Mitt Romney

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Charles in charge?

Republican Charlie Baker has been ready to be governor for years. But was he ready to be a candidate?
Voters should already have a good idea what they think about the candidates — which is why an increasing number of observers, across the political spectrum, are expressing surprise at how few Bay Staters like Charlie Baker.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 07, 2010

WikiLeaks: What it means

Plus, Mitt Romney — right-wing nut
Only a day after three of the world's most-prominent news organizations — the New York Times , the Guardian , and Der Spiegel — published reports based on the 90,000-plus purloined secret Afghanistan War documents released by WikiLeaks, the US House of Representatives passed a $59 billion war-funding bill on a vote of 308 to 114, sending it to President Barack Obama for his signature.
By EDITORIAL | July 28, 2010

Bad news for Mitt?

Presidential primary schedule might ruffle Romney's chances
If former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney runs for president again in 2012, he will start with some distinct advantages over his likely opponents for the GOP nomination.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | July 21, 2010

Same Old Faces

It's an outsider's year for candidates, but the consultants are old Beacon Hill mainstays. Plus, who spent what at the conventions, and Baker goes on TV first.
If you're wondering who the geniuses are behind the political campaigns in Massachusetts this year — the strategists, media firms, ad teams, and fundraisers — well, it's a lot of the same folks who have been behind Massachusetts campaigns for a long time. Candidates may win or lose, but consultants are forever.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | June 24, 2010

Say what?

Obama should forget the feel-good and seize the opportunity in the Gulf
Barack Obama is much more of an establishment-style president than the public generally realizes.
By EDITORIAL | June 22, 2010

GOP’s state convention delivers the bland brand

Dull and Duller Dept.
Massachusetts Republican candidates for office this November might be well-advised to legally change their names and appear on the ballot as “Someone Else,” “Another Option,” or “Available Alternative.”
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | April 23, 2010

'Tea' is for terrorism

When even the most ‘legitimate’ voices of the right validate dangerously unhinged anti-government rhetoric — DUCK!
A year ago, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) produced a memo outlining the growing threat posed to this country from right-wing extremists. It compared the situation to that of the early 1990s — which culminated in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | April 12, 2010

Hallelujah!

Health-care reform is a new high-water mark
The Democrats won and the Republicans lost. That, in a nutshell, is the bottom line.
By EDITORIAL | March 24, 2010

The Curse of the Big Dig

Tthe mere mention of the Central Artery Project can derail one's hopes for higher office. Charlie Baker is finding that out now.
Call it the Curse of the Big Dig: virtually every politician with statewide significance who has over the years become intertwined with the Central Artery Project (as it is officially known) has seen his or her dreams of higher office dashed.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | March 17, 2010

New and improved Romney

He's more fiscal, less social. And he's got millions. But will GOP voters give a Mitt?
Scott Brown's unexpected victory in last month's special US Senate election captured the attention of the country — and particularly of core Republican voters, who huddled eagerly before their TV screens to watch their hero du jour give his acceptance speech. But even in the midst of his moment in the sun, Brown made sure to thank the other handsome, well-coifed man on the stage, Mitt Romney.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | February 12, 2010

Romney's new character: Macho man

In his new book, Mitt makes himself over as a muscular defender of America
Few things are more predictable than a GOP presidential candidate posturing as a he-man protector of America, and depicting his Democratic counterpart as an effete, appeasing girlie-man on the dangerous world stage.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | February 10, 2010

Elephant in the Room

Massachusetts Republicans suddenly think this is their year — but if they shoot too high, they might fall hard
Platoons of state Republicans, energized by Scott Brown's stunning victory over Democrat Martha Coakley last week, are setting their sights on November.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 27, 2010

Tea-bagger Brown triumphs

Obama must rally independents
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley may be a good person and a dedicated public servant, but thanks to her gut-wrenching loss to tea-bagging Republican Scott Brown in the race for the US Senate seat held by the late Ted Kennedy, Coakley is now — quite rightly — a figure of local scorn and national derision.
By EDITORIAL | January 20, 2010

How Brown won

While Massachusetts Democrats assess blame for who lost the Senate seat, the truth is that Scott Brown won it
As the Massachusetts US Senate election unfolded yesterday, all that the pols and pundits wanted to talk about was how Martha Coakley managed to lose the race. And there is plenty there to dissect. But there is another part of the story, and that is how Scott Brown managed to win it.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 22, 2010

Massachusetts: You might be living in a red state if

31 signs that Scott Brown’s victory is changing the face of the commonwealth for the worse
Scott Brown’s Senatorial victory is merely the latest sign that red tides are creeping upon our once-progressive Commonwealth. Don’t believe us? Consider that Kenny Chesney sells out Gillette Stadium every summer, and, of course, that wealthy Republican presidential hopeful with the fantastic hair was recently our Governor.
By CHRIS FARAONE | January 25, 2010

