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Last night there was a Democratic Senate candidates' forum and straw poll in Athol, the most depressed, desperate town in Central and Western Massachusetts. Four of the five - James Coyne, Marisa DeFranco, Herb Robinson, and Tom Conroy - attended and answered questions. Frontrunner Elizabeth Warren didn't.
She was at a fundraiser in Newton.
As much as I want to like Warren, this bothers me greatly - she's basing her whole candidacy on being the voice of the people, the great champion of the middle class, the anti-Scott Brown. Democratic activists are acting like she's the Second Coming, and three strong candidates (Setti Warren, Alan Khazei, and Bob Massie) have already dropped out in response to her juggernaut.
And yet, and yet, and yet - Warren goes to a fundraiser in a rich suburb instead of a meet and greet in a place that is screaming for help. The only positions on her web site are about finance. It's impossible to get an event schedule unless one signs up to volunteer or give money, and her supporters either won't or can't answer questions about anything but finance. She's already had to apologize for statements she's made about Occupy Wall Street, and she made a tasteless joke about Scott Brown that would have brought the Left down on her like a hammer if it had been a man talking about a woman.
Worst, every single time I ask a question or point out a flaw in either Warren or her campaign, I'm either told to shut up, sent the same video about the middle class that I've seen a dozen times, accused of being a mole for another candidate, or asked if my account has been hacked. It's like I'm criticizing a guru, not a candidate, and I'm really, really getting tired of it.
So let me make a formal statement: I'm not supporting ANY of the current Democratic Senate candidates. I'm not supporting Elizabeth Warren because I don't like the way she's running her campaign. And I am not shutting up unless and until I get some answers from Warren herself, or any evidence that she's got any talent for campaigning and not just bantering with John Stewart or Bill Maher.
Don't send me videos. I've seen them, and they don't answer my questions about civil liberties, or economic development in Athol or Springfield or Fall River, or LGBT rights, or any of the other issues besides finance. I want facts, either from her website or her public statements. If you don't have those, please don't bother.
Thanks.
She was at a fundraiser in Newton.
As much as I want to like Warren, this bothers me greatly - she's basing her whole candidacy on being the voice of the people, the great champion of the middle class, the anti-Scott Brown. Democratic activists are acting like she's the Second Coming, and three strong candidates (Setti Warren, Alan Khazei, and Bob Massie) have already dropped out in response to her juggernaut.
And yet, and yet, and yet - Warren goes to a fundraiser in a rich suburb instead of a meet and greet in a place that is screaming for help. The only positions on her web site are about finance. It's impossible to get an event schedule unless one signs up to volunteer or give money, and her supporters either won't or can't answer questions about anything but finance. She's already had to apologize for statements she's made about Occupy Wall Street, and she made a tasteless joke about Scott Brown that would have brought the Left down on her like a hammer if it had been a man talking about a woman.
Worst, every single time I ask a question or point out a flaw in either Warren or her campaign, I'm either told to shut up, sent the same video about the middle class that I've seen a dozen times, accused of being a mole for another candidate, or asked if my account has been hacked. It's like I'm criticizing a guru, not a candidate, and I'm really, really getting tired of it.
So let me make a formal statement: I'm not supporting ANY of the current Democratic Senate candidates. I'm not supporting Elizabeth Warren because I don't like the way she's running her campaign. And I am not shutting up unless and until I get some answers from Warren herself, or any evidence that she's got any talent for campaigning and not just bantering with John Stewart or Bill Maher.
Don't send me videos. I've seen them, and they don't answer my questions about civil liberties, or economic development in Athol or Springfield or Fall River, or LGBT rights, or any of the other issues besides finance. I want facts, either from her website or her public statements. If you don't have those, please don't bother.
Thanks.
