinson? After all, these are the same people who declared that Robinson wasn't fit to be elected dogcatcher after he was defeated by Ted Kennedy in 2000, a defeat largely prompted by the fact that Kennedy unleashed his attack dogs on the candidate. How will they analyze a Lynch loss in a way that doesn't take into account the incumbent's tremendous flaws?

The press won't like seeing Healey and Robinson in the winner's circle. They've tried to bury the so-called "Romney-Healey Administration" since early-2003, and they attempted to bury Robinson in 2000. However, both of them refused to be sent to an early political grave.

It will give them fits, won't it? How funny will it be to see the Boston Globe editorial page and the left-wing cheerleaders at Blue Mass Group react to Patrick and Lynch's losses? How humorous will it be to see the left caught in its own smugness, choking on the pride that led to the fall?

I can't wait to hear the excuses, to see the looks of shock and awe on their faces. I can't wait to see Kerry Healey and Jack Robinson prove that the "conventional wisdom" is pretty damn stupid.

CHANGE THE GAME

Forget about Deval Patrick. If Jack Robinson defeats Stephen Lynch to become the state's first Republican congressman in a decade, such a victory will be the real "biggest Bay State political story of the year."

A Robinson win would be sweet vindication for the Harvard-educated businessman and attorney, a hearty last laugh for the man known for refusing to bow down when the powers-that-be insisted that he kneel. A little over a half-decade after he withstood underhanded efforts to force him to abandon his grassroots US Senate campaign against Ted Kennedy, Robinson may well end up on Capitol Hill with the senior (citizen) senator--and representing the state far more effectively than Kennedy has in the last few years.

As an "unbought and unbossed" Congressman, Robinson will not be reluctant to challenge outdated ideas and philosophies. He will reject both "rubber-stamping" and knee-jerk obstructionism with equal fervor. He will combat the Washington culture that rewards sloganeering, sloth and special interests. Unlike former Bay State Congressman Bob Drinan, Robinson is not a priest; however, if elected, he will not hesitate to read the eulogy for politics as usual.

Robinson could have a galvanizing effect on his potential Congressional colleagues if elected. Let's be honest--when's the last time you've heard of John Olver or John Tierney or Jim McGovern or Ed Markey or Martin Meehan doing something truly beneficial for the residents of Massachusetts? Once Robinson gets down to the people's business, and begins to draw media attention for his effectiveness and independence, you can be sure that his Congressional colleagues will work twice as hard to ensure that they aren't ignored. That means they'll once again be responsive and accountable. That means all of our Congressional representatives will once again truly represent us.

The residents of Massachusetts haven't had the Congressional leadership they deserve in a good long time. For years, members of our congressional delegation have ignored the will of the people, preferring instead to bash President Bush and pander to the Daily Kos. If Jack Robinson wins the Ninth District Congressional election on November 7, he'll put an end to that nonsense--and usher in an era of common sense.

UPDATE: The Terri Schiavo case could be an issue in this election.

Middle Of The Road

A politically interesting site selection for the 2008 GOP convention. More from the New York Times and Captain's Quarters.

BLACK OR WHITE

The operators of the prominent Massachusetts-based conservative blog Hub Politics have drawn fire for alleging that Deval Patrick has cynically exploited his race in an attempt to win the 2006 Bay State gubernatorial election. While some have chosen to passionately attack this assertion, a far wiser strategy would be to analyze it.

Essentially, Hub Politics claims that the press and certain voters have rallied behind Patrick because he happens to be black. One part of this assertion is erroneous, but the other is not. Patrick has received a "free pass" from the press not because of his ethnicity, but because he reminds many reporters of the 2000 John McCain, "maverick" image and all. Anytime someone with a compelling life story and a forceful personality runs around claiming that they'll change politics as usual, the press always falls for it. Even though many reporters hated Pat Buchanan's politics, he was the darling of the press corps during his 1992 and 1996 Presidential runs. Some in the press were even fascinated by Steve Forbes' 1996 bid for the Presidency because of the "maverick" factor.

The press loves to create political superstars: Gene McCarthy in the 1960s, Jesse
Jackson in the 1980s, Howard Dean in the 2000s. All you have to do is to bill yourself as a reformer and the press will swoon, no matter what color you are.

As for whether liberals are supporting Patrick for reasons of political correctness: there is no doubt that some progressives want to see Patrick become governor largely because they believe that if he wins, it will represent the "official" end to the racial tensions that tarnished the state during the 1970s busing crisis. Symbolism is of the utmost importance to some on the left, and a Patrick victory would be "proof" that ethnic tensions in Massachusetts have finally subsided.

