Massachusetts Liberal

A mile wide and an inch deep

2009-11-22T09:13:00.003-05:00

Speaking of Globe headline writers, a 21 percent lead in the U.S. Senate primary -- with 50 percent uncertain and 24 percent only leaning in one direction doesn't strike me as a "strong" lead.

Unless your previous life was building houses in south Florida prior to Hurricane Andrew.

Today's Globe poll confirms the perception that the Democratic primary is there for Attorney General Martha Coakley to lose, reaffirming her cautious, no-waves, no-show tactics. It also makes clear that the buckets of dough Steve Pagliuca has dropped may not be paying off as well as his investment in the Celtics.

Coakley benefits from strong name recognition as the only candidate who has previously run statewide. Capuano probably benefits from polling that started a couple of days before his Globe profile.

But most striking is the amazing fluidity of the race two weeks out, with only 26 percent of those surveyed firmly committed to a candidate.

Not that I disagree with pollster Andrew Smith, who declared "things could change, but it would have to go really sour for her over the next few weeks."

Which is what I suspect Capuano and Pags have in store for her in the back-to-back debates after Thanksgiving.

Senate new math

2009-11-22T08:09:00.002-05:00

I know that math has changed a lot since I was in school, but can someone please explain to me how a Globe headline writer comes to the conclusion that a 21-vote victory margin is "shaky support."

There will be a lot more horse trading and promises made to senators looking to trade their votes (and when I went to school, wasn't that called extortion or bribery?)

Under the Senate's arcane, anti-democratic rules (note the small "d") a minority can hold up the will of the majority by bickering, dickering, bargaining or just plain old party line obstinacy. To put a value judgment on political horsetrading isn't good journalism.

And I won't even begin to get into judging what kind of way it is to run a government.

Coincidence? I think not.

2009-11-21T10:41:00.002-05:00

I'm reading Joanna Weiss' inaugural op-ed while Mrs. O.L. is reading about the season's hottest new toy.

What's that say about us -- never mind the American public?

Galooch's Law

2009-11-21T08:32:00.002-05:00

Massachusetts, like other states, has a tradition of naming laws after people who inspire their creation, particularly for causes such as abducted children or victims of drunken driving.

So it's in that tradition that I'm here to propose a new piece of legislation for Massachusetts -- Galooch's Law. The focus -- taking aim at people who enable drunken drivers through direct intervention or indirect indifference.

Cambridge Democratic Sen. Anthony Galluccio was somewhat subdued at his court appearance yesterday on charges he left the scene after rear-ending a mini-van. It wasn't his first brush with allegations of operating a motor vehicle when he should have more sense than to get behind the wheel.

“You know, the legislative session has concluded,’’ Galluccio said, speaking to a dozen reporters and photographers as he left Cambridge District Court after a brief hearing in his case. “It gives me an opportunity to focus on personal issues. I am committed to doing that.’’

It could be a trying time for Galluccio without his legislative protectors, although Senate President Therese Murray has supposedly (and finally) told him to get a driver.

But then again, maybe not. After all he still has the Cambridge Police to protect his backside. You know, that same department that busted a homeowner thought to be breaking into his own home.

Galooch's Law, which I suggest be co-sponsored by 199 other legislators, would prescribe sanctions on public agencies or officials who tolerate repeated socially irresponsible or illegal behavior by one of their colleagues.

Penalties would be civil -- repeated public disclosure of the hypocritical conduct.

Obviously we should all remember who was responsible for the crackdown -- Sen. Anthony D. Galluccio.

And isn't it time for someone -- friend, family or public agency -- to take away his keys? Before he kills someone.

Beacon Hill firefight

2009-11-20T05:08:00.002-05:00

Hey political junkie. Yeah you. Bored by the lack of real action in the Senate race? Well, I've got the cure for your blues.

That initial skirmish between Deval Patrick and House Speaker Robert DeLeo is starting to really percolate. And no, not over why lawmakers dawdled until the last few days of a do-nothing autumn to pass a charter school bill in only one branch.

Nope, this is over lawmakers heading out of town for the remainder of the calendar year leaving a lot of fiscal matters undone.

“It’s more than a little frustrating that they would leave for whatever it is, six or seven weeks, with so much of the Commonwealth’s vital business undone,’’ Patrick said during a rare, unscheduled visit to the State House press room.

“It’s my hope that the members will realize that their rules are of their own making, that they have it in their own power to work a couple of more days, or frankly, as long as it takes to get this work done.’’

Deval heads into the Statehouse press room? You know he's looking to raise the temperature by heading straight into the fire himself.

While DeLeo may or may not have ground to stand on in refusing to stick around to deal with the education bill, the excuses coming out of the Speaker's brain trust about the state of the state's finances are, um, laughable.

“We solved the budget gap last night,’’ [House Ways and Means Chairman Charles] Murphy said. “We gave him $484 million in cuts. What we have currently is a $190 million deficit. The $600 million was a simple projection we may or may not face down the road. We did what we needed to do. We didn’t agree with the governor in lockstep, but that doesn’t make it wrong or incomplete.’’

"We solved the budget gap"? Can't wait to see him eat those words. Maybe that's why DeLeo is reportedly not talking to anyone -- including the governor.

What we have here is an old-fashioned spitting contest between a Legislature that has as much contempt for a chief executive as I have seen in the time I have been watching Beacon Hill. That contempt is so deep that they chose not to give Patrick the tools to make the politically tough cuts in non-executive agencies, cuts he will be blamed for anyway.

But more amazingly, it has led them to defend the indefensible -- the Quinn bill and the continuation of Evacuation Day and Bunker Hill Day paid holidays. And all the while they have come up with no alternative of their own.

Nor do I find a lot of credence in Murphy's Senate counterpart, Steve Panagiotakis, saying they haven't had the time because Patrick only submitted his proposals on Oct. 31.

Mr. Chairman -- are you really a creature of the governor? You don't have your staff analyze trends during the Great Recession because you must wait for the executive branch's recommendations?

So while Martha, Mike and Pags offer sound bites on who's a better 60th vote on health care reform (assuming any of them will be seated when the final, unamendable bill comes to a vote in Washington), I'll focus on the smoldering embers of one doozy of a battle brewing on Beacon Hill.

Pols gone wild

2009-11-19T05:00:00.004-05:00

There wasn't some of the blatant stupidity that has marked some legislative sessions -- like the infamous 2000 House "Toga" party.

But the simmering animus between lawmakers and Gov. Deval Patrick boiled to the surface to close the first year of a two-year term that is likely to be the unpopular governor's one shot at political redemption.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo's angry rebuff of Patrick's call to tackle an education reform bill by staying in session a little longer stripped bare the personal hostility among Patrick, DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray.

“I thought it was fascinating that the governor, with the number of charter schools that are throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, that he happened to pick one that was about a half-mile from my community,’’ DeLeo told reporters.

Yep, it's all about you Mr. Speaker.

Let's review the year, which opened with former House Speaker Sal DiMasi engineering his re-election only to step down and eventually be indicted. By the time DeLeo moved up, several months were frittered away although lawmakers did, in the end, produce significant legislation reforming pensions, ethics and transportation under Patrick's prodding.

After returning from summer break, the House and Senate spun their wheels during the fall. Sure they passed about 60 laws and counting since Sept. 1, but they were the mostly of the sick leave bank, land-taking and bridge-naming variety.

And when it came to the crucial issues at hand -- a reeling economy -- the silence was deafening.

I take that back -- lawmakers have once again risen to the defense of the Quinn Bill and hack holidays as off limits in the budget-cutting process.

As for the one significant reform piece of legislation -- on that carries the potential of increased federal funding -- well, sorry Deval. The Senate was just too preoccupied to take it up until the last week of the session and the House didn't want to rush it through.

