In a press release Mr. Beaty said he has pulled nomination papers and is now out and about collecting signatures. The self-described “fiscal conservative/social progressive” is running as a non-party candidate, meaning he skips over the primary race phase and, assuming he collects enough signatures, will be on the November general election ballot.

The two seats currently held by Mary L. (Pat) Flynn of Falmouth and Sheila R. Lyons of Wellfleet are up for grabs this year. There have been no official announcements from either commissioner whether they will run for re-election.

Mr. Beaty in his announcement made much ado about the fact he had signed a Citizens for Limited Taxation “Taxpayer Protection Pledge,” but those things are worthless as far as I’m concerned. Pledges, like campaign promises, have a habit of falling by the wayside when certain cold realities hit a lawmaker square in the face.

The real key here will be if Mr. Beaty, who has turned himself into something of a scholar of county government, can parlay that knowledge into a viable campaign platform that overcomes his lack of political experience. According to the man himself, his only forays into the world of elected office are two unsuccessful runs for the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates.

The other issue for Mr. Beaty – and I’ve broached this topic before – is his criminal background. In 1991, Mr. Beaty spent time in prison after he was convicted of sending threatening letters to President George H.W. Bush, US Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and then-State Senator Lois Pines.

Mr. Beaty, who is seeking a presidential pardon for those offenses, called that episode in his life “mainly a terrible lapse in judgment” brought about by an alcohol problem he has since overcome.

Whether this truly matters will be, and should be, up to the voters, but I’ll give credit where it’s due: the man has been very open and forthright about this skeleton in his closet, which is a whole hell of a lot more than what we’ve seen from some of our politicians.

Anyone who would like to read up on Mr. Beaty and his background, head on over to my blog and look up the Week in Politics columns for December 16 and 23, 2011.

Political news and announcements may be e-mailed to Michael Bailey, senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net.

Sen. Wolf made that official this week during a phone interview with the Enterprise (by which I mean me). He’s had a good first year in office, and if he can keep it up through 2012 he will be a tough man to beat.

***

Who is Ronald Beaty Jr. and why is he so interested in county government all of a sudden?

We might find out more as the local election cycle powers up, but for now Beaty is a good reason to scratch your head and say “Huh?”

The West Barnstable man has become a man of letters, so to speak, over the past month, speaking out about Barnstable County government issues. Earlier this month he wrote to the Enterprise exhorting a special commission charged with studying and, if appropriate, submitting recommendations for changes to the county governmental structure to leave things as they were.

Okay, so far, so benign. Then Beaty wrote a second letter berating the same county officials he had previously praised for failing to fill the very minor position of county clerk. The post has been vacant since Scott Nickerson, who is also the county clerk of courts, resigned to focus on his court duties (and, perhaps, in response to a noteworthy bungle in his office regarding five candidates for the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates, whose nomination paperwork was not processed properly).

The county clerk has few responsibilities, but Beaty called the vacancy a “major problem” and the need to fill it an “urgent matter.” Okay, maybe overstating things here, but nothing controversial.

Then I got a copy of an e-mail that I present in its entirety:

It seems a bit “ironic” that County Commissioner Bill Doherty should advise and encourage a man with “my background” to run for election next year for one of the Barnstable County Commissioner seats.  After all, a little over 20 years ago (1991) I was arrested, convicted and sentenced by federal authorities for threatening various elected public officials, including the President of the United States. I will have to reflect long and hard about Bill Doherty’s proposal. I shall seek advice, feedback and counsel from family, friends, and the public at large before any firm decision can be made.  Perhaps after twenty years, it is also about time that I finally ask for formal “forgiveness” from the federal government as well. With that in mind, I will be seeking a Presidential pardon from President Barack Obama relative to the previously mentioned legal issues…

HubbaWHAH?!

First of all, what’s up with all the unnecessary quotation marks?

Second, here’s the deal: Beaty filed a letter of interest for a vacancy on the Barnstable County Human Rights Commission. Bill Doherty, sitting chairman of the county commissioners, saw it and (according to copies of e-mails Beaty received from Doherty and sent to me for some reason) remarked:

Now that I read your resume I must tell you that I have a greater reason to support the possibility of your candidacy for public office…The fact that you have a background in civil rights issues and want to continue that by joining the HRC says to me you already have two of the qualifications for public office (in my opinion) Intelligence and a good heart. The third is an ability to work hard. Think about it if not the county the town there is so much need for new and younger people at all levels.

There’s no indication that Doherty was aware of Beaty’s criminal background, which is this: according to several stories I found online (including two Beaty himself provided links to), in 1991 Beaty was convicted of sending threatening letters to President George H. W. Bush, Ted Kennedy, and then-State Senator Lois Pines (he also made threats against his then-wife, but he doesn’t mention those in his e-mail) and spent time in prison for it. As you can see, Beaty is not hiding this fact.

In Beaty we have, in a microcosm, a lot of the challenges that have become so commonplace in politics. Here is a man who was convicted of some pretty serious crimes, but did his time and has by all accounts stayed out of trouble for a considerable period of time. What has greater weight: the severity of his acts, or the life he has led since? Is 20 years enough time to erase what is either a terrible lapse in judgment or a sign of an unstable and violence-prone personality?

As is too often the case, partisan politics could play a role. To use the late Ted Kennedy as a somewhat ironic example, his foes never forgave him for Chappaquiddick, while his supporters were quick to dismiss that dark chapter in Kennedy’s life as ancient history. Right now, Newt Gingrich’s boosters are turning a blind eye to his infidelity, but a lot of those same people would wag a damning finger at Bill Clinton for his sexual shenanigans.

One thing’s for sure: if this guy runs, I’m going to have some interesting things to write about next year.