Patrick is seen by some on the left as a true testament to American egalitarianism: figures such as Oprah Winfrey are viewed the same way. While certain progressives are skeptical of his ability to win, the Bay State left is happy that he has even made it this far, for his success up to this point is seen by the left as irrefutable evidence of progressive fairness and open-mindedness.

I object to almost everything Deval Patrick has to offer politically. I believe that if he is elected, he will not be kind as he rewinds the state back to the awful final years of Michael Dukakis. However, I don't believe that he is in the position he is now owing entirely to political correctness. The PC mentality is a supporting player, but good old-fashioned slick marketing is in the main role.

UPDATE: More on the Healey-Patrick race. Plus, Hub Politics with a great follow-up post.

GLORY ROAD

"Nothing worth having in life comes easy."

That's a lesson Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial candidate Kerry Healey had to learn growing up amidst adversity in Florida. She learned that lesson a second time while she earned her Ph. D. She learned it a third time making a name for herself in the rough-and-tumble world of Massachusetts politics. And now, she is learning that lesson once again, as she confronts numerous obstacles on her path to becoming the Bay State's next governor.

The two main barriers she must topple take the form of Democrat gubernatorial nominee Deval Patrick and "independent" candidate Christy Mihos. The far-left Patrick is subtly hostile to Healey's moderate Republican views; the "maverick" Mihos is openly hostile to her beliefs, as he showed during his repulsive performance in the first debate of the general election. Patrick and Mihos
are aided and abetted by an irresponsible media structure that detests Healey and her boss, current Governor Mitt Romney, and seeks to promote Patrick and Mihos--Patrick because they see him as the Bay State's version of the 2000 John McCain, and Mihos because he blames Healey and Romney for everything that's wrong in Massachusetts.

You have to admire Healey's courage as she faces off against the rabid Democrat partisans, the bloggers who dismiss her intelligence, the activists who view her as the symbol of GOP mendacity, and the extremists who truly believe that the victories of her Republican predecessors were all flukes. Healey is inspiring people she has never even met with her determination and dedication.

No matter what the sarcasm-soaked scribes say, Kerry Healey will win the Massachusetts gubernatorial election on November 7. She'll do it for everyone who's been told they can't make it, for everyone who was told they didn't have the ability, for everyone who was told they were overmatched but who were in reality underrated.  Anyone who knows the Kerry Healey story understands that she is a woman who, once she decides on a goal, will not rest, will not stop, will not abandon, will not relent, will not quit until she has achieved what she set out to accomplish.  Her goal is to be the state's guardian against the schemes of the licentious Legislature, the person who will speak common-sense truth to elitist power. That goal's within reach. In just under seven weeks, she will grasp it.

The novelist Victor Hugo once said that "nothing, not all the armies in the world, can stop an idea whose time has come." Well, the time has come for Kerry Healey to be the next governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. On November 7, it will be more than just an idea--it will be reality.

UPDATE: More on the campaign from the Herald and Globe.

Past, Present And Future

It can be argued that Massachusetts has not had a truly decent, truly effective
representative on Capitol Hill since Edward Brooke left office in January 1979.

Brooke, who was first elected to the US Senate in 1966, was renowned for his political courage and independence. He was a social liberal, but he defended his progressive views with reason and rationality, something in short supply today from many on the non-conservative end of the spectrum. Brooke was always a gentleman, always quick-minded, always proud, always a man who embodied the finest ideals of public service.

We haven't had a man of such dignity representing us in Washington in 27 years. When one surveys our current list of Bay State Congressmen and Senators, one is hard pressed to find any member worthy of shining Ed Brooke's shoes, much less filling them.

Will Jack Robinson be able to live up to Brooke's legacy of outstanding public service if he is elected to the seat currently held by Ninth District Congressman Stephen Lynch? Certainly, it's far more likely to buy Robinson as the heir to Brooke's legacy of courage and independence than it is to buy Lynch in that role. It's hard to imagine Brooke giving in to pressure from irrational extremists
the way Lynch has (in backing a "quit Iraq now, before a fully functioning government has been established" proposal.) It's hard to imagine Brooke ducking debates in an egregiously cowardly fashion (as Lynch did in refusing to debate his Democrat primary opponent, Phil Dunkelbarger). It's hard to imagine Brooke resorting to gutter language to assail his political adversaries. In short, it's hard to imagine Brooke behaving in a way that epitomizes politics as usual--in other words, the way Lynch behaves.

Robinson has the independent spirit, the political courage and the passion for service that defined the Brooke era. If he defeats Lynch on November 7, he could very well fill Ed Brooke's shoes--and use them to lead us on a new and brighter path.

BEST KEPT SECRET

Does Mitt Romney have it in the bag for 2008?