Besides, there's plenty of time in January before the federal funding deadline looms. And that way Patrick will have no choice but to swallow what lawmakers put before him or face the prospect of being blamed for the loss of federal dollars.

By many accounts, Patrick is a less than skilled executive, one who doesn't push hard for his objectives. It is his weakest selling point to an electorate looking for a leader next year and a theme that has been and will continually be hammered upon by his gubernatorial rivals.

But count me as one of those who think it is the performance of the Great and General Court that can and should be the focus of attention. The legislative foot dragging while the commonwealth is reeling from the recession is appalling.

Throw that into the context of DiMasi, former Sens. Dianne Wilkerson and James Marzilli and current poster child Anthony Galluccio and you have the image of an out-of-control band off politicians who equate taking away Evacuation Day with taking away Christmas.

Thousands are out of work and here's a chamber that works part-time, protects its perks (and its own) while everything around it crumbles.

Or that's how Patrick's campaign commercials will say it.

Sadly, there's no real solution in sight. The Republican Party's continued slide into irrelevancy makes it unlikely the local branch will be able to field a credible slate of candidates to challenge incumbents and change the nature of the branches. Maybe they are working hard behind the scenes, but I doubt it.

A new governor? If you really belief a new man or woman will change the dynamic that has existed on Beacon Hill for the last 20 years, you are eagerly awaiting the rival of the jolly fat man in the red suit next month.

There are myriad problems facing the Commonwealth and few solutions. The ones that exist are not easy. But in the face of this reality, members of the Great and General Court will no doubt be proudest of this headline as reflective of their "accomplishments" in 2009.

No interest

2009-11-18T05:18:00.002-05:00

"Dear Valued Customer -- we're jacking up your interest rates to pay for our taxpayer-financed bailout you're already paying for."

That's pretty much the gist behind the mail that has been trickling in over the last few weeks from Citibank, telling me my base credit card interest rate will now be almost double that of what I get charged on a non-Citi card.

And thanks to the federal dollars that have gone to lobbying and televisions commercials (not to mention stadium naming rights) Congress is going to let it happen without so much as a whimper.

Does something strike as just a tad wrong about this situation?

I guess I'll just keep paying my bills in full every month -- until they start to charge me for being a really good customer who, unlike them, spends wisely and actually meets his debt obligations.

Blocking schemes

2009-11-18T05:12:00.002-05:00

It's that time of campaign season, when sincere volunteers and robo candidates bombard your phone with with pleas for support. It's one of the reasons I'm happy to have caller ID.

Or not.

There was an interesting contrast to the two calls yesterday. One listed the number and only "Massachusetts" as the caller. Wow, a whole state calling me! The other listed the number and "Capuano for Senate."

I always understood the name of the caller needed to be displayed along with the number, although there certainly isn't a heck of a lot you can do about it, even though the attorney general's consumer protection office does take complaints -- if no action.

But what was interesting to me is the call from "Massachusetts" came from the campaign of Martha Coakley.

Would be nice if the candidate whose office is supposed to arbitrate the rules actually lived by them.

When Coram met Ampad

2009-11-17T05:28:00.003-05:00

Good thing that Senate Democratic candidate Steve Pagliuca hired Tad Devine to do his campaign commercials for him. That way he can't have Devine craft the kind of spot that did in Mitt Romney in his 1994 race against Ted Kennedy.

The Herald has a look at the role of Bain Capital in merger of Coram Healthcare of Denver, a financial transaction that resulted in a $254 million one quarter loss and the layoff of 365 people. Oh, and a $2 million paycheck for Pagliuca and Bain.

Sounds a lot like the saga of Indiana-based Ampad, a company that laid off 350 people after Mitt Romney and Bain came to town. Pagliuca recently said Romney got a raw deal in the ads Devine crafted for Kennedy.