***

Tom Conroy, we hardly knew ye.

The Democratic candidate for US Senate has withdrawn from the race, citing (and boy, have we seen a lot of this lately) his inability to compete against front-runner and candidate apparent Elizabeth Warren, who has a ton of money and the party’s blessing.

Those same factors have previously shoved Setti Warren and Alan Khazei out of the race prematurely — by which I mean LONG before any of us pesky voters get our say on the matter.

***

Speaking of early dropouts, Thomas Hodgson, Bristol County sheriff, announced this week he is not going to run for Congress after all. Sheriff Hodgson had been toying with the idea of running in the Fourth or Ninth District, also known as, respectively, Barney Frank’s (D) soon-to-be-former district and William R. Keating’s (D) soon-to-be-new district, but decided to stay put.

A movement is underway to recruit Victoria R. Kennedy, widow of the late US Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D), to run for her husband’s former post herself in the next election to “take back” the seat from US Senator Scott P. Brown (R).

“We must reclaim the Kennedy Seat for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts not because she is a Kennedy but because we need a strong Democrat in Washington to represent the people from Massachusetts,” reads the message on the movement’s official Facebook page.

I was not a fan of Sen. Brown during the special election, and he has yet to win me over in any big way, but I will nevertheless invoke one of his catchphrases from the campaign: it’s not the Kennedys’ seat, it’s not the Democrats’ seat, it’s the people’s seat. It belongs to whoever the voters say it does.

This idea that a seat has to be “reclaimed” smacks of pointless entitlement on the Democrats’ part; just because a Democrat – Sen. Kennedy – occupied that office for 47 years and the last Republican to hold the post was Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (1947 to 1953) doesn’t mean it’s “theirs.” By their own logic, the seat belongs more to the GOP, since they held it from 1851 to 1926 (75 years vs. the Democrats’ 56).

***

For some time now, the Republican Governors Association has been funding some harsh and rather negative-in-tone ads targeting Governor Deval L. Patrick and gubernatorial hopeful Timothy P. Cahill.

The Massachusetts Democratic Party is turning the tables a bit with its somewhat tongue-in-cheek new website “Charlie’s World” (http://charliebakersworld.com/), “a special place where Charlie Baker can use ‘facts’ that aren’t true; a place where, when things don’t go well, it isn’t his fault or he wasn’t involved; a place where anything might happen.”

I have to wonder if Green-Rainbow Party candidate Dr. Jill E. Stein sees all this stuff going on and, on occasion, finds herself oddly grateful that no one is paying attention to her.

***

Joseph D. Malone, Republican candidate for US Representative of the 10th Congressional District, recently won a straw poll conducted by radio host Jeff Katz on his eponymous talk show on Rush Radio 1200 AM (their motto: “Harkening back to the Golden Days of Radio, when reception was terrible and static was king.”)

Mr. Malone walked away with 80 percent support, and rival State Representative Jeffrey D. Perry (R – Sandwich) received 15 percent support. Five percent supported Mr. Katz, because they mistakenly thought it would be humorous to kiss up to the host.

***

Raymond Kasperowicz, the third of four GOP candidates for Congress, just gave his campaign website a snazzy new look. Hie thee hither to http://rkasperowicz.com/congress/ and scope it out. It’s all red, white, and blue and patriotic and stuff.

***

James F. Munafo Jr., Republican candidate for State Representative of the Second Barnstable District, invites supporters to a “FUNdraiser” in support of his campaign. Join Mr. Munafo at Sandwich Mini-Golf on Route 6A in Sandwich for the “Vote Munafo Mini-Golf Tournament” on Sunday, September 12. The tourney runs from 4 to 7 PM.

The “suggested greens fee” (a.k.a. campaign donation) is $10 per person. Prizes will be awarded for best scores in the child and adult categories, as well as for the youngest golfer, the older golfer, and for the best golfing outfit.

Shoot an e-mail to votemunafo@integrity.com to reserve a spot in the tournament.

***

William Zammer is hosting at his Flying Bridge restaurant (which, I report sadly, neither flies nor has a bridge) a fundraiser for David T. Vieira, Republican candidate for State Representative of the Third Barnstable District. That is scheduled for Sunday, September 12 from 4 to 6 PM. Donations will be accepted at the door.

***

Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy!? Daniel A. Wolf is! Yes he is! Yes he is!

Mr. Wolf, Democratic candidate for State Senator of the Cape and Islands District, has picked up a new endorsement from the Massachusetts chapter of the Humane Society.

He’s also received an endorsement from the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters, for which I do not have dumb jokes.

But wait, there’s more! Mr. Wolf has also official earned nods from several notable figures on the Cape, including Margo L. Fenn, director of the Cape Cod Commission; Susan L. Nickerson, former executive director of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound; and former state representative Eric T. Turkington.

***

State Senator Robert A. O’Leary (D – Barnstable) probably didn’t need this little tidbit coming out right now as he runs for Congress. This week’s Beacon Hill Roll Call Report listed Sen. O’Leary as tied for having the fourth-worst attendance record in 2010 (he missed 22 out of 227 roll call votes, a 90.3 percent attendance record).

Granted, that’s only 10 percent of the votes taken this year, and lord knows other lawmakers have been far less diligent, but one can only imagine how this might come back to haunt him (courtesy of his many rivals for the hotly contested seat).

***

This week’s event reminders:

Lance W. Lambros, Democratic candidate for State Representative of the Fifth Barnstable District, will hold a meet-and-greet tomorrow from 4 to 7 PM at Merchants Square, at the Sandwich Democratic Headquarters annual barbecue; and on Monday, August 30 he’ll attend from 3 to 5 PM a senior citizens forum at the Barnstable Senior Center.

