Robert Reich Running for Governor of Massachusetts

AP via NYTimes.com ^ | 1/8/02

[GeneD]

Filed at 4:47 p.m. ET

BOSTON (AP) -- Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich is entering the race for governor of Massachusetts, a campaign adviser said Tuesday.

Reich, a Democrat and professor of social and economic policy at Brandeis University, planned to formally announce his candidacy Wednesday, the adviser said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Reich left President Clinton's Cabinet in 1997 and has never run for elective office.

Republican acting Gov. Jane Swift, Massachusetts' first woman governor, is seeking re-election this fall.

Former national party chairman Steve Grossman and former state Sen. Warren Tolman are the only other Democrats so far to have formally announced their candidacies.

Reich raised his profile in Massachusetts in November when he criticized state lawmakers' budget proposals as ``inhumane'' and called Swift ``an embarrassment in terms of her incompetence.''

Last month, Reich circulated an e-mail asking for support and contributions.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

A$$hole comments like that would probably get me to vote for Reich; or, at least, withhold my vote from Swift.

[Cobra64]

How man ex Clinton kneepadders are running for some form of public office now? Bowles in SC? Richardson in NM? I forgetting any?

Yes. You left out a few words in your statement, and subsequent question. Also, what is a kneepadder?

[Celtjew Libertarian]

If I lived in Mass., that is.

[babble-on]

You're right. But it was still over the fact that Reich was frustrated by being so far to the left of the Clinton administration.

[mymanbush]

NO,just Reich!

[Cobra64]

I hear he's got the midget vote.

Is Reich one from the "short crop" like Tommy Daschle? What's "up" with these Napoleanonic libs. Maybe we should profile all short people as Libs (and I'm not being sarcastic). Sure seems to be making a lot of sense to me. Oh, never mind.

[princess leah]

Don't forget Rino, I mean Reno in Florida for Gov?

[Demosthenes]

Such an announcement would HAVE to be made at a GLAAD rally...amongst his peers...

[My2Cents]

How can a guy who doesn't meet the height requirement to ride "Slash Mountain" get to run for Governor?

[kayak]

Of course, the REAL RINOs are people like Jesse Helms, Trent Lott, and Bob Barr -- the ex-Democrat segregationist sympathizers who have helped turn the GOP into a party that Theodore Roosevelt or Abe Lincoln wouldn't recognize.

I would be very interested in seeing your documentation for making that statement, particularly in regards to Senator Helms.

From encycopedia.com ......

A radio broadcasting executive, Helms gained prominence in the 1960s as a staunchly conservative Raleigh, N.C., radio commentator. Elected (1972) to the U.S. Senate as a Republican from North Carolina, he gained notoriety for his outspoken, often unyielding support of right-wing causes in the Senate. He has championed a strong military establishment and prayer in the public schools while opposing gun control, abortion, and government support for the arts. Helms has chaired the Senate agriculture committee (1981-87) and foreign relations committee (1995-).

I don't see anything there to indicate that Helms was ever a Dem. I'm still looking but will be eager to see your documentation in support of your position.

[KC_Conspirator]

Reno in FL.

[concerned about politics]

Reich raised his profile in Massachusetts
How'd he do that? Did he catch a ride on Kennedys' shoulders?

[kayak]

Bowles in SC? Last I heard, he was considering running for Senator from NC.

[TopQuark]

Socialist state...Harvard man.

[GreatOne]

At least Reich doesn't have a sodomite as his running mate.

[Protagoras]

To tell you the truth, I hope he wins. He is much more conservative (I know he is EXTREMELY LIBERAL) than that dolt of a RINO they have now.

Unless she is a communist, like him, he isn't more conservative. If you read his writtings, and listen to his proposals, like a 100% death tax, you will know what exactly this moron will do if given half a chance. This guy is to the left of Lenin.

[JoeMomma]

I would be very interested in seeing your documentation for making that statement [about Helms as an Ex-Dem segregationist], particularly in regards to Senator Helms.

From the National Review ... on Helms's retirement. Last I checked, NR was NOT a liberal rag.

• "When segregation began to wane, Helms's Carolina counterpart, Strom Thurmond, went home to make new friends. But since his election in 1972, Helms has been defining himself by his enemies."
• Eventually, Helms ended up on WRAL-TV in Raleigh, denouncing the big government social programs, liberals, hippies, and civil-rights activists who helped define North Carolina (and America) in the 1960's. Long before Rush Limbaugh, Helms was on the airwaves dismissing the University of North Carolina (UNC) as the "University of Negroes and Communists."
• This is one of the disturbing legacies of Jesse Helms. Though you won't see it mentioned in the media coverage of his retirement, Helms was in fact an avowed and unapologetic segregationist. As a campaign worker, he helped elect segregation candidates before his own run in 1972. Unlike neoconservatives who espouse state's rights on principle, despite any unwanted outcomes on racial issues, Helms backed state's rights specifically because he wanted states to have the right to segregate. If Helms's position on 1960's civil-rights legislation has changed since then, he hasn't mentioned it.

Be careful what you ask for ... you just may get it. :)

[pt17]

It could be that the gubernatorial stature of the Peoples Republic Of Mass is about to taper off some more.

[JoeMomma]

He was a Democrat when helping segregationist candidates (in particular, a Democratic Senator from NC) win office in the 50s and 60s.

[smileee]

Does this weenie have a chance? If so, why, is Massachusettes that hard up?