Funny, but the saga sounds an awful lot different than Pagliuca's "Jobs=Dignity" ads that keep flooding TV, radio and the web.

The Herald story duly notes no liability was admitted -- as part of a $22.2 million settlement.

Senators (and police) behaving badly

2009-11-17T05:12:00.003-05:00

Not that I have any personal experience in the matter, but do cops normally drive you home if you are reported too drunk to do it on your own?

The special treatment afforded Sen. Anthony Galluccio by the Cambridge police also stands in rather sharp contrast to the "courtesies" extended Henry Louis Gates when police received a call that could have been considered an alert to a potential crime.

So we have the spectacle of yet another member of the Massachusetts Legislature behaving badly, compounded by special treatment. Galluccio has gotten a lot of free passes for his driving faults -- up until the time he decided to leave the scene of an accident.

No wonder lawmakers don't have time to tackle the state's problems. They are too busy dealing with their own.

Another media zoo?

2009-11-17T05:01:00.003-05:00

I couldn't help but notice the coincidence.

The Globe (properly) highlights the peril awaiting many poor families with children after yet another round of human service budget cutting that has -- to date -- been pretty hidden from public view.

Meanwhile, buried as a brief, we quietly learn of a deal with Zoo New England, contingent upon getting their fiscal affairs in order, to get a $5 million public appropriation.

“I’m hoping it’s the beginning of a new day,’’ zoo chief John Linehan said in a phone interview last night. “Certainly in many ways it’s long overdue.’’

That's a much more subdued response than last summer, when he hinted at euthanizing animals if the public spigot wasn't opened.

One contrived media flap later, Linehan did get public funds. Will the children of severely disabled parents get the same public reaction for a much more real scenario?

Two faces of Pags

2009-11-16T05:09:00.003-05:00

Mike Capuano has an anger management problem. Steve Pagliuca has a consistency problem. One can be fixed. The other? I'm not so sure.

“Steve appreciates the role lobbyists play in educating policy makers on the impact of legislation under consideration,’’ his press aide Will Keyser said. “At the same time, he believes it is wrong for lobbyists and special interest PACs to be a critical source of campaign funding for members of Congress.’’

I'm having a hard time seeing the same difference Money Pags sees between cash provided by lobbyist through election PACs to help a candidate and cash used to influence legislation. Both are stomach-churning examples of protected commercial speech -- and both have contributed mightily to the elimination of the buying of influence in America.

So tell me why it's OK for lobbyists to spend billions of dollars to get what they want in health care, climate change and financial regulation reform -- but it's wrong for them to contribute to candidates who can do their bidding in Congress and in legislatures?

Is it because Pags can purchase his own campaign exposure -- but the lobbyists who have worked for Bain Capital Partners have achieved the type of legislative gifts that has allowed Pagliuca to amass the private fortune he is spending on his campaign?

While Capuano needs to keep a tighter rein on his emotions (and stay away from baseball bats) he is consistent on the issues where Pagliuca is twisting himself into rhetorical knots.

Who's being more honest?

Feds to T: Step aside

2009-11-15T09:07:00.002-05:00

The Washington Post is reporting the Obama administration is looking at the idea of having the federal government take over safety regulation of the nation's subway and light-rail transit systems.

After two Green Line crashes in the last two years, it sounds like a marvelous idea.

Truly fruity, oh Rudy!

2009-11-15T09:02:00.002-05:00

Margery Eagan has a great column today that truly makes you hope the Mayan calendar might be right.

Welcome back Sarah

2009-11-15T08:56:00.004-05:00

I don't know about you, but I've been bereft without Sarah Schweitzer's ongoing saga of how old line and well-t0-do New Englanders have been dealing with the economic downturn.

So her dispatch from the Boston Athenaeum (usually pronounced Athen-EE-um, but sometimes as Athen-AY-um) was an unexpected gift.

There's not an app for that

2009-11-14T14:25:00.004-05:00

Excuse me, but why do I want to pay $3.99 to tell me the train or bus is delayed? I already know that.