William R. Keating, Democratic candidate for US Representative of the 10th Congressional District, will also be at tomorrow’s barbecue in Sandwich.

Mr. Wolf is the guest of honor at a house party fundraiser in Hyannis on Sunday. Check out his official website at www.danwolfforsenate.com for more information about that, and his upcoming “Howl for Dan Wolf” (seriously, dude?) at the Cotuit Art Center on Sunday, September 5. That event, featuring comedian  Jimmy Tingle, runs from 8 to 10 PM.

This Sunday is also the end-of-summer lobster and clam bake in support of Rep. Perry’s Congressional campaign. That’s at the Sandwich American Legion Hall that runs from 1 to 3 PM. Go to www.jeffperryforcongress.com for more info and to make any necessary reservations.

Stephen J. Murphy, Democratic candidate for state treasurer, will be in Hyannis on Tuesday, August 31 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM. Mr. Keating is also scheduled to be at that event at the Hyannis Anglers Club House on Ocean Street.

Sheila R. Lyons, Democratic candidate for State Senator of the Cape and Islands District, is holding a fundraiser at the Anchor Inn in Hyannis on Tuesday starting at 7 PM. Go to http://sheilalyons2010.com for more info.

Steve Grossman, Democratic candidate for state treasurer, has a visit to Cape Cod planned for September as part of his “Ice Cream Tour.” He’ll be at Four Seas in Centerville from 5 to 6 PM on Friday, September 3.

F. Randal Hunt, Republican candidate for State Representative of the Fifth Barnstable District, is holding a pasta supper fundraiser at the American Legion Hall in Sandwich on Saturday, September 25 starting at 6 PM; a golf tourney fundraiser at Holly Ridge on Sunday, October 3 starting at 8:20 AM; and “Pizza & Politics with Pizzazz” at Two Brothers Pizza & Mexican in Sandwich on Monday, October 11 at 5:30 PM.

Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net

And I gotta tell you, I’m not surprised to be writing this. Martha Coakley made some disastrous missteps in the later weeks of the campaign: tossing out the first harshly negative TV ad; passing on local campaigning to attend functions in DC; and bringing in the President, which absolutely smacked of desperation, just to name a few.

In short, this was Martha Coakley’s race to lose, and she did, spectacularly. Her complacency and garden-variety weak campaigning cost her what I think was, very early on, a sure-fire victory.

Whether Sen. Brown now lives up to his promises to be an independent voice in the US Senate is the big question now, but if he proves just another party loyalist, expect the Dems to make a major push to reclaim the seat in 2012.

Meanwhile, the immediate repercussions of Coakley’s loss could be significant. For a Republican to defeat a Democrat to claim the late Ted Kenney’s seat in Blue State Massachusetts could serve as a HUGE rallying cry for the GOP in the coming regular election cycle, and we could see a major party resurgence this year after several years of foundering.

Was Senator-elect Brown’s victory a mandate by the voters? Debatable; a five percent margin of victory in and of itself is hardly a mandate, but considering the surrounding circumstances, it’s clear voters were sending a message.

Was that message in essence a repudiation of the Obama Administration? Hardly; one man does not a repudiation make, and I’m sorry, while Obama hasn’t been as aggressive in making his much-ballyhooed changes as he said he’d be, it’s unrealistic to expect eight years of damage by the Bush Administration to be magically fixed in a year.

Nevertheless, every Massachusetts Democrat now has a target on their backs, and it should be interesting to see who goes gunning for whom.

As for Coakley herself, her post as Massachusetts Attorney General is now very vulnerable. Her blood is in the water, and the GOP would be remiss not to capitalize on it.

Look for detailed coverage of the special election elsewhere in this section, and in the front section of the Enterprise for town-by-town results.

***

As if on cue: we have a possible race for a local legislative seat!

Last week David T. Vieira of Falmouth said he was considering running against State Representative Matthew C. Patrick (D – Falmouth) this year. Mr. Vieira, who oversees the Cape’s Triad programs through the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department and is finishing his 10^th year as Falmouth’s town moderator, has filed his paperwork Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance and expects to make a final decision on his candidacy soon.

I’m hopeful he’ll go for it. I expect Mr. Vieira would run a solid campaign against Rep. Patrick, now in his fifth term, and a robust campaign is always a good thing (particularly for voters, who would actually have to give some serious thought about who to vote for).

If he runs, Mr. Vieira would be the third Republican to challenge a Democratic incumbent in the Cape delegation; folks have already popped up to challenge State Representatives Cleon H. Turner (D – Dennis) and Sarah K. Peake (D – Provincetown).

I want to see the trend continue, until we have a chock-a-block full ballot. That said, I don’t expect anyone to announce a run against Senate President Therese Murray (D – Plymouth). She has some crazy cash in her war chest – she ended 2008 with more than $150,000 – and from a strategic standpoint, losing her would greatly diminish the region’s clout in the State House, and the Cape and Islands cannot afford that (literally or figuratively).

Who is the most vulnerable to the GOP? That would be State Representative Timothy R. Madden (D – Nantucket). First-term legislators are generally good targets because it’s easy to claim they haven’t done anything of substance. While this is technically true – precious few freshman lawmakers get anything huge accomplished in their first outing – it’s also a bit disingenuous for the same reason.

***

Now that the US Senate special election has wrapped, expect the race for governor of Massachusetts to take center stage as The Big Race. There are five people in the mix right now: incumbent Deval L. Patrick; Timothy P. Cahill, the state treasurer, who is running as an independent; and Republicans Christy P. Mihos and Charlie D. Baker Jr.

Number five is Jill E. Stein of the Green-Rainbow Party, who announced her candidacy earlier this month. Dr. Stein ran for secretary of the Commonwealth in 2006 and for governor in 2002 (and got trounced in both races).

