[ComCom] Fwd: MW Daily News: GRP as an emerging populist alternative to Republicrats

[Merelice]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jill Stein <jstein at massmed.org>
Date: Oct 27, 2006 9:28 AM
Subject: MW Daily News: GRP as an emerging populist alternative to Republicrats
To: jstein at massmed.org


 "The ballot presence of the Green-Rainbow Party this year could serve
to fill a niche in Massachusetts politics in coming years, not to
replace the more conservative Republicans, but to stand as an
alternative to the mainstream Democrats who hew more toward moderate
Republican interests than populist causes."



Lodge: Fringe party earns some respect
 By Richard K. Lodge/ News Editor
 Friday, October 27, 2006

 Here's something to chew on: Candidates from the Green-Rainbow Party
outnumber Republicans in contests for state office this year.

    Grace Ross (running for governor); Jill Stein (secretary of
state); and James O'Keefe (state treasurer) round out the
Green-Rainbow ticket. On the GOP side, only Kerry Healey (in the
governor's race) and Larry Frisoli (in the race for attorney general)
are on the ballot, with no Republicans in races for secretary of state
or treasurer.

    That's not to imply the Green-Rainbow candidates will replace the
Republican Party in Massachusetts. But the respect Ross has garnered
for her smarts and gumption in the three televised debates, and the
patience and intelligence Stein brings to her race, give credibility
to this fringe party in a way that rarely happens.

    The continuing decline of local organizations to support
Republicans running for state rep and state Senate has left the party
powerless -- at least as a voting bloc -- in the Legislature. With few
exceptions, the lack of an organization at the legislative level
yields few Republicans with experience and name recognition who could
move up the political ladder into statewide office.

    Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey lost two runs for state rep before Mitt
Romney picked her as his running mate in 2002. Without Romney's help
four years ago, Healey wouldn't be in a position to make her run for
the top office.

    This year the Green-Rainbow Party is the one to keep at least half
an eye on. Ross, a long-time activist with Marlborough roots, has
gained a measure of respect for her debate performances. Like Christy
Mihos, the independent candidate for governor, Ross doesn't have
anything to lose and has everything to gain when it comes to getting
her positions across in the debates.

    But hearing Ross in a debate is no different from discussing
issues with her in a Daily News editorial board meeting this week. She
is smart, knows her stands and issues inside and out and speaks her
mind. A more prominent candidate tends to talk in terms of how
something will sound on the evening news or how it will appear in
print; Ross gives a rapid-fire response to questions and comes to the
table with the details in her head.

    And, unlike both Democrat Deval Patrick and Republican Kerry
Healey, Ross doesn't bring along a campaign aide who can be called
upon to send more information to an inquisitive editor. Ross arrives
alone and fills her own shoes.

    Jill Stein occupies another Green-Rainbow spot on the ballot,
facing off against the powerful incumbent Secretary of State Bill
Galvin. Stein, a Lexington doctor who ran for governor four years ago
and state rep in 2004, both times on the Green Party ticket, has been
beating the bushes in her campaign. But, like most third party
candidates, Stein barely hits the radar in the major Boston media and
doesn't have the money to buy visibility via TV ads in the Greater
Boston market.

    Stein talked about her campaign for secretary of state this week,
focusing on what she believes is widespread secrecy in how bills are
drafted and the huge influence of lobbyists and their money.

    As an aside, Stein was asked her thoughts about the disappearance
of Republican candidates in most races two years ago and again this
year.

    "The Republicans are a place holder party," she said. "They're not
a real party" in Massachusetts these days.

    "In many ways the Republican Party has been absorbed into the
Democratic Party," Stein said. In that way, the major party
(Democrats) and weakened Republicans can still lock out third party
candidates "and call them spoilers."

    "Third parties get vilified for being spoilers. They get locked
out of the media because they're not 'legitimate,'" Stein said.

    Massachusetts has a long-standing reputation elsewhere in the
country, of course. Anyone old enough to remember George McGovern's
quest for the White House (and how he won only Massachusetts and the
District of Columbia) might recall the "Don't blame me, I'm from
Massachusetts" bumper stickers, after Richard Nixon's fall from power.

    And now even Gov. Mitt Romney -- you remember him, don't you? --
has used his adopted state as something of a dart board when he's been
campaigning before "red state" crowds who might look with disdain on
the Bay State.

    The ballot presence of the Green-Rainbow Party this year could
serve to fill a niche in Massachusetts politics in coming years, not
to replace the more conservative Republicans, but to stand as an
alternative to the mainstream Democrats who hew more toward moderate
Republican interests than populist causes.

    There is another big difference that sets the Green-Rainbow
candidates apart from both Democrats and Republicans: You won't find
lobbyists lined up outside any Green-Rainbow candidate's door, waiting
to fatten her campaign chest. Love the Green-Rainbows or hate 'em,
that's one area that should earn them respect.

    Richard Lodge is editor of the Daily News and writes a column
published most Fridays. His e-mail is rlodge at cnc.com.