And forgive me for being cynical about the ability to accurately predict when it will show up. And how, exactly, will it work in the subway without wireless access?

Until the T deals with buses and trolleys running in pairs, I'm not sure it can offer anything.

I may give the freebie a try though. And if they can develop an app that will actually make 'em run on time...

Predictable hypocrisy

2009-11-14T09:30:00.004-05:00

Leave it to the Republican Party to oppose the Constitution.

House Minority Leader John Boehner is in high dudgeon over the Obama administration's announcement that it will try Khalid Sheik Mohammed and other alleged 9-11 conspirators in a civilian courtroom in New York City. The decision places the defendants at the scene of the crimes the are accused of perpetrating.

"For over 200 years, our nation has relied on a faithful adherence to the rule of law to bring criminals to justice and provide accountability to victims," said Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. "Once again we will ask our legal system to rise to that challenge, and I am confident it will answer the call with fairness and justice."

That's how it should be under the Constitution -- and a system that worked well in dealing with the crimes of Oklahoma City bombers Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.

Yet Boehner blustered:

"The Obama Administration's irresponsible decision to prosecute the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks in New York City puts the interests of liberal special interest groups before the safety and security of the American people. The possibility that Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his co-conspirators could be found 'not guilty' due to some legal technicality just blocks from Ground Zero should give every American pause."

I see, upholding the Constitution is a "liberal special interest."

The only potential legal "technicalities" that pose a problem for the prosecution are the 183 instances of waterboarding, a form of torture recognized as such by all in the civilized world -- with the exception of the administration of George W. Bush.

I thought Boehner took an oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution"? It's an obligation that supersedes that of defending the crimes of his political soulmates.

I'm more confident in the actions of a jury in New York City than I am of the GOP "braintrust."

Circumstantial ugliness

2009-11-13T05:33:00.002-05:00

There's no way Deval Patrick wins this one.

I seriously doubt Robert and Myra Kraft through they were buying support for a federally financed footbridge over Route 1 when they donated $12,000 to Patrick and the state Democratic Party.

But it hardly matters what the Krafts or I think. The appearance raises a stench.

Give it back Deval. For your own good.

Oops, I did it again

2009-11-13T05:06:00.002-05:00

The Democratic US Senate candidates have offered a veritable feast in the last few days for political watchers who love to watch candidates screw up.

We'll skip right over Alan Khazei reaching for the endorsement of Mike Bloomberg -- and all that's represented by having a former Medford resident and Yankee fan sign on. Besides, the way Bloomberg spent a ton of his cash to barely squeak out a win you would think he'd be more sympatico with Steve Pagliuca.

And we can only scratch our head over Martha Coakley's failing to remember she and her husband have some modest savings -- and not the big zilch she reported on her ethics disclosure form. What about the state pension?

And of course the Coakley-Mike Capuano dust-up on abortion and support for the health care is almost old news these days.

Nope, the leader in the gaffe parade today is none other than Pags, who was for a military draft before he was against it -- in the space of a few hours. Nor did Money Pags really do himself a favor by criticizing earmarks when the seniority of the Massachusetts delegation helps bring home federal dollars to try to stem the net outflow of cash from Massachusetts.

Let's move back to the draft. The number of tweets cracking wise about Pagliuca really meant shows just how deep a hole he dug for himself.

Pagliuca's mistake mirrors the Coakley-Capuano gaffe-athon. The bottom line is a military draft is one of the strongest anti-war messages around. Iraq and Afghanistan have dragged on forever because the men and women making the sacrifices are volunteers.

The ultimate message learned from Vietnam by policymakers was the protests won't come if the folks doing the fighting are there by choice. Pagliuca acknowledged as much when he said he supported a draft from a sense of equality.

But principle gave way to politics when he issued a classic back-off:

“I incorrectly interpreted the question to be asking if I would support a mandatory draft in the event we needed additional troops, and my answer was yes,’’ he said in the statement. “I now realize that was not the question posed to me, and I want to be clear that I do not support reinstating the military draft at this time.’’