While Mr. Mihos has been a bit more active than his Republican rival in the early days of the campaign, it looks like Mr. Baker has been quietly building a well-financed support base. The Boston Herald reported last week that Smilin’ Charlie Baker raised $1.85 million in the last five months of 2009—twice the amount Gov. Patrick raised over the course of the entire year.

If Mr. Baker can put some substance behind the spending and put in some solid work into getting his name and message out to voters, he could be the man to beat in the primary and—dare I say it?—in the general election. Despite its widespread Blueness, Massachusetts has never been hesitant to put a Republican in the Corner Office; 20 of the state’s 34 governors since 1900 have been Republicans.

However, a recent poll by the Boston Globe suggests that neither GOP hopeful will prevail in a three-way race against Gov. Patrick and Mr. Cahill. About a third of those surveyed currently back the incumbent, despite his low approval ratings, with Mr. Cahill coming in second. Regardless of who represented the GOP, that man came in third.

I can’t take this poll seriously, not this early in the process. If this had come out, say, in October, I’d say the Republicans are in deep trouble, but a lot can change over the next 10 months.

***

Speaking of our treasurer (part the first), a fellow by the name of Brian J. Herr has filed his paperwork with the OCPF as a candidate for state treasurer. Mr. Herr, a Republican, is currently a selectman in the town of Hopkinton. He was elected to that post in 2007 and this year is the board’s chairman.

He joins Democratic candidate Steve Grossman.

***

Speaking of our treasurer (part the second), Mr. Cahill has chosen his running mate: former state representative Paul Loscocco. “As a former Republican, Loscocco makes the ticket truly bipartisan and independent, helping the campaign represent the 51 percent of Massachusetts voters who are not affiliated with either major political party,” read a press release from Cahill’s camp.

***

So with AG Coakley not going anywhere, where does that leave Democrat William Keating, Norfolk County district attorney and a former state senator? The man who threw the state Senate in a tizzy back in 1994 when he challenged William M. Bulger for the Senate presidency he’d held for 15 years announced his candidacy recently, but will that change with Coakley potentially staying put?

His campaign website is up at www.billkeating.org.

***

Over in the surprisingly active race for state auditor – five candidates so far! – Republican Earle Stroll has launched his campaign website at http://stroll2010.com, and Democrat Michael E. Lake has his site up at www.electmikelake.com.

Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net

For more political commentary, visit Michael’s blog “Snark-Infested Waters” at http://capenews.net/blogs/snark-infested_waters/

Thank you both for souring me on this election.

I was soured on Brown from almost day one, because — as a recipient of his campaign e-mails — I’ve seen nothing from him but condemnations of everything Coakley said or did throughout this process (“Martha Coakley drinks Pepsi Throwback, deprives the high-fructose corn syrup industry of vital revenue!”), followed by very superficial retorts meant to extol Brown’s virtues (“Scott Brown will support high-fructose corn syrup by drinking one bottle of Karo every day”).

His denouncement of Coakley’s negative ads are, in this light, hypocritical, but I have to agree: they’re low-road politics and are distracting voters. That Coakley ran negative at all, much less launched the first high-profile volley, is hugely disappointing and, as WHDH-TV’s Andy Hiller observed, not something a candidate with any confidence in her campaign would do.

This always has been Coakley’s race to lose, and she may well lose it. Eschewing on-the-street meet-and-greets with Massachusetts voters to go to out-of-state events? Jeez, Coakley, who are you? Mitt Romney? Running negative instead of pushing hard your considerably positive record as AG? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!

Should Brown win Tuesday, well, first I’m going to bang my head against a wall to dull the pain of seeing Coakley blow the election, then I’ll start looking for candidacy announcements from people looking to boot Coakley out of the AG’s office (because if she loses Tuesday, the GOP is going to just see blood in the water). Then I’m going to hope all this talk about intentionally dragging out the certification process to delay Brown’s entry into office is just that — talk — because I don’t know if I could calmly handle with any degree of aplomb the second most flagrant flouting of good public process since Massachusetts changed the Senate succession laws to allow Deval Patrick to plop Paul Kirk in Kennedy’s seat. If Brown wins, then he wins. Seat him.

Otherwise, everyone involved with such an affront to the political process will be facing voter wrath come November.

Normally I would only now be welcoming everyone to the triumphant return of my weekly political column, but thanks to the US Senate special election this puppy has been rolling for a few months now. Yet, in about two and a half weeks that election will be over and, hopefully, the state and local races will start to pick up.

And this year stands to be fairly active as all our constitutional officers – governor and lieutenant governor, secretary of the Commonwealth, attorney general, treasurer, and auditor – are up for re-election along with all state legislators. More locally, the positions of Barnstable County sheriff and Cape & Islands district attorney are up for grabs, along with one seat on the Barnstable County Board of County Commissioners.

Let’s review who’s already out on the trail, and there are quite a few (like the Christmas shopping season, the election cycle starts earlier and earlier every year).

The race for governor of Massachusetts is the big one, with Governor Deval L. Patrick returning for a second run, and so far unopposed for the primary. Timothy P. Cahill, state treasurer, is technically unopposed as he’s running as an unenrolled candidate.

On the Republican side we do have a primary race, between Charles D. Baker Jr., the former president and CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and Christy P. Mihos, who is taking his second run for the Corner Office. The polls so far have gone back-and-forth on which of these gents is the GOP front-runner, but so far neither one would win against Gov. Patrick.

Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray is assumed to be running for re-election as well, although that will ultimately be decided by the voters – as will the Republican candidate’s running mate; Mr. Baker in November announced that State Senator Richard R. Tisei (R – Wakefield), the Senate minority leader, would running for the second-in-command spot.

