# Is Coakley going to blow it again? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 30, 2014, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925 "2014-08-30T00:21:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/41 "2014-10-27T18:39:57Z")
Weird, how could Coakley lose in Massachusetts but Abbott win in Texas - if both happen? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/42 "2014-10-27T18:42:19Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > If she loses, she should never run for anything again. It’s bad enough that she was responsible for\*\* that reptile Scott Brown\*\* to gain a temp job in the Senate, now she’s going to give away the governor’s seat. Are you referring to this? > **[Reptilian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reptilians)** > > Reptilian may refer to: Sorry, couldn’t resist. ---
**Author:** ![Reyemile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@Reyemile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reyemile)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/43 "2014-10-29T00:12:02Z")
I watched Baker and Coakley debating for about three minutes before I had to change the channel in disgust. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/44 "2014-10-31T18:25:24Z")
Campaigning is largely suspended until after Tom Menino’s funeral, but Baker is starting to get blowback about [inventing a story](http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/10/31/charlie-baker-teary-fisherman-story-shows-the-power-false-memories/0t7ojKBeUIZr89pjkI5V8I/story.html?p1=Topopage:Test_B:Main_headline) so he could cry about it in the last debate. ---
**Author:** ![JesterX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JesterX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JesterX)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/45 "2014-10-31T19:34:50Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Campaigning is largely suspended until after Tom Menino’s funeral, but Baker is starting to get blowback about [inventing a story](http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/10/31/charlie-baker-teary-fisherman-story-shows-the-power-false-memories/0t7ojKBeUIZr89pjkI5V8I/story.html?p1=Topopage:Test_B:Main_headline) so he could cry about it in the last debate. Ok, I get the controversy over the falsehood. Can you explain to me how, even if Baker’s story was TRUE, how it was a cryable (\<–if that’s a word) event? The father couldn’t let his two boys go play football on a scholarship because they had to help him fish. Was it because he couldn’t afford to send them to college or because he couldn’t afford to lose them for his fishing business? I watched the debate on cspan and I wanted to yell at him, “stop freaking crying and explain!” ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/46 "2014-10-31T19:43:22Z")
IIRC Baker’s point was that Gummint has destroyed the fishing industry, and the father had stuck his sons in lives with no future instead of letting them go to school and Be Somebody. The question was “When was the last time you cried?” (and note that a female candidate can’t do that in public). If for Baker it was 2009, that says something. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2014, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/47 "2014-11-01T13:06:12Z")
To illustrate what genuine compassion consists of in a career public servant, [this letter to the editor](http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2014/10/31/imagine-for-moment-encounter-between-baker-fisherman-and-menino/7AA0hmVhHDIQsm8rx3qNTL/story.html) explains it well: > [@](#): > > (The late Boston mayor Tom) Menino would have told the fisherman that he was sorry his sons were not able to play college football, but would have reassured him that there are many ways to get an education. Perhaps he would have shared his own journey as an example. > > Then Menino would have put the fisherman in touch with a person on his staff who would guide the sons to college. They would have a diploma by now. > > That’s what happens when you meet a man who cries real tears. > > Carol Schraft > Brookline ---
**Author:** ![JesterX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JesterX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JesterX)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/48 "2014-11-01T18:16:54Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > To illustrate what genuine compassion consists of in a career public servant, [this letter to the editor](http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2014/10/31/imagine-for-moment-encounter-between-baker-fisherman-and-menino/7AA0hmVhHDIQsm8rx3qNTL/story.html) explains it well: So people in MA are actually accepting Baker’s story? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2014, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/49 "2014-11-01T20:52:56Z")
Unknown, too soon. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/50 "2014-11-03T09:56:14Z")
The Boston Globe endorsed Baker: > **[Charlie Baker for governor - The Boston Globe](https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2014/10/26/charlie-baker-for-governor/r4Yymw55jVr20D53EhUIkK/story.html?hootPostID=2286433419166853435078018311f563)** > > Effective activist government isn’t built on good intentions. To provide consistently good results, especially for the state’s most vulnerable and troubled residents, agencies need to focus on results, learn from their errors, and preserve and... This is looking like +1 for the GOP. They’ll probably take Connecticut too. ---
