Posted on 12/23/2010 10:56:03 AM PST by raccoonradio
The biggest question facing Democrats as they head into 2011 is this: Who has the guts, money and potential electability to take on U.S. Sen. Scott Brown?
Capuano? Khazei? Lynch? Frank? Murray? Setti Warren? As Brown likes to say, give me a break.
Vicki Kennedy? Maybe. She says she has no interest, but she’s been acting like a candidate.
Well, here’s another intriguing possibility: Robert Pozen.
You may not know him, but Pozen is a legend in the investment world who’s made many millions of dollars helping run huge financial services firms such as Fidelity and MFS Investment.
The Herald has learned that Pozen, a Democat, has been seriously talking to party insiders about challenging Brown, although he hasn’t made a decision. Pozen did not return phone calls from the Herald left at his office at Harvard Business School.
Pozen is no stranger to the political world. He was one of two token Democrats serving in former Gov. Mitt Romney’s cabinet but left after only a year. Yet Romney gives a shout out to Pozen in his book, “No Apology,” saying he’s intrigued by Pozen’s plan to save Social Security. So Pozen has potential crossover appeal to independents and Republicans.
But Pozen’s biggest asset in a race against Brown can be summed up in one word: money.
Not only does Pozen know how to make money for people, he has a lot of it to spend in a campaign. Brown will have about $10 million in his war chest even before the campaign starts, and no Democrat can come close to matching that, except a multi-millionaire.
Now for the negatives. Pozen is a businessman and academician, a combination that usually proves disastrous in politics. One political insider describes his personality as “Silberesque” — referring to former Boston University chief John Silber, whose temper undid his candidacy for governor in 1990.
Pozen also lacks in the charisma department. He could make Martha Coakley look like Lady Gaga by comparison.
There is still another Democrat who can’t be ruled out of the 2012 mix — Gov. Deval Patrick. Yes, I know, Patrick has said over and over he will serve out his next term, but do we really believe that? Bill Weld challenged John Kerry in the middle of his second term. If Patrick knocked the GOP’s rock star out of the Senate, he would immediately vault into presidential contention.
By next fall, if the field of Democrats includes a bunch of incumbent congressmen and others who don’t have the last name Kennedy, Democratic voters may be begging Patrick to run against Brown.
And he just might do it.
Herald poll currently (Dem candidates only I guess)
Who do you think will take on U.S. Sen. Scott Brown?
10% - Robert Pozen
28% - Vicki Kennedy
27% - Mike Capuano
2% - Alan Khazei
17% - Stephen Lynch
7% - Barney Frank
4% - Therese Murray
4% - Setti Warren
Who would face Brown in a poss. Republican primary?
Jeff Perry? (ran for 10th & lost, scandal in past)
If a more conservative candidate could be found,
would they survive the final? This is Massachusetts.
Replace one liberal with another liberal.
What does it matter?
What we need is a conservative to support.
Brown is a HUGE disappointment!
One comment to article said that it doesn’t matter who runs against Brown—if they have a D next to their name, they will win.
Another comment from Kathyf (note: Brown was on Howie Carr’s
show last night and defended himself, saying “do you want someone with you 80 per cent of the time or 0 per cent of the time?”)
1. His refusal to go along with pro-amnesty DREAM Act
2. Vote against Elena Kagan
3. Pledge not to sponsor earmarks
4. Opposition to the $1.2 trillion spending bill, which helped kill it
5. Vote against Obama’s nomination of a radical SEIU lawyer for NLRB
6. Opposition to cap and trade (thereby dooming it)
7. His bill to strip home-grown terrorists of their citizenship
8. His vote to extend the Bush tax cuts (don’t forget, 8 of our 10 whacky Dem congressmen voted against the tax cut, even when it was sweetened with an extension of unemployment benefits).
9. His bill to tighten sanctions on Iran until they give up their nuclear weapons program
10. His attack on Harvard elitists for their refusal to allow ROTC on campus
“Brown is a good conservative. Does he vote with Republicans all the time? No, sometimes he will vote off, but he said when he ran for US Senate that he was not going to march in lockstep with either party, and he hasn’t.” (end of Kathyf’s comment. I will add that anti-Brown forces ran an ad just before the election saying “Who is Scott Brown, really? A Republican. Who will vote in lockstep with the Republican party”. They were wrong, as he has sometimes voted with Democrats...but take note that he has not voted in lockstep with the Dems, that’s for sure.
How would Coakley have voted on these issues?)
Money might not the big issue, because Scott Brown isn't going to see a stinking dime from Tea Party advocates this time around!
Coakley would have become a leader of anti-American and anti-father forces in the Congress.
The (D) nominee in 2012 will be Deval Patrick.
Read the comment by Kathyf in this thread. In those votes he doesn’t sound liberal to me.
Nominate a no-name conservative candidate in the GOP primary, have them defeat Brown, then see Vicky Kennedy win 90 to 10.
There, that’s better.
he is against obamacare, spending and amnesty. Given this is MA, with zero gop congressmen, I’m ok with him.
This is Massachusetts. Here is a complete list of totally-conservatives:
Brown is significant because he caucuses with the Republicans. This could put Republican chairmen in all the committees, so that the Republicans determine what legislation comes to the floor.
This is far more valuable than any vote on legislation. Anything that doesn’t get to the floor won’t pass, even if Brown would have joined the Democrats on it.
Scott Brown, like Barack Obama is a perfect example of style over substance.
The only difference is that Obama is dangerous because he is truly evil while Scott Brown is dangerous because he is a spineless idiot.
Absolutely... besides conservatives can't even agree on who is a "totally-conservative". Pfffttttt...
I wonder if Ted will have a nice Christmas with Lucifer.
He has a big war chest though. He may not need the help money-wise. In MA he is counting on independents for support. They helped elect him. However I will admit tea party support helped him get in there, and if that’s gone, he might lose.
Who are the tea partiers going to support in the final if it’s Brown against one of these candidates? I don’t visualize
any “Tea Partiers For Barney Frank” or “Tea Partiers For
Vicky Kennedy” websites going up...
Ditto.
Which “Tea Party” are you talking about?
Brown sounded pretty smart on Howie’s show last night, talking about the START treaty etc. He said he reads and studies the bills, etc. He is a Massachusetts Republican which may mean RINO, but note the list Kathyf mentioned.
It’s better than nothing.
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