"But this is Massachusetts!"

[DFW]

So of COURSE the Democrat won.

Right?

Well, Markey's margin of victory was far below what it should have been. Gomez was a dork. So why was it as close as it was?

I'll tell you why.

Yes, it was Massachusetts. But if only Republicans show up at the voting booth, then it might as well be Mississippi.

THAT'S why.

[Pab Sungenis]

1. Rule #1 of elections:

A 1-vote victory counts just as much as a 10,000,000 vote victory.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

2. The counting has not yet finished. The spread is 10% thus far. I don't think that's close.

Some of the larger counties will be counting for a few more hours.

[karynnj]

3. Close??? It was 10 POINTS

That is a landslide.

It is true that Kennedy and Kerry in later years had bigger margins, but that was because they were incumbents that no one thought they could beat.

[BlueDemKev]

4. It still seems strange not seeing "Kennedy/Kerry"...

...next to Massachusetts when looking at a list of U.S. Senators. But with Warren/Markey, at least we know those two seats are in good hands.

[DFW]

5. In Massachusetts, that's closer than it should have been

A sensible Democrat against a clownish Republican--in MA?? Should have been 20% or more.

I realize that 1% still wins, but that's something we say when we win Senate seats in North Dakota.

Massachusetts should be as much a given for us as Oklahoma should be for them. Scott Brown proved it's not.

[CTyankee]

6. When I get the chance, I am going to talk to my son in law about this. He was a political

consultant for Markey on this campaign (his specialty is focus groups). I'd be interested in hearing what he was hearing from those groups...

[DFW]

7. I'm floored by the reported low turnout

Anyone who remembers the name "Scott Brown" knows the danger of a low turnout. The fact that Gomez got over 40% in a state like MA, I find appalling. What chance will the next challenger to a smarter dork than Gomez (like Cruz) have in Texas, which we are soooooo hoping to turn back blue in the next decade? The SC just basically approved voter suppression on a state to state basis, so we have no recourse in a lot of areas we had hopes for--except one: MASSIVE voter turnout.

Apathy at this point will do us about as much good as a stage 4 glioblastoma.

I will give whatever I can to the Dean brothers and DFA, because they are really and truly on the ground where it's needed. But all they can do is wake people up. They can't drag them out of bed.

[Arkana]

9. Gomez wasn't a clown--he was just completely unfit.

He had no idea how to run a campaign--the guy basically ran Martha Coakley's campaign if Martha Coakley were a Hispanic dude who was a Navy SEAL.

Ed Markey's a good man, but he was a middling candidate. He was helped by the fact that Gomez was a schlock and the fact that there was very little interest in the race, so no crazy-ass Koch Bros money poured into the state. Obamacare wasn't on the line, so the race really had no national significance because it wasn't going to change the makeup of the Senate.

A better candidate against Gomez in a Presidential or even midterm year would have gotten a 15-20 point victory.

[RBInMaine]

17. "Very little interest in the race" is the PROBLEM ! This apathy shit speaks so pathetically of

Americans. What a pile of pathetic shit, really. This is part of why Americans allow TeaScum to get into office and screw them over royally. This Massachusetts race was very important for the state and nation. We are always dealing with important issues. This was a seat for the US Senate, only one of 100 in the nation. So Markey wasn't a very "exciting" candidate. Is that what is necessary today? If there isn't some kind of "Mr. Excitement" feature in an election then the big issues that are important in EVERY election don't matter? So many Americans are so damn shallow, unengaged, and uninformed. Too many would rather watch "Survivor" or play some stupid video game or waste time facebooking for hours on end than do something important for their state and nation. Pretty sad.

[geek tragedy]

8. Bigger margin than Elizabeth Warren had.

Considering it wasn't a presidential election, good result.

[Arkana]

10. It wasn't even a midterm election.

Turnout being as low as it was didn't surprise me. Most news channels weren't even acknowledging there was an election.

[cgrissomb]

14. Elizabeth Warren wasn't a 37 year veteran of Congress, and Scott Brown is more popular than Gomez

Just sayin'

[cgrissomb]

11. I thought the same thing - Markey should have won by 15-20 points, pretty sure I know why he did not

I voted absentee because I am away this summer. Worked on campaign early on, walked away in disgust, not at Markey, but at the field staff.

I've worked in Massachusetts politics for over 20 years, both as a volunteer and as a paid field worker. Always in top-tier campaigns.
Started a business about 4 years ago, so I've had to step back and just work as a volunteer.

