The Boston Phoenix's David Bernstein asks that question this week, noting that without Sen. John Kerry in the presidential race, it is a free-for-all for Mass. support ... and cash: ["Who's with Whom?"].
Having covered and been involved in Boston and Massachusetts politics from the late 1980s to the early 2000s, I know a lot of these players. There are some interesting pairings. Take super liberal Woody Kaplan backing conservative Democrat Sen. Joe Biden and pro-development super-consultant Cheryl Cronin supporting Sen. Barack Obama, one of the more seemingly liberal candidates. Mayor Tom Menino, who can swing a lot of votes in a race like this, seems to be laying low. That is typical. He doesn't tend to get involved in non-local things ... unless he completely despises someone.
I think it is also interesting to note, as David does, that former Sen. John Edwards isn't really pulling in a lot of support down there. Or, not as much as most folks would assume he would get. He also notes that Rep. Dennis Kucinich had a lot of support in 2004 and probably will get more in 2008, although Obama seems to be sucking a lot of that air up.
The first quarter filings are due soon and the FEC site will probably crash with so many reporters and political junkies trying to get at the numbers. The media will concentrate on which candidate has the most but the larger story will be the minutiae of the state-by-state donations. Stayed tune for that one!
Having covered and been involved in Boston and Massachusetts politics from the late 1980s to the early 2000s, I know a lot of these players. There are some interesting pairings. Take super liberal Woody Kaplan backing conservative Democrat Sen. Joe Biden and pro-development super-consultant Cheryl Cronin supporting Sen. Barack Obama, one of the more seemingly liberal candidates. Mayor Tom Menino, who can swing a lot of votes in a race like this, seems to be laying low. That is typical. He doesn't tend to get involved in non-local things ... unless he completely despises someone.
I think it is also interesting to note, as David does, that former Sen. John Edwards isn't really pulling in a lot of support down there. Or, not as much as most folks would assume he would get. He also notes that Rep. Dennis Kucinich had a lot of support in 2004 and probably will get more in 2008, although Obama seems to be sucking a lot of that air up.
The first quarter filings are due soon and the FEC site will probably crash with so many reporters and political junkies trying to get at the numbers. The media will concentrate on which candidate has the most but the larger story will be the minutiae of the state-by-state donations. Stayed tune for that one!
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