Nor did Pagliuca do himself a lot of favors trying to undo his "I agree with Mike" performance in the first televised debate when he jabbed at federal funding that has financed transportation infrastructure and established Massachusetts as a leader in medical research.

“Pork hardens your arteries. It doesn’t create long-term jobs.’’

Cute line, if only it held up to scrutiny.

The double-bonus debacle only heightens the impression that the visibility and name recognition Pagliuca has run up with his Bloombergian-spending on scripted commercials only masks a candidate who doesn't handle himself all that well in the trenches.

What if you had an election & nobody came?

2009-11-12T05:06:00.003-05:00

Here we are, less than a month from the Dec. 8 Senate primary election and apparently nine in 10 Massachusetts voters don't even know the date -- with 7 in 10 not even knowing the month.

Maybe the candidates ought to make some changes in their ubiquitous television and radio ads to highlight the date and not bicker over position.

The Suffolk University poll was conducted in the days prior to the eruption of the first significant media storm -- the duel between Martha Coakley and Mike Capuano over abortion restrictions in the House-passed health care bill.

That raises the hope that someone might actually show up on Election Day and keep all those poll workers company.

The survey also suggests that while money can't buy love, it can certainly buy name recognition. The non-stop effort by Steve Pagliuca to plaster his name over radio, TV and web banners has raised his visibiity beyond that of Bill Walker as the Celtics human victory cigar and vaulted him into second place behind Coakley in the Democratic primary.

But if Democratic awareness of the election would challenge those who think they are smarter than a fifth grader, Republican voter awareness is even less -- 98 percent of likely GOP voters didn't know the primary date.

The obvious factor now becomes field organization -- the person who gets their voters to the polls win. Coakley, having already run statewide, would seem to be in the best position. But Capuano has picked up some significant labor endorsements that could given him a boost in terms of boots on the ground.

Pagliuca has assembled a solid brain trust which has produced the ad blitz to raise his name recognition, but what about a field team? Alan Khazei, the forgotten man, reportedly has a good grassroots network but has become almost an afterthought in the race.

Look at the bright side -- turnout can't fall much farther. Unless there is a snowstorm.

First you say you will, then you won't...

2009-11-11T05:25:00.002-05:00

Who knew you would need Dramamine to keep up with the Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary?

But in an outstanding display of political dexterity, Rep. Mike Capuano has emulated the new senior senator by declaring he was for the bill before he will be against it. And in the process, proved once again why people curse politicians.

To a seasoned observer (translate that into any insult you wish), posturing is a legislative art form. You say or do something one day to build an alliance or further a goal, then reverse direction if you didn't succeed in nudging the project in the way you wanted it to go.

It's part of the reason why lawmaking is compared to sausage making.

Capuano, of course, blasted Attorney General Martha Coakley for saying she would have voted against the House-passed health care bill because of the abortion restrictions inserted to make it more palatable to some Democrats. Capuano said his goal was to move the legislation forward.

Now, in a dizzying turnaround, Capuano says he would not vote for the final bill to emerge from conference if the abortion restriction is still there.

“If the bill comes back the same way as it left the House, I would vote against it,’’ Capuano said in an interview. “I am a prochoice person, and I do believe this is [necessary] to provide health care for everyone.’’

That is not an unusual stance for a legislator, although as John Kerry learned it is really damaging to a politician. Whether it will be as tough on Capuano remains to be seen (and it will be seen, over and over, in Coakley commercials).

And while my comparisons may not be as classically rooted as those of Scot Lehigh, I do share his concern whether health care coverage is available for the orthopedic consult needed to get a foot out of a person's mouth.

Numbers please?

2009-11-11T05:14:00.002-05:00

We're from the government and we're here to help you -- count.

