CT Blue

Could this happen anywhere else, even in the context of a Democratic primary:

US Representative Michael E. Capuano yesterday blasted Attorney General Martha Coakley’s decision to get involved in an Alabama death penalty case, saying the man they are vying to succeed in the Senate, Edward M. Kennedy, “would have never supported this position.’’

“She is out of step with the progressive values of the Commonwealth,’’ Capuano said in a statement.

The Globe reported yesterday that Coakley, who says she is firmly against capital punishment, has drawn the ire of some death penalty opponents by urging the US Supreme Court, in a case involving a mentally disabled convicted murderer, to limit federal review of state court decisions. Opponents say a decision in Coakley’s favor could mean the murderer is put to death and could hinder the ability of death-row defendants to challenge their sentences.

It’s a mark of shame that only in Massachusetts (and maybe in Vermont) is it politically acceptable to claim to be more anti-death penalty than your opponent. I wonder too, why is it that the Catholic Church, which allegedly opposes the death penalty, does not give pro death penalty politicians the same treatment it gives to those who are in favor of abortion rights?

All that being said, is it surprising that Capuano is being a bit disingenuous here? Apparently the case involves non-death penalty issues affecting the rights of states vs. the federal government, and it’s on those issues that the attorneys general are weighing in. The law can be a messy thing.

As an aside, don’t you wish politicians and pundits would be a little less willing to speak for the dead?

Addendum: Capuano is a piker compared to Newt Gingrich when it comes to channeling the dead. Capuano claims to speak for Ted Kennedy, who he most likely at least knew. Newtclaims to speak for all the founders, who he apparently thinks, like him, would have converted to Catholicism from deism were they alive today.

If there was a common theme locally yesterday, it was the victory of the crazies over-not necessarily the rational, but at least the less crazy. In New London the Democratic clowns that have run the town for some 20 odd years were replaced by a mixture of Republican and “green” uber-clowns.

I have lived in this area since 1976, and at no time during that period has New London been a well governed town. Somehow it has managed to survive, and in some respects thrive, in spite of the obstