Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Healey's biggest mistake?

[by David S. Bernstein]

I have one question to add to the discussion of why Healey lost:

Why didn't her people make sure -- way before the primary -- that there was an independent group ready to run attack ads against her opponent?

It should have been obvious that a candidate with her high unfavorables would have problems running attacks herself. A well-funded independent group could have blasted away at Songer and LaGuer (and Gabrieli in the primary), plus go after Patrick on affirmative action, illegal immigrants, taxes, AmeriQuest, and more that she couldn't dare to do as her negatives climbed.

11/8/2006 2:42:58 PM by Adam Reilly | Comments [2] |

Thursday, November 09, 2006 10:31:12 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

The answer to the LaGuer piece of your question is, from my perspective, that this issue took Healey by surprise as much as it did Patrick. In a piece I published in the Valley Advocate and posted to Blue Mass Group last night, I follow a sequence of events that started the day after the primary when the lawyer who prosecuted LaGuer, James Lemire, was nominated for a Superior Court judgeship. If you have been following the LaGuer case you know it is headed for oral arguments in the SJC based on the fact that a potentially exculpatory fingerprint report was never shared with the defense at that trial. When Lemire ran into questions about his involvement in the LaGuer case, and the missing fingerprint report, at the Governor's Council hearing the next week the Mayor of Leominster, Dean Mazzarella, within hours, embarked on a talk radio campaign to extract a statement from Patrick that, quote, "justice has been served", in the case, thereby effectively insulating Lemire from criticism that could derail his confirmation. Once Mazzarella's incessant recitation of gruesome details surrounding the crime caught fire on talk radio, the Patrick connection became irresistible fodder for Howie Carr and his ilk. Healey saw an opportunity that happened to coincide with her Songer ad and she bit. In the end it blew up in her face. So the answer to your question is that there was very little planning on Healey's part about how to deploy the LaGuer issue.

Largely missing from the discussion was the fact that the LaGuer case is currently in the SJC, there are serious doubts about his actual guilt, and four reputable DNA experts have questioned the validity of the DNA test in this case. Please go to the links below to read my article in full.

Advocate Link:
http://www.ctnow.com/custom/nmm/valleyadvocate/hce-vla-1109-va46news-laguer46.artnov09,0,4616282.story?coll=hce-headlines-va-advocate

Blue Mass Group Link:
http://www.bluemassgroup.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=5170

Speaking Out

Sunday, November 12, 2006 9:46:09 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Kerry Healey's biggest mistake was her arrogance. She did not bother to try to make a connection with the people of Massachusetts, and that's why she lost even in her own home town of Beverly. The people didn't believe in her, and why would they? When she was asked to defend us from Mitt Romney's wise cracks he made while abroad, she would not answer. This alone is damning, but anyone that actually knew her said she is very difficult.

John Hosty

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