There was another chap in the race by the name of Gerry Dembrowski, but late last year he suspended his gubernatorial campaign and is now running for the US House of Representatives in the seventh district, so this’ll be the last you’ll hear of him here.

With Mr. Cahill running for governor, the rush has begun to fill the state treasurer’s seat, and so far two Democratic contenders have emerged: Joe Connolly, Norfolk County treasurer; and Steve Grossman, president of the Somerville-based Grossman Marketing Group. A third man, Tom Conroy, dropped out back in November.

For state auditor we had two early-bird candidates seeking to replace the retiring A. Joseph DeNucci: Mary Z. Connaughton and Earle Stroll, both Republicans who announced their candidacies last year. Joining them are Democrats Michael E. Lake and Guy Glodis, Worcester County sheriff; and independent candidate Kamal Jain.

Then we get to our own backyard and, well, this is where it gets dull. I’ve not heard that any of our incumbents were stepping down, nor have I heard if anyone is planning to challenge an incumbent for a county or legislative seat (I’m not counting the people planning to run against State Representatives Cleon H. Turner (D – Dennis) or Sarah K. Peake (D – Provincetown) since they’re not in the Enterprise’s coverage area).

Readers, if you’re planning to take a shot at an elected office, or has heard some buzz to that affect regarding someone else, feel free to drop me a line! In the meantime, check out these candidates’ official websites through this here blog (the links collection is on the left).

***

As a public service to anyone out there who might be considering a run at public office, here is some free advice, a list of dos and don’ts for campaigning on Cape Cod.

DO:

• Play nice, because voters don’t like negative campaigning. Really. Nothing’s changed since the 2008 election cycle; it didn’t work for anyone then and it won’t this year.
• Be careful when attempting to illustrate your opponent’s weaknesses. If an incumbent in particular is woefully deficient, illustrate this in as dispassionate manner as possible, lest you veer into negative campaigning (see above).
• Set up a website. Lawn signs just don’t cut it anymore…but if you do go with lawn signs, keep them tasteful! Those mini-billboard-style deals are just obnoxious.
• Make sure your website has detailed information on your positions and plans. Simply saying “I’ll fight for Cause X” without saying HOW you plan to achieve your goal tells voters nothing.
• Identify issues that are relevant to voters, not just those that interest you personally.
• Research those issues so you can discuss them intelligently and provide verifiable facts.
• Appeal to ALL voters. More than half of Massachusetts voters are unenrolled, so pushing party loyalties will only get you so far.
• Make yourself accessible. If no one (by which I mean me) can get in touch with you, it makes it very difficult to get your message out.

DON’T:

• Slam your opponent in order to promote your own credentials, positions, and ideas. If they can’t stand up on their own, sans the context of how awful your opponent is, they’re weak and you might want to rethink this whole running for office thing. I know, I’m repeating myself, but this point bears repeating.
• Whine about money – specifically, your opponent’s plentiful campaign resources – distracting the campaign from the issues. No, you’re doing that by whining about money.
• Resort to gimmicks like challenging your opponent to refuse PAC and special interest donations. Opponents won’t play that game and smart voters don’t respond to those lame tactics.
• Leave your website untouched for days, weeks, even months on end. Add and update content regularly, especially your events calendar.
• Inundate recipients of e-notices with material. Event announcements, campaign milestones, position papers – those are fine. Two-page rebuttals to every single thing your opponent says? Those get annoying really fast.

The most important “don’t,” for anyone seeking a state or federal office: Don’t forget that voters live on Cape Cod too, and they’d like to meet you! The Cape is frequently shafted by anyone running for a Big Seat (US Senate or House of Representatives, governor, attorney general, etc.), and even the candidates who LIVE on the Cape start to forget about their neighbors that they might court the almighty urban district voters.

***

Would someone mind telling me why the Republican Party seems so hellbent on devouring itself from within?

The Boston Herald reported last week that there’s been some friction within the party at the national and state levels over State Senator Scott P. Brown’s (R – Wrentham) US Senate campaign – more specifically, the state is rankled over the lack of support from the same Republican National Committee that threw some money at W. Mitt Romney in his 1994 attempt to unseat the late US Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

Now that Kennedy is not a factor and it’s a more even race (because incumbents are almost always the odds-on favorites in a given race), the RNC has been oddly tight-fisted according to Peter Torkildson, former chairman of the Massachusetts GOP. “They need to give Scott a level playing field,” he told the Herald.

The RNC responded that they have given Sen. Brown about $50,000, along with donor lists and technical support, but by comparison, Romney got the maximum allowable contribution from the RNC, a hefty $540,000.

Is this a sign that the RNC has no faith in Sen. Brown’s ability to defeat Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, who many argue has the best chance at victory in Blue State Massachusetts? Is the RNC saving its cash to support more viable candidates, in Massachusetts and elsewhere?

Or is this more evidence that the GOP is deepening the divide between its more conservative and moderate members? While Sen. Brown has been spouting a lot of party-approved rhetoric, he’s also swearing up and down that, unlike AG Coakley, he won’t blindly follow the party’s will on every issue and will be an independent mind and voice.

He’s also taken more moderate stances on abortion (“This decision should ultimately be made by the woman in consultation with her doctor…” he states on his campaign website) and same-sex marriage (“I believe marriage is between a man and a woman [but] states should be free to make their own laws in this area, so long as they reflect the people’s will as expressed through them directly, or as expressed through their elected representatives”).

Why might this matter? Because the GOP has shown a growing inclination to support the most conservative candidate on the ballot, even if that person is not a Republican.

