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Jens 'n' Frens
Idle thoughts of a relatively libertarian Republican in Cambridge, MA, and whomever he invites. Mostly political.
"A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures."
-- Daniel Webster
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Thursday, April 04, 2002 :::
Having written the bulk of this, I'd like to add a
preamble that I'm not usually quite this negative, but
I've put a fair amount of time and effort into the
Rappaport campaign over the last few months. Maybe
I'll be in a brighter mood after some time, some beer,
and possibly -- I haven't decided yet -- some
desecration of these Romney signature sheets I have.
---
Mitt Romney, who is doing quite well with the swing
voters, but of whom many conservatives are skeptical,
decided today to "diversify" his ticket by endorsing
an unknown fellow moderate for Leutenant Governor over
a moderate/conservative pro-gun, anti-tax candidate
who is known and (not universally, but generally)
liked and respected by the Republican grassroots.
I think I've got this figured out.
You know how most candidates try to solidify their
base at the beginning of the campaign, work on the
secondary voters toward the middle, and then pick up
the swing votes at the end? Romney's just taking the
opposite approach.
He started by getting some of the same people who
helped him lose in '94, plus a few of the usual
opportunist hacks. Now, having refused to sign the
anti-tax pledge, he's alienated the Republican
activists who have been helping Jim Rappaport -- the
only Republican candidate for Lt. Governor who has
been running since before Tuesday. His declaration
two weeks ago that he'd stay out of the race for Louie
Gov was made to emphasize today's high-class mooning.
Later on, he'll alienate the other Republicans, and
eventually the "Unenrolled" voters as well.
Given this goal, Kerry Murphy Guerriero -- or whatever
her name is -- would make a fine running mate. Her
experience as a two-time, two-to-one loser in one of
the most Republican legislative districts in the state
nicely complements his experience losing the Senate
race in '94.
My congratulations to Carla Howell. She won't derail
Governor-to-be O'Brien, but at least she'll put up a
fight.
Steven Jens
Republican delegate from Cambridge
::: posted by Steven at 1:50 PM
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