What I have observed is an almost deliberate mistreatment of volunteers, to the point where people just leave. I can't tell you how ironic this is, given that Kate Donahue gives her time freely, making the rounds to train field workers how to treat people who give their time on campaigns. Reference her Five Guidelines for how to treat volunteers, and others in general:

http://myvoices.blogs.com/blog/2004/06/the_volunteers_.html

In short:

"1) Welcome us.
2) Give us meaningful and achievable tasks - don't waste our time.
3) Treat us with respect.
4) Feed us.
5) Thank us."

Carl N, the field organizer and his cronies should learn how to treat others. I cannot tell you how many people this group has driven away with their horrible behavior.

Arrogant, disrespectful, competitive to the point of alienating those who aren't in their selective little clique, need I go on?

I can give you many many many examples, but most of it would go over their heads. I can't wait to hear how some of these greedy little Snowflakes will start feeding on each other.

[CTyankee]

12. Wow, tell us how you REALLY feel?

Um, it sounds like you had a bad volunteer experience and that is unfortunate.

I'm glad Markey won. I like him. If it happens that he does stuff I don't like, then I won't like him any more. But since I am in CT it doesn't matter at that point.

[cgrissomb]

13. Um, no. It was not an isolated experience with this campaign.

Quite frankly I like Ed Markey. I used to live in his district, have talked to him many times, and of course voted for him.

When I began working with the campaign, I was told that Rocco D. and some of his office staff were running it, so I was really happy about that. They hired a great manager-she was fantastic. Most of the other staff was pretty professional and extremely capable.

The field people were part of a small group that ran much of Obama's Massachusetts operation. Most of them were white, upper class and upper middle class, advantaged. At a volunteer pow-wow the field chief got up and gave a speech crowing about how out of 35 paid field people, 4 of them were black, a couple were Hispanic, etc etc. Not a particularly diverse group when you think about it.

A few minutes later, during another speech, another staffer began crowing about how Markey "stood by our Israeli friends". A voice from the back of the room yelled out "what about the Palestinians"? The woman giving the speech nervously stammered that anyone who wanted to discuss the Palestinian "problem" (using that word, I kid you not) could discuss it with her during a break.

And this was a progressive candidate.

I know a number of people who were pissed off about things like this. Phone calls not being returned, people sitting around Tweeting, posting on social media, posting pictures of themselves at bars at lunchtime, or attention-whoring. Got the time to post pics on Facebook and Twit-pic? You've got time to return phone calls.

A lot of this is bush-league shit that belongs in high school cheerleading groups, or prep-school circle jerks.

A lot of people, and I do mean a LOT of people, were not inspired to turn out to help out on this campaign. There are a lot of reasons for this, but this didn't reflect well on the field operation.

[RBInMaine]

18. The problem SOMETIMES is you get what I call "Cool Kids Clubs" working on campaigns, and they don't

don't know jack shit about how to work with the locals at the grassroots. They're working on college or grad school internships, or have just come out of college or grad school with a bunch of MBA/Charts-And-Graphs thinking and think they know it all, and they don't know shit. And when that happens, one has got to contact the campaign manager and/or the candidate directly and let them know that there some "Cool Kids Club" field operation somewhere pissing off the local volunteers and get it cleaned up. Some of these kids are energetic and good and trying hard and willing to learn. But some are arrogant "Cool Kids Clubbers" who need to be straightened out with a good hard dose of reality. I sat in a meeting once when an old timer former state rep dressed down a "Cool Kids Clubber" right in his face saying, "Sonny, I've held office and run 12 campaigns. Listen to experience for Christ sake !"

In 08 people were pissed about not getting lawn signs. The Obama campaign "Cool Kids Clubber" I spoke to about it was some girl who tried giving me a lecture about how "people vote, not lawn signs". I said, "Young lady, PEOPLE WANT LAWN SIGNS. That is what they WANT. Give them to them. It matters to THEM. They want to feel involved. They want to feel like they are doing something. They are excited. GIVE THEM LAWN SIGNS." I think she got the hint.

Never, ever, ever, as a volunteer, hesitate to dress down some "Cool Kids Clubber" who thinks he or she knows more than you do or is acting arrogant or, heaven forbid, rude.

The FIRST rule of an organization that needs volunteers is NEVER PISS OFF A VOLUNTEER. THEY CAN QUIT WITHOUT NOTICE AND DON'T NEED YOUR REFERENCE.

[Agschmid]

15. I think comparing it to a Kennedy/Kerry election is a

fasle equivalency. Those two names were ingrained on the Mass. establishment and controlled large majorities in most elections. Those times have passed so I feel that 10 pts. spread should be a more likely outcome?

[cali]

16. It wasn't even remotely close. It's ridiculous to call a 10

point margin of victory. Markey solidly beat Gomez. And nonsense to his victory being "far below what it should have been". Accoridng to who? Markey actually beat expectations based on pre-election polls.

So it wasn't a blowout. It was a very credible solid win.