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Thursday, October 21, 2004
Sleepless in West Medford
So I'm up until almost 2AM working on this Ciampa/Sciortino piece, knowing that I'm really leaning into daddy duty today.
So of course, Katherine has a terrible night. I become aware at about 4AM that there is a problem. As I struggle
to focus my eyes and shake the cobwebs out of my brain, I see my wife standing over me asking if I'm going to sleep in her
trundle bed. I am, because my wife is very, very pregnant now (not to mention that she's working and I'm not) and she
needs it.
But sleeping in the trundle bed does not get Katherine to settle down and fall asleep, and my wife takes pity on me and
sends me back to bed. At about 6:45, we switch places, except now it's time for Kara to get ready for work.
So while I watch Katherine and make her second and third breakfast, Kara slams another couple cups of coffee, and gets out
of the house.
Ironically, I'm going to play with a couple of Katherine's best friends, and I find out this morning through the "mommy
network" that they both had terrible nights too. We are just praying that between the three of us, we can patch together
one responsible chaperone for the play date this morning.
It's days like this that I regret that I never started drinking coffee.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
A Real Horse Race In Medford (34th District)
All politics is local, or so the saying goes. While the controversy over John Kerry invoking Mary Cheney's sexual
orientation during the third presidential debate is winding down, the race for the 34th district representative in Medford
and Somerville is heating up.
In the primary election in September, Carl Sciortino defeated 8 term incumbent Vincent Ciampa by a narrow margin - 117 votes as of the latest count. Ciampa was caught by surprise by strong primary turnout of Sciortino supporters.
A one issue race?
The primary story begins earlier this year when Sciortino visited Ciampa to determine whether or not he would support
gay marriage. Of course, each side tells the story differently, but clearly they disagreed. Sciortino, who is
openly gay, supports gay marriage, and Ciampa does not. Sciortino apparently decided to run for the office at that point.
He's now running unopposed for the November general election as the democratic nominee.
Sciortino insists that he ran on a platform of health care and education, and avoided the issue of gay marriage.
Ciampa insists that Sciortino is a one-issue candidate who's distorted his record and run a negative campaign.
It's impossible for us to know which candidate's stand is more representative of the 34th district. Representatives
in Somerville generally support gay marriage, presumably on account of their constituents. However, two of the three
representatives in Medford voted against gay marriage ( James Marzilli voted for it). The state's democratic platform generally supports gay marriage.
A deeper look at Ciampa's response to the loss
Vincent Ciampa is not going to roll over, though. He's now mounting a sticker campaign to win back his seat in
the general election. And he's sent a letter and stickers to his constituents explaining his position. I obtained
a copy of the letter. In it, Ciampa makes the following statement:
The September election, characterized by a record low turnout and an unprecedented number of single issue voters, resulted
in my being denied the Democratic nomination for State Representative by the narrowest of margins.
The statement about a record low turnout appears to be false or misleading, at least as it pertains to the local
race. Here is the truth. The total number of votes cast was about 10% less in 2004 than in 2002, but the number
of blank ballots has not yet been reported. I was unable to identify a source for voting turnout numbers prior to 2002.
Democratic Primary Voting Tally, 34th District, 2002 versus 2004
I suspect there was a significant increase in single issue voters, although I cannot prove it. And by saying he
was "denied" the nomination, he is implying (in my view) that he deserved it in spite of the fact that he lost in a fair election.
Sour grapes.
Ciampa goes on to say,
My opponent, having never served in any public office, misrepresented my record, exploited the gay marriage issue and
frankly lied about his qualifications to serve you at the State House.
And then a bit later,
I believe, as I know you do, that negative campaigns based on half truths, self-interest, misrepresentations
and exploitation of divisive issues should not go unchallenged.
But it is Ciampa himself, through this letter, that is doing the negative campaigning.
A controversial past?
Sciortino is gay, and has a history of activism. Conservative groups like the Article 8 Alliance are deeply committed to defeating candidates with Sciortino's values. Sciortino did protest at the Cathedral of the
Holy Cross, an act which is sure to inflame conservative voters. I can't substantiate the other claims made by these
any other conservative groups.
What's ahead in the general election?