Excellent piece of reporting in today's Globe on how many jobs stimulus dollars are supposed to have have created -- and what the reality is.

While I'm sure critics of the Obama administration (and Deval Patrick too) will latch onto the exercise as proof positive of fraud and other nefarious things, I think the answer may be more simple.

It's a government form, ergo it's confusing as all hell.

At least that's the reason I come to after reading the accounts of organizations who submitted the documentation.

A quick scan of the list suggests worthwhile projects that seem to have good intentions like adding or retaining teachers and cops. At first blush, nothing seems an outrageous use of federal dollars.

But the need to document the work -- for good government and also for political safety -- seems to have resulted in confusion and exaggeration.

So, for now, the moral of the story is no crimes here. And a reminder that there isn't a document or reporting requirement that can't be made complicated beyond belief.

Calculatin' Cahill

2009-11-10T05:33:00.002-05:00

It looks as if Tim Cahill is planning for a gubernatorial campaign with more substance than his daughter inventing a catchy theme that won his the treasurer's job.

But his decision to hire a lawyer to do opposition research -- a move that could enable him to shield questions behind attorney-client privilege -- certainly raises questions about how transparent a Cahill administration would be.

And besides, all you need to do for oppo in this state is to read the Globe and Herald and the blogs. That should give you more than enough material.

I know there's certainly a Treasury trove of questions about Cahill.

The substance of campaign headaches

2009-11-10T05:27:00.003-05:00

Now I see why Steve Lynch opted not to join the race for the Democratic US Senate seat.

While Lynch told the Globe there was no favoritism in the earmarks for substance abuse grants to an organization to which his wife has ties, the reality has a certain unpleasant aroma that would not have played well in the race.

Be careful what you wish for

2009-11-10T05:05:00.002-05:00

So much for the play-it-safe front runner strategy. But I have to ask: what were you thinking Martha?

Attorney General and Democratic US Senate front-runner Martha Coakley certainly cast off the label of risk aversive yesterday by declaring she would have voted against the US House version of the health care bill because of its abortion funding language.

That stance flies in the face of the entire Massachusetts delegation, which held its nose and voted for the greater accomplishment over a political compromise that may or may not see the light at the end of the day.

Coakley appears to be arguing for the perfect over the good.

“I refuse to acknowledge that this is the best we can do.’’

Mike Capuano, who has been grasping the liberal mantle with all his might, wasted little time -- or words:

“I find it interesting and amazing, and she would have stood alone among all the pro-choice members of Congress, all the members of the Massachusetts delegation. She claims she wants to honor Ted Kennedy’s legacy on health care. It’s pretty clear that a major portion of this was his bill.’
“If she’s not going to vote for any bill that’s not perfect, she wouldn’t vote for any bill in history. She would have voted against Medicare, the Civil Rights bill. . . . Realism is something you have to deal with in Washington."

Coakley's words are the voice of someone who came up the ropes in government on the black-white, right-wrong side, a prosecutor for whom there is little wiggle room in the law.

That's starkly different from legislators or executives who are forced to negotiate and compromise to achieve an end product that hopefully will advance a cause even if there are a few roadblocks to work around. Kennedy was one of the finest negotiators in Senate history.

And, to the best of my understanding, the abortion restrictions contained in the House version are standard stuff that have been the law for years. Do I like them? No.

It was a safe vote to reject that amendment to make a stand. But to throw away literally decades of effort to begin and rein in the health care monster? Not even close.

More perplexing is the question of what support this gets her. Women? She's already pretty strong there? Pro-choice voters? Interesting question and I haven't seen poll numbers that break out choice voters as a subset of liberals supporting health care reform.

Is this a move to the center or right, preparation for the general election against a Republican? Hardly. Should she win, many Democrats would now hold their noses and vote for her -- and look for someone to take up the mantle when the seat is up again in 2012.

One thing's for sure. She did shake up a dull race by deciding not to sit on her lead. It will be fascinating to watch the fallout.