Massachusetts Senate Primary-- One Week From Today

The special election to fill the Massachusetts Senate seat that was given up on February 1 by John Kerry is June 25th. However, in a state where former governor Mitt Romney only received 37% of the vote last November-- and where every vaguely plausible Republican demurred-- the Democratic primary a week from today (April 30) is probably the place where the race will be won or lost. Blue America has endorsed Ed Markey-- and if you'd like you can contribute directly to his campaign here. So far Markey has raised $4.7 million to his primary opponent, ConservaDem Stephen Lynch's $1.5 million and Republican front-runners Michael Sullivan's $174,000 and Daniel Winslow's $395,000.

Yesterday the state's biggest and most respected newspaper, the Boston Globe endorsed Markey against Lynch. Markey is leading by 10 points in the most recent polling. (The same poll shows Republican Gabriel Gomez, who was endorsed by ex-Gov. William Weld today, leading Michael Sullivan, 33 to 27%, while state Rep. Dan Winslow has 9%.)

[A]fter 37 years of legislative action-- sometimes fruitful, sometimes fruitless, always engaged-- Markey is seeking to move to the Senate. His primary-election rival, fellow US Representative Stephen Lynch, casts Markey as a creature of Washington, beholden to its ways. It’s an understandable argument for Lynch, since many voters are frustrated with the paralysis in the capital, and looking for ways to register their disapproval.

But it’s hard to see what Ed Markey has to do with the partisanship and discord that have turned people against Congress. He’s a happy warrior, eager to join with Republicans on matters of national importance. To reject Markey simply because he knows how to get things done wouldn’t be a blow against congressional dysfunction; it would further it.

Like Markey, Lynch is also a long-serving congressman, albeit for 12 years. But he is, for better or worse, an antiestablishment figure. He doesn’t seek to be part of the congressional leadership, and tends to go his own way on major votes. Like former Senator Scott Brown, Lynch sometimes seems to believe the job of legislator is to wait until others have shown their cards-- until all the hard work of drafting bills is done-- and then vote thumbs up or thumbs down. He famously turned thumbs down on Obamacare, despite passionate entreaties from most of his colleagues in the Massachusetts delegation, President Obama, and Vicki Kennedy.

Lynch’s complaints about some of the details of the act were reasonable, but his decision to oppose it wasn’t; opportunities to reform health care come along every two decades or so, and passing one up would have been disastrous. Of course, Lynch’s career shouldn’t be judged solely by the times he’s bucked the system: In some areas, such as providing congressional oversight of the Afghan war and reforming the postal service, Lynch has been a diligent House member. But he’s chosen, in this campaign, to present himself as a principled outsider taking on the ultimate company man. The alleged company man, however, has delivered more for the people of Massachusetts; the achievement gap between Markey and Lynch is vast.

Markey has been the House’s main architect of federal telecommunications policy, guiding the creation of millions of jobs-- including many in Massachusetts. He’s also a leader in energy policy, and the prime mover of the far-reaching bill to address climate change that passed the House in 2009 but got bottled up in the Senate. He helped create the legislation that enabled President Obama to negotiate a 54.5 mpg fuel-economy standard for the 2025 model year-- one of the greatest accomplishments of Obama’s first term. The list goes on and on.

Of course, some Lynch supporters hope that voters’ eyes will glaze over, and that Markey’s work will morph into images of tedious congressional hearings and floor fights. There have been plenty of those, but Markey hasn’t lost his connection to the values of Massachusetts Democrats. On some values issues, such as abortion rights and gun control, he’s been a more forceful advocate than his rival.

Still, Lynch deserves credit for making the race. He’s brought needed competition to the short special-election campaign. He’s forced Markey to be a better candidate. Most Democratic strategists and power brokers preferred to clear the field for Markey. Lynch stepped forward anyway-- and rightly so. But Markey didn’t get where he’s gotten because of strategists and power brokers. It took hard work, through years of laying groundwork for measures that improved people’s lives... He is the best choice for Bay State Democrats.

Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey will make one of the most effective, motivated and powerful teams any state has in the U.S. Senate, something like the polar opposite of Cornyn and Cruz in Texas.