In 2002, Ciampa received 2.3 times as many votes in the general election as in the primary. That means
that if he can turn out the vote in the general election, he has a real chance at beating Sciortino. Carl Sciortino,
on the other hand, is going to have to maintain the frenetic pace of campaigning that won him the primary. Ladies and gentlemen,
we have a real horse race on our hands.
Opinion
I don't think the issue in this race is really about gay marriage. That is merely the catalyst. The
issue is really that democracy works. Even if Carl Sciortino was a single-issue candidate, it is his right to enter
the race, campaign, and beat an incumbent to fight for what he believes in. I believe that Ciampa was caught by surprise
thinking that his historical base would deliver him the victory as they have for eight terms. Sciortino ran a fantastic
campaign, turned out the vote, and beat him. That's a testament to Sciortino's ability. And if Ciampa should win
by a write-in campaign in the general election, the same will be true. May the best man win.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Red Sox 4, Yankees 0. So what.
It's the seventh inning stretch. Sing it with me. Take me out to the ball game, ta dum te dum dum ta dee...
A lot of people have been talking about the Red Sox here in Boston, and many people have been trying to engage me in
a little "destiny" talk. This is the year. It's destiny they say. Are you excited or what?
Ho hum. I spent about 15 years as a die-hard Red Sox fan. During the infamous game six of the 1986 world
series, I was watching with my Sigma Chi fraternity brothers as Bill Buckner missed Mookie Wilson's easy-out bloop single
to first. Bill Buckner was also in the Sigma Chi fraternity, which made walking around campus highly unpleasant.
1988 was probably the last season I seriously followed the Sox. That was the year of "Morgan Magic". Remember
that? The Sox brought in Joe Morgan to be the manager at the all star break, and they went on an exhilerating winning
streak only to be swept in the ALCS.
After that year, I made a deal with myself. I would be an unabashed bandwagon jumper. I deserved it.
I went through a lot of emotional pain during those long years I followed the Sox. I decided then that I would wait
until it was worth watching, and then jump on. It's worked for me.
So when people talk to me about this LCS, I simply say, "it's way to early for me to jump on the bandwagon." I'm
waiting for game three or four of the world series. Then you'll see me with the cap and other accoutrements pretending
that I've been forever a die hard fan.
Six, two, and even.
Jon Stewart, 1. Crossfire, 0
Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, appeared on Crossfire a few days ago. He was ostensibly there to promote his new book, America (The Book), but it turns out he had a different plan. He wanted to take on co-hosts Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala for being
a vehicle of the politicians instead of the people. The show that resulted is, I think, one of the most significant moments in the media this year. I urge you to find an online
version of the show and watch it. You can try here and here for streaming versions of it.
Why was it significant? According to Jon Stewart, the media has an obligation to the public to report the facts
and not the candidate spin. He was confronting Crossfire directly because he believes they are all about theater and
not journalism. In his words, "...you have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably."
(The transcript is available online in many places.) And he's right. The number one rule in the journalists code of ethics is to, "test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error."
Jon Stewart had the guts to attack Crossfire directly on the air, and it was a knock-out in my opinion.
Watch the clip. Wait a few hours. Watch it again. He's serious and he makes a very serious point.
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Halloween is Coming...
Kara went out this afternoon during Katherine's nap and got this Halloween costume. Actually, she got a bunch of
stuff, including pink Timberland winter boots, but that's beside the point. The point is that Halloween has proven to
be a difficult thing for us. For one, Katherine has been telling me for weeks that she wants to be a pirate, and she's
(at the same time) been telling Kara that she wants to be a ballerina. She's been so consistant with her story that
I don't know what she wants to be. Last year she was a butterfly, but she got tired of the outfit before Halloween actually
happened. We won't make that mistake again. She wore the costume briefly today, and we've tucked it away until
the first party. Of course, she could still change her mind in spite of all this.
One problem with Halloween costumes is that they tends to have prickly thing on them. She calls them "spiceys".
That's her generic term for anything thats prickly. Costumes have tags and velcro and straps and all kinds of things
that can rub your skin the wrong way. Clearly, the people who make this stuff don't really care - they figure that since
it's only going to be worn a few times it doesn't matter. But it does matter to Katherine. She might just decide
she doesn't like it, in which case, we'll just throw a tutu on and call it a day.
9:40 pm est
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