Consider last fall’s special election race for New York’s 23rd Congressional seat, in which the GOP snubbed the Republican candidate, Dierdre Scozzafava, to endorse and support the more conservative but not Republican Doug Hoffman. Ms. Scozzafava dropped out of the race and, out of spite perhaps, endorsed the unremarkable Democratic candidate, Bill Owens.

The end result was that Mr. Owens won the race, in doing so wresting from the GOP a seat it had held for, no jive, 160 years.

It’s a sad state of affairs when the Grand Old Party can’t hold onto a consistent message and present a strong united front. That’s why we have Democrats.

***

Speaking of showing support for Republicans, State Representative Jeffrey D. Perry’s (R – Sandwich) boosters should mark Friday, January 29 on their calendars, because it’s time for the annual “Jokes With Jeff” fundraiser!

Rep. Perry, who is running for a fifth term, welcomes comedian Robbie Printz to the Cape Codder Resort for a night of comedy and politics (yes, that is a tad redundant). Doors open at 7 PM, the show starts at 8 PM.

To reserve a seat for the night, go to www.electjeffperry.com/donation_online.html and make a donation to his 2010 reelection campaign.

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Jumping back to Sen. Brown, he received this week what many are touting as a major endorsement: US Senator John McCain (R). His message (which looks like he delivered it from the set of “Meet the Press”) hits the usual GOP talking points, namely the economy and how it’s impacted working-class families, and says Sen. Brown “is well-prepared to meet these challenges.”

Impressed? Well, don’t be; Sen. McCain’s endorsement is no different than US Senator John F. Kerry’s (D) endorsement of AG Coakley. They’re both cases of a Big Gun attaching his name to the person who will help them forward the party agenda. It’s what they do, and it shouldn’t influence who you plan to vote for.

Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net

As a wise parrot once said, I could have a heart attack and die from not surprise over the results.

Now, to address pieces of business old and new. The old business: after last week’s issue I heard from a few people who wondered why Stephen G. Pagliuca and Alan A. Khazei got the full interview treatment while everyone else got mini-profiles.

It’s very simple: if they bothered to return my phone calls and made time for me, they got interviewed; if they blew me off, they didn’t.

The exception to this rule is Sen. Brown. By mutual agreement we’d planned to get together after the primary election since, at the time, he was the only Republican running — then Jack E. Robinson popped up at the 11th hour. After speaking with him about this, he said he was cool following our original game plan and we will be getting together soon.

Presumptuous, you say? In principle, yes, but it’s hard to hold it against him in light of his opponent; Robinson simply was not a viable candidate, especially when he appears in the race at the 11th hour and apparently goes out of his way not to make himself especially visible.

Or maybe Sen. Brown has a low-grade precognitive ability and predicted Robinson’s defeat, along with AG Coakley’s win; the day before the election, Sen. Brown issued a press release challenging the Democratic candidate to “tell the special interests to stay out of the Massachusetts special election.”

Sen. Brown was referring specifically to a $214,000 radio ad campaign funded by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in support of AG Coakley.

“It reinforces the perception that she is the candidate of the status quo who will protect big government spending programs at the expense of taxpayers,” Sen. Brown said in a press release. “Martha Coakley needs to tell the big government unions to stop trying to buy this election. This election can’t be bought and we should let the people decide without any outside interference. We should be looking out for the people’s interests and not the special interests.”

Uh, Sen. Brown? Question over here. The SEIU represents (as per their website): “nurses, LPNs, doctors, lab technicians, nursing home workers, home care workers…local and state government workers, public school employees, bus drivers, and child care providers…workers who protect and clean commercial and residential office buildings, and…private security officers and public safety personnel.”

Are you saying the SEIU is a big government union – slash – special interest and not looking out for “people’s interests”? They seem pretty people-interest-oriented to me. Just sayin’.

Follow-up question: will you be returning the $1,000 donation from the United Services Automobile Association Employee PAC, which represents employees of the USAA, which provides insurance and financial services to military personnel? Or the $4,500 from Mitt Romney’s “Free and Strong America PAC,” which supports candidates who conform to an arch-conservative platform? Or are those not big government unions and/or special interests?

And what about the PAC money you received in your 2008 state senatorial campaign? Will you be returning any donations from the PACs representing Bank of America, the Mass. Credit Union League, the FMR LLC (Fidelity), MA Correction Officers Federated Union, the MBTA Police Association, the Association of Builders and Contractors, the Fraternal Order of Police, Insurance Agents and Brokers of Massachusetts, the Mass. Association of Realtors, the Mass. Hospital Association…

Again: just sayin’.

(FYI: the above lists provided courtesy of, respectively, the Federal Election Commission and the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance.)

Now, I’m not trying to insinuate that AG Coakey’s campaign is free of PAC influence because it sure ain’t – 27 PAC donations and counting! – but if Sen. Brown is going to play the “refuse special interests money” card, he should play by the same rules.

Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net

Yeah, I know it’s a primary election held at a weird time of year, but c’mon, people. If you’re reading this and you didn’t vote, I am officially revoking your right to crab about anything the eventual winner of the election does once he or she gets to the US Senate.

And that’s the new question: who will voters send to the Senate next month? Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley or State Senator Scott Brown (R – Wrentham)?

Before I weigh in on that, let’s look at the primary race and how Coakley and Brown got their wins.

Well, with Brown it’s an easy answer: Jack E. Robinson sucks as a candidate. Sorry, Jack E., but it’s true; you popped up about a month before the election, then didn’t do a whole heck of a lot to promote yourself. You waste space on the ballot every time you half-heartedly run for something. Next time, get serious or get out of the way.