Chaos Theory

2010 might be the year Massachusetts politics undergoes an unprecedented reshuffling.
In less than two weeks, when Massachusetts voters elect Martha Coakley to the US Senate — let's not pretend that Republican state senator Scott Brown has any chance of pulling off the monumental upset — they will trigger a massive domino effect that has the state's political class buzzing with anticipation.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 08, 2010

Most popular articles of 2009

The year in martyrs, mortuaries, chupacabras, and pot-peddling soccer moms
The stories you couldn't not read this year
By PHOENIX STAFF | December 22, 2009

Battle of the Bulger

Former Mass. Sen. Pres. William Bulger defends James Michael Curley's legacy — and his own
Earlier this fall, with almost no fanfare, Beverly-based Commonwealth Editions published a new biography of Boston's archetypal politician — James Michael Curley: A Short Biography with Personal Reminiscences — written by former Massachusetts Senate president William Bulger.
By ADAM REILLY | December 16, 2009

Brown Bagging

Even GOP insiders don't expect Scott Brown to beat Martha Coakley. But they care how he loses.
If you are finding it hard to get enthused about the seemingly preordained drubbing that Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley will give to the GOP nominee, State Senator Scott Brown, in the special election for US Senate, you are not alone.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | December 16, 2009

Whalin' on Palin

The former VP candidate could have proven her intellectual bona fides. She didn't, so let's move on.
Give Sarah Palin this: she isn’t driven by polls. If she wanted to improve her chances at political success, she would have used her book and promotional tour to convince America that she has substance and gravitas .
By EDITORIAL | November 24, 2009

Taking sides

The US Senate election is forcing Massachusetts pols to choose their team. Plus, Pagliuca’s plan, and the state GOP tries to get serious.
The stakes are high in the battle for Massachusetts’s first new US senatorship in a quarter-century.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 04, 2009

Latter day taint

How Glenn Beck is driven by Mormonism — and why his fellow faithful (including Mitt Romney) should be worried
Fifteen years ago, Glenn Beck was a small-market DJ with a drinking problem, no friends, and bleak professional prospects. Today, he’s a Fox News superstar averaging 2.4 million viewers, an inexorably successful author, and the leader of a popular movement that condemns government in general and President Barack Obama in particular.
By ADAM REILLY | October 10, 2009

Six for the seat

After a tumultuous week, these half dozen are still in the mix for Kennedy's seat.
Over the next few months, as candidates for the US Senate travel the state, you're likely to hear them say again and again that nobody can ever truly replace Ted Kennedy. That's the truth. But what does the state want next, after such a legendary, larger-than-life figure?
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | September 16, 2009

Tormenting Teddy

Republicans threaten Kennedy reign
After 32 years in the US Senate, Ted Kennedy remains a force to be reckoned with, both for his legendary family history and his considerable accomplishments.
By BOSTON PHOENIX STAFF | August 26, 2009

The end of the affair?

Mitt Romney's right-wing-media problem. Plus, Michael Bloomberg's blind spot.
During Mitt Romney's failed bid for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, he demonstrated a potent knack for wooing the conservative commentariat.
By ADAM REILLY | August 27, 2009

Gay Activists Work for Ted

Activists note Kennedy's gay rights work
Gay-and-lesbian community activists are heavily involved in what the chairman of the Lesbian/Gay Political Alliance of Massachusetts, Todd Fernandez, calls "a full-court press to ensure that Ted Kennedy's re-elected."
By LIZ GALST | August 26, 2009

After Ted

Kennedy’s death came amid renewed speculation about his succession, his family, and potential candidates for his job
The death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy early Wednesday morning brings to a close the life and legendary career of one of Massachusetts's greatest political figures.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | August 26, 2009

Ted's turn

Clinton caves on crime bill, but Kennedy can still salvage it
A little-known provision in the crime bill now being negotiated by a House-Senate conference committee would greatly expand the number of prison cells available to house violent criminals, and it wouldn't be cost a dime. But it may be doomed unless Senator Ted Kennedy is willing to spend some political capital.
By AL GIORDANO | August 26, 2009

Ted Kennedy's real record

A note on the 32-year-incumbent's accomplishments
When a 32-year incumbent seeks re-election, there is a long and well-documented record that can be examined. So it's disconcerting to note that admit all the miles of newsprint and videotape that have been expended covering the US Senate campaign, little has been said of what Ted Kennedy has or hasn't accomplished.
By AL GIORDANO | August 26, 2009

Preliminary findings

Handicapping the 15-headed horse race that is Boston's at-large City Council election
Even knowledgeable City Hall insiders know they're better off scratching lotto tickets than wagering on Boston politics.
By CHRIS FARAONE | August 12, 2009

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