Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

Romney is not running for reelection and is exploring a run for president.  

Reilly is the business-as-usual candidate in an era that has seen the collapse of the conservative Boston power structure in recent years. Democratic House Speaker Tom Finneran was indicted for perjury in a federal civil suit involving racial gerrymandering, and did not run for reelection. Three close allies in the Massachusetts House resigned their seats rather than face diminished power in the reorganized House under a new, far more progressive speaker.  Former State Senate President William Bulger was forced to resign as president of the University of Massachusetts in the wake of evasive testimony regarding his brother who has been on the FBI's Most Wanted List for many years. He was a leaders of an Irish organized crime gang and is wanted in connection with murders.  The Catholic Church, which once weilded enormous power has been politically on the skids due to the ongoing priest pedophilia scandal, financial crises and church closings. Cardinal Bernard Law, who had been the focus of the scandal, is now living in obscurity in the Vatican.

The times, they are a changin' in Massachusetts.  

Enter Deval Patrick.

Patrick headed the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department under Bill Clinton and went on to a career as a top corporate lawyer with Texaco and Coke.  He is running as a progressive reformer. After starting out rather stiffly as a first time candidate, he has emerged as as skilled and inspiring orator. And he has built a statewide organization that is giving front-runner Reilly a run for his money.

In Massachusetts, Democratic candidates for statewide office must win 15% of the delegates at the state democratic convention on the first ballot in order to make it to the Democratic primary.  The candidate who wins 50% of the delegates is considered the party-endorsed candidate going into the primary.  Initially, many wondered whether Patrick could make the 15% threshold and if he could raise enough money to run a viable campaign against the biggest warchest ever amassed by a Democratic candidate for governor.

But a report in The Boston Globe suggests that the question may now be, what's the matter with Reilly?

The negotiations over a Reilly/Gabrieli ticket came just days before Saturday's local party caucus around the state, where Patrick is expected to win a large share of the delegates to be chosen for the Democratic convention in June. The convention will endorse candidates for statewide office.

Reilly's low-key approach to wooing the Democratic rank and file has surprised party leaders. Even Reilly insiders concede that his aim is not to win the Democratic convention endorsement. He has instead concentrated for the past two years on building a large campaign war chest, which tops nearly $3.7 million, six times what Patrick has on hand in his political account.

Patrick, a newcomer to the state political scene and the first black candidate for governor, has gained considerable support among Democratic activists around the state. Patrick has just over $500,000 in his campaign account and has said he will use some of his personal funds to mount his primary campaign.

Lt. Governor candidates are subject to the same process. The losing O'Brien/Gabrieli "ticket" last time was a first for Massachusetts Dems. Reilly managed to offend the four publicly declared candidates for Lt. Governor on the eve of the party caucuses when it was disclosed that he was in discussions with Gabrieli, whose last-minute decision not to file for Lt. governor leaves Reilly with 24 hours to find a second choice before the filing deadline.

When news of a potential coupling of Reilly and Gabrieli on a ticket emerged last week, [Worcester Mayor Tim] Murray confronted the attorney general in his State House office. Other Democrats also criticized the move.

Yesterday, US Representative James P. McGovern, a Worcester Democrat who is chairing Patrick's campaign and is backing Murray, ripped Reilly for considering the partnership, rather than waiting for activists and voters to choose the lieutenant governor candidate. McGovern called it a "backroom deal."

"This is politics at its worst," McGovern said, in an interview before the talks broke down. "People in Worcester who were with Reilly are now saying they are going to flip (to Patrick)."

Blogger and Patrick supporter Michael Wilcox trancribed some of Patrick's remarks from a January 12th appearance in Pittsfield:  

"So now let's stand for something. Let's use this election, and I ask you to use my candidacy, as an example of what the Democratic Party can stand for. Not that government can or should try to solve every problem in everyone's life (we know that!), but that government has a role in helping people help themselves.

"And that when people say, 'government is bad' let's say 'wait a minute! government is us! it's us!' and so we ought to want that to be smart and effective and efficient and pragmatic and compassionate, because that is the best of who we are and what we have.

"And if this is the kind of government that you can get behind, that is the kind of government I am ready to lead, and I hope I can have your support."

Patrick won the early endorsement of Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts, a statewide network of electoral activists that grew out of Robert Reich's 2002 Democratic primary campaign for governor. (Full disclosure: I am a member of the PDM state executive committee.) PDM members provided critical early field support for the fledgeling Patrick campaign and PDM leaders continue to play prominent roles in the campaign.

Patrick is currently hoping to gain the endorsement of Democracy for America, the national group formed in the wake of Howard Dean's campaign for president.

The Patrick vs. Reilly contest is a bellwether race that will define the Democratic Party for years to come. Expect a bruising campaign season in Massachusetts. But don't bet on the big money. UPDATE: The Boston Herald reports that Reilly has tapped State Rep. Marie St. Fleur.

St. Fleur is a Boston Democrat who is the state’s first Haitian-born lawmaker. Her selection dovetails with a theme Reilly has been pounding on the campaign trail: that he connects with average voters because of his background as the son of Irish immigrants. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a law degree from Boston College, St. Fleur, 43, was first elected to the Legislature in 1999 and now serves as vice chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. The decision follows a weekend of activity in which Reilly first appeared poised to run with millionaire businessman Chris Gabrieli. Negotiations, however, broke down Sunday, even as Reilly’s aides prepared a news conference to announce the decision. The campaign team was to be formally announced on Tuesday, the campaign official told the AP. On Monday, Reilly turned to St. Fleur, who only last week was quoted as saying she would not run because she had already committed to Deborah Goldberg, a former Brookline selectwoman who has already announced her candidacy for lieutenant governor.