Coakley benefited from several factors, only some of which were within her control. Frankly, her ideas didn’t stand out in any huge way from Congressman Mike Capuano’s, Alan Khazei’s, or Steve Pagliuca’s, so I think it’s not unfair to say that she got by on superior name recognition born of a strong grass roots campaign, her mostly positive track record as AG, the fact that she wasn’t part of a federal government structure that has spent much of the year spinning its wheels and getting bogged down in pointless in-fighting (especially among the Dems), and her very disciplined presentation.

(That latter point, which was a plus in the primaries, may be a drawback from here on out, but I’ll get to that in a bit.)

That she was the sole female in the race? I think that heightened her visibility, but it’s tough to say whether it crossed the fine line into swaying voters…let’s just say it didn’t hurt her.

Capuano sank himself by playing the Ted Kennedy card as hard as he did. Perhaps he was trying to appeal to voters who liked Kennedy — and they are many — but instead he came across as a wannabe Kennedy carbon copy at a time when people are kind of tired of the same-old same-old.

Khazei’s story is lamentable. Of the four Dems I believe his desire to serve the public was the most sincere and selfless, but he showed his political inexperience by failing to get his message out early and often. He made a decent showing in the final weeks of the campaign — enough to barely surpass at the polls Steve Pagliuca, who came out of the gate at a respectable gallop — but it was too little too late. I for one would like to see Khazei regroup and take another shot, if not for this office in 2012 then for another major elected office.

Pagliuca, as mentioned above, started strong but couldn’t keep the momentum up, and time eventually proved his enemy. The more people got to know him, the more he came across as a businessman dabbling in politics rather than a serious candidate. And really, wheeling out a Celtics championship trophy during your later campaign stops just smacks of desperation.

So, now we come to January’s Big Game, and I think most would agree that Coakley has the edge in a state that, despite the fact more than half of its voters are unenrolled, is still very blue. She also has the advantage of greater exposure; Brown has been pounding the pavement a lot, but the limp GOP primary did him no favors as the Boston media’s spotlight has been solidly on the Democrats — therefore on Coakley — for months.

Brown is doing himself a disservice with some of the stuff he’s tossed out in his opening salvos against Coakley. On Monday he threw down what has become a standard gauntlet for whoever has less money to blow on a campaign: the challenge to refrain from accepting special interest money. Yeah, that old chestnut.

The Brown campaign issued the challenge earlier this week in response to an SEIU-sponsored radio ad series supporting Coakley.  It read, it part:

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YOU! You’re the campaign consultant!

Or, you can be – kinda-sorta – by going to the official website for US Senate candidate Alan A. Khazei and checking out three campaign videos and voting on which one gets pasted all over the Internet.

One is a straightforward (read: dull) endorsement by Max Kennedy, son of the late Robert F. Kennedy; the second attempts a kind of mild whimsy (and comes off as kind of dopey); and the third…oh, lordy, the third one just sucker-punched my brain. It knocks off the theme to “Cheers,” badly, and includes the lethal line, “But nobody knows his name.”

That’s really not the kind of thing you want to admit, dude.

I dare say whoever participates in this exercise might make a better campaign consultant than whoever came up with these videos.

***

State Representative Matthew C. Patrick (D – Falmouth) has released a letter of endorsement for his choice in the US Senate race, Congressman Michael E. Capuano (not Martha Coakley, as previously and erroneously reported).

“Mike is a real down to earth guy who is not too important to discuss issues with the average person,” Mr. Patrick wrote. He extolled Rep. Capuano’s work in promoting “progressive values” in Congress over the past decade, and urged voters to support him in the upcoming primary (December 8, by the way).

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Our last US Senate race-related note of the week: Martha Coakley’s supporters are holding visibilities (a fancy name for “standing in the freezing cold to wave at cars”) in Bourne and Falmouth tomorrow. The Bourne visibility runs from 1 to 3 PM, the Falmouth visibility from 9:30 to 11:30 AM.

For more info on these or other campaign events, contact Mike Falcone at mfalcone@marthacoakley.com or 617-241-0200.

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Republican Mary Z. Connaughton of Framingham is joining the growing field of candidates for – get this – state auditor. Who’d’ve thunk that this would be one of the races to draw early attention?

Ms. Connaughton ended last month her tenure on the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority’s board of directors, which she was appointed to in 2005. She previously ran, unsuccessfully, for state representative of the seventh Middlesex district.

In addition to Ms. Connaughton, the brewing race includes fellow Republican Earle Stroll and Democratic incumbent A. Joseph Denucci, who has served six terms in that seat.

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Charles D. Baker Jr., Republican candidate for governor, has launched a revamped website with a new look and, at last, some decent content. Go scope it out.

Among the new bells and whistles: “Conversations With Charlie,” a feature that allows visitors to submit video or e-mail questions, to which Mr. Baker will respond via the magic of Internet streaming video.

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Mr. Baker’s sole rival in the primaries (so far), Christy P. Mihos, seems to be having some campaign difficulties. The Boston Globe reported this week that his fundraising has been floundering, and was thus unable to launch his planned TV ad campaign in October.

The more disconcerting news to me was how his director of communications, Kevin Sowyrda, was fired: he learned he’d been terminated not from Mr. Mihos himself, but from someone else within the campaign. Mr. Sowydra was quoted as saying, “Apparently, [Mihos] has told people on the campaign that I resigned a month ago and have been working pro bono since then, which of course was news to me. However, we all love Christy dearly for this type of eccentricity, because that’s what makes him the very special person that he is.”

WHAAAAAAAAAAT?! You get canned indirectly, the man who should have done the dirty deed himself lied about it, then divested himself of all responsibility, and your attitude is, “Oh, that rascal!” ?