**Author:** ![john\_b\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@john\_b\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/john_b_2)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/51 "2014-11-04T04:53:12Z")
Coakley could pull it off. The election’s just hours away and I know that the Repubs are poised to win big in most of the country but in MA and New England generally, Dems or VERY moderate Republicans (Bill Cohen in Maine, Silvio Conte in MA, and, some years ago, Stafford in VT, Chafee in RI, Weicker in CT) tend to be the winners. The last state to be a conservative GOP stronghold in these parts was the New Hampshire of the Loeb-Manchester Union-Leader era, and that’s over. In other words, if the Dem party faithful come out, Coakley’s got it. That the weather is going to be good should give Coakley a boost, esp with seniors. city dwellers. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/52 "2014-11-04T12:49:32Z")
Yeah, but why would they come out. Just because she’s a Democrat? The Boston Globe I think explained the reasoning behind supporting Baker pretty well: ideology aside, he’s just the more competent person and he’ll be checked by a Democratic legislature. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/53 "2014-11-04T14:44:47Z")
I suspect you’re right. We shall soon see. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/54 "2014-11-04T14:47:15Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Yeah, but why would they come out. Just because she’s a Democrat? The Boston Globe I think explained the reasoning behind supporting Baker pretty well: ideology aside, he’s just the more competent person and he’ll be checked by a Democratic legislature. Said it before in this thread and will say it again. She’s the only candidate I’ve ever stumped for who couldn’t seem to rouse even “rank-and-file” Democrats to go out and vote for her. Maybe something’s changed. But I ain’t betting the ranch on it. ---
**Author:** ![john\_b\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@john\_b\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/john_b_2)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/55 "2014-11-04T18:18:50Z")
You may be right. Considered purely as a politician, Martha Coakley is and always has been her own worst enemy. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2014, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/56 "2014-11-05T03:03:55Z")
Massachusetts Democrats really need to stop nominating Martha Coakley for things. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2014, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/57 "2014-11-05T05:07:37Z")
As of midnight, Baker holds a slight lead: [http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/11/04/polls-close-tally-begins-close-race-for-governor/nDJoEd0U674aHPPWF1BIoJ/story.html](http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/11/04/polls-close-tally-begins-close-race-for-governor/nDJoEd0U674aHPPWF1BIoJ/story.html) ---
**Author:** ![john\_b\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@john\_b\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/john_b_2)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2014, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/58 "2014-11-05T06:13:48Z")
Baker’s in, Coakley’s toast. This is the end of Coakley’s political career. To be fair, Baker was the better candidate, wanted very much to be governor, while Coakley just didn’t have it, was neither articulate nor passionate. Overall, a bad day for the Dems nationally, needless to say. They lack leadership as a party, talk too much about social issues, alienate moderates, have made liberal a dirty word. I don’t think the country’s lurching to the right so much as it’s rejecting the left as it’s perceived today. The Dems need a major makeover. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2014, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/59 "2014-11-05T13:58:44Z")
CBS News calls it for Baker: [2014 Midterm Elections: Charlie Baker bests Martha Coakley in Massachusetts governor's race - CBS News](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/midterm-elections-2014-charlie-baker-bests-martha-coakley-in-massachusetts-governors-race/) ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925/60 "2014-11-05T16:14:34Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The Boston Globe endorsed Baker: > > [http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2014/10/26/charlie-baker-for-governor/r4Yymw55jVr20D53EhUIkK/story.html?hootPostID=2286433419166853435078018311f563](http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2014/10/26/charlie-baker-for-governor/r4Yymw55jVr20D53EhUIkK/story.html?hootPostID=2286433419166853435078018311f563) > > This is looking like +1 for the GOP. So, getting something right… heady stuff, eh? Feel like you thought it would? > [@adaher](#): > > They’ll probably take Connecticut too. See, now you had to go and get cocky. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coakley-going-to-blow-it-again/696925.md?page=4)