Early and Numerous Setbacks

or, Why this state does not have a two-party system

• Phil was not included on the Congressional candidates list that went up on the Massachusetts Republican website in mid February, despite having stood for the seat at a state Republican candidates-search meeting in Framingham in late Nov/97. Consequently he was not listed when Joe Kennedy announced his retirement on Friday, March 13. Consequently Phil was not mentioned in the media fllurry over the entire weekend of Kennedy's announcement, despite Phil's already having 70% of his signatures and issuing press releases. Phil was clearly listed in the signout book at the Secretary of State's office on Feb. 7 soon after the Kennedy campaign itself, but neither of Boston's major "newspapers" sent a reporter there to look in the book. Instead, the reporters phoned the Secretary's office and the officials there, against policy, agreed to give the reporters information over the phone. Each official found one of the two Republicans who had just jumped into the race after Kennedy jumped out but neither turned back to the page where Phil's signature lay. Incredibly, Phil was not mentioned once by either of the major Boston dailies until late May, although eventually three other Republicans and one Democrat who signed out papers after Kennedy's resignation received mentions (all dropped out before Phil received a first mention). Notice that the Globe has an editorial at least once a year bemoaning the lack of a two-party system in this state (latest croc tears in "No Contest," 8/5/98, p.A22), and the Herald used to be the Bay State's Republican newspaper. "Put your reporters where your rhetoric is!"

  At this point, Phil began to realize that it was not going to be easy to take advantage of the incredible opportunity presented by Joe Kennedy's resignation. Especially when Republican insiders in Medford, accusing Phil of not being a team player(!), decided to put up their own wealthy candidate, Ron Vining, who would move into the 8th District for the race. However, they planned to get most of his signatures at the State Convention and when this proved unrealistic, their candidate withdrew. But meanwhile, Ron received mentions in the Globe and the Herald and Phil didn't.

• But how could Phil blame the media for ignoring his candidacy when the Republican State Committee did too - and indeed ignored all Republican campaigns except those of three or four statewide candidates? For example, there was no provision during the Republican State Convention in Worcester on April 18 for even announcing any of the Massachusetts Republican candidates for U.S. Congress. Republicans from other states hear about this and practically choke with disbelief. Right before the November election, Phil was still hearing from Republicans in his district who had attended the state Republican convention in April and who still did not know he was running. The two darlings of the State Committee, Torkildsen (6th CD) and Amorello (3rd CD), managed to wangle a few words at the Convention but the other five congressional candidates may as well not have existed. And if present trends continue, fewer of them will exist in two years' time.
  This year, three of the races were not contested and it's easy to explain why. It's as if Republican candidate newcomers who are neither rich nor famous are an embarrassment to the State Committee. If so, Phil and many of his fellow campaigners (Pat Long, Eric Bleicken,... and state-legislature candidates Vince Dixon, Rose Brayboy, Richard Freedman...) apologize to the State Committee for embarrassing them and ask the State Committee to be more open about the wealth and fame requirements in their candidate searches.
  The Republican State Committee evidently supports actively only their top 3 or 4 candidates, ignoring the increasing marginal efficiency of diversified investment (e.g., in a variety of candidates) and the diminishing marginal efficiency of concentrated investment (e.g., in only 3-4 wealthy candidates). Several of the congressional candidates outside the third and sixth districts accidentally got fundraising calls or letters in support of the third and sixth district candidates, so we know the State Committee had volunteers doing this work and we know that it was being done in our districts but not on our behalf. (All seven of the Republican congressional candidates lost, even the two supported by the State Committee, and state-legislature candidate Richard Freedman has reregistered as a Libertarian.)
  One old soldier at the Chelsea Home said he had sent the State Committee a $25 check earmarked for his 8th District congressional candidate. Phil never saw that money.

  However, Phil thanks the State Committee for listing him on their website in late March and allowing him free use of their xerox machine for several hours apiece on two Saturdays before the general election.

• Phil started with his wife Kate as campaign manager and a friend as treasurer, but the friend backed out, so Phil's wife switched to treasurer.

• Phil repeatedly phoned the GOP State Committee to see about campaign school (as evidently many candidates were doing) but they only had one campaign school teacher and, for months, they could not locate him (until late summer/early fall? when it was too late).

• In May, Phil found out about a moderate Republican elder who might be helpful from a Democratic acquaintance in Belmont who had read about him in Commonwealth Magazine. The library did not have that issue yet. When it came in the mail to Phil two weeks later and Phil read it and phoned the gentleman, the latter was astonished to hear there was a Republican in the race and had already committed himself to a conservative Democrat, only to be freed when the Dem lost in the Primary. No early volunteer campaign manager there! - and Phil did not yet have the money for a paid professional, although one or two were available.

• Advised by Peter Torkildsen, Phil wrote letters in June to the three Republican campaign funds - State Committee (SC), National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and National Republican Committee (NRC) overall. He also requested the national swat team of the "killer" fundraiser and media person who could come in and help when incredible opportunities came up. Phil received no reply from either the SC or NRC. From the NRCC, he received a phonecall in July from their New England field rep. After informing Phil that the NRCC had no national "swat team," this hombre had three things to say - 1/ we don't do seed money, 2/ we only give to campaigns that don't need it, and 3/ you're wasting your time going forums, debates or street fairs or doing handshaking, doorknocking or anything but getting on the phone 6-8 hours a day and asking for money. Phil slowly drew the receiver away from his ear and looked at it like it was slime mold. Now he understood why we were at record apathy levels in voter turnout and how the Grand Old Party had filled up with braindead fundraisers and no longer had two positive ideas to rub together. Just dismantle government and impeach the President. Well, as one politico said, you can't fight something with nothing - even that something is 65 years out of date and never worked anyway - apart from war.

• Phil was open this year to accepting campaign contributions but unwilling to ignore the dozens of opportunities to debate in order to exclusively do the 6-8 hours a day of fundraising enjoined on him by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) New England field rep in July. In June and July, Phil sought a volunteer amateur fundraiser or a professional fund raiser who would realize the potential of this race and be willing to self-finance from it. Numerous leads yielded nothing. A neighboring town chairman sounded willing but after several weeks this lead did not materialize.

  At this point, Phil realized that it would take major MAJOR serendipity to take advantage of the incredible opportuni ty presented by Joe Kennedy's resignation, such as an anti-choice Flynn win in the Democratic Primary and major support from pro-choice and women's groups after the Primary.

• Four out of five volunteers who contacted Phil vanished when they heard Phil was pro-choice. One young volunteer who helped a lot before the Primary went back to school and got loaded with homework.

• Flynn did not win the Democratic Primary as expected and Capuano did. This meant there was no chance unless the media got into a feeding frenzy on the Somerville machine behind Capuano. Four potential starts were published - the Herald came up with two ("mobster's land deal" and "Capuano can't have two jobs") and the Bay State Banner with two (Capuano "doling out perks to friends and supporters, to the exclusion of those 'who had never carried a sign for me'" and the closing of his Roxbury office). None of these "caught" and the rich vein of material on voter and ballot irregularities never even got mentioned. Liberals tended to despair right after the Primary and the costly boring on&ongoingPresidential privacy invasion of the national Republicans guaranteed that plenty of people were willing to overlook local shenanigans to send a message to Newt.