Is this really the sort of behavior we want in our Corner Office guy? I personally am not crazy about the idea of a “very special eccentric” running the state…

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A reminder: Ray Kasperowicz, Republican candidate for the US House of Representatives – 10th Congressional District, will meet with the Sandwich Republican Town Committee on Tuesday, November 10. The meeting will begin at 7 PM and will be held at the Riverview School on Route 6A in East Sandwich.

The press release I received added that one attendee will receive a door prize. My bet is it will be a stuffed toy Honky the Republican Elephant, official mascot of the GOP.

Hey, it’s better than the Tickle Me Rush Limbaughs they were giving out during the last election…

Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net

Oh, Bob, we hardly knew ye, and I suspect that’s because you never really did anything with your campaign once you entered the race. I infer that by your inability to collect 10,000 signatures on your nomination papers by last Tuesday’s deadline.

So that brings our official field of candidates for the late Edward M. Kennedy’s US Senate seat down to one Republican – State Senator Scott P. Brown (R – Wrentham), who Mr. Burr is now supporting – and four Democrats: Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, Congressman Michael E. Capuano (D), Alan A. Khazei, and Steve Pagliuca.

The Fab Four engaged in a rather tepid debate Monday night, and you can read my analysis below.

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AG Coakley, by the way, is under no small amount of scrutiny thanks to the Massachusetts Republican Party. The Mass. GOP recently filed a complaint against AG Coakley, claiming she was running a “shadow campaign” (insert dramatic musical sting here) for US Senate using money from her AG campaign coffers, which is a no-no.

The GOP specifically charges that AG Coakley spent about $31,000 from her state campaign fund on consultants in preparation for her Senate bid. Notably, she has reimbursed her state fund for $35,000 in expenses out of her federal campaign fund. File that under Things That Make You Go Hmmmm…

The Federal Election Commission is reviewing the matter but, as of this writing, has yet to announce whether it will launch an official investigation into AG Coakley’s campaign finances — so it will be a while before we learn whether this is a case of eagle-eyed diligence on the GOP’s part or they’re just out to get her.

One might suspect the latter in light of the new GOP-sponsored “Where Was Martha?” website, which focuses on the AG’s failure (real or imagined, you be the judge) to go after disgraced fellow Democrats – namely former House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, former State Senator Dianne Wilkerson, and Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner.

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For those who care about such things, State Senator Robert A. O’Leary (D – Barnstable) and State Representative Timothy R. Madden (D – Nantucket) have officially endorsed AG Coakley’s candidacy. The only Cape Dem who’s not on the Coakley bandwagon: State Representative Cleon H. Turner (D – Dennis), who has yet to pick a favorite.

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A final note on the Fab Four: a new Western New England College survey has AG Coakley as the person to beat: 37 percent of the people surveyed chose her as the favorite, followed by Mr. Pagliuca and Rep. Capuano running in a near dead-heat with 14 percent and 13 percent support respectively, and Mr. Khazei bringing up the read at a distant four percent.

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A reminder: Sen. Brown will be on the Cape next month, specifically at the Hyannis Golf Course on Route 132 on Sunday, November 15 from 3 to 5 PM.

Shoot State Representative Jeffrey D. Perry (R – Sandwich) an e-mail at ElectJeffPerry@aol.com if you’re interested in serving on the host committee for this campaign fundraiser.

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Want to talk directly to Christy P. Mihos, Republican candidate for governor? You’ll get several chances during the campaign, thanks to his new series of live webcasts.

Go to Mr. Mihos’s official campaign website to check for the next scheduled webcast, which will allow viewers to call into his Hyannis campaign office and chat directly with the candidate. The shows will be, as the name suggests, broadcast live over his site. He hopes to hold the webcasts up to three times a week.

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On the topic of the gubernatorial race, I can’t help but take this as a bad sign – whether of the economy or Deval L. Patrick’s re-election campaign, I’m not sure, but when President Barack H. Obama rolls into Boston for a fundraiser and the place is not standing room only, something is amiss.

According to several media accounts of last Friday’s fundraiser for Gov. Patrick, a high-priced private reception with the President was about half-full, and a subsequent $500-a-head fundraiser for those without such deep pockets was two-thirds full.

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Ray Kasperowicz, Republican candidate for the US House of Representatives – 10^th Congressional District, will be on the Cape next month – November 10, to be precise, when he meets with the Sandwich Republican Town Committee. Keep your eye on his website and www.sandwichrepublicans.org for details as they’re announced.

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Republican Earle Stroll of Bolton has filed his paperwork with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance in preparation for his planned run for Massachusetts State Auditor.

If Mr. Stroll’s name sounds oh-so-vaguely familiar, it’s because he almost ran for the post in 2006. I say “almost” because he failed to get enough signatures on his nomination papers. Better luck this time around, dude.

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State Representative Susan D. Williams Gifford (R – Wareham) has resurrected her dead website. Go there to see what’s new, and let’s hope she takes better care of it this time around.

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Here’s a handy website promoting one of the possible ballot questions for 2010, which seeks to establish instant runoff voting in Massachusetts: http://voterchoicema.org, the official site for Voter Choice Massachusetts.

Under instant runoff voting, voters basically rank the candidates for a given race. During the tally the candidate who receives the least support (that is, the one who is the top pick among the fewest voters) is bumped out, elimination-style, and that vote is then automatically reassigned to the voter’s number two pick. This goes on until a winner emerges from the flaming heap of defeated also-rans like the lone NASCAR driver from a 30-car pile-up on a hairpin turn.

It sounds, and kind of is, complicated, but proponents claim that instant runoff voting avoids the “spoiler effect,” that voting phenomenon in which two similar candidates split the electorate, allowing a possibly weaker third candidate to sneak through with a win.

I don’t have another car racing metaphor for that one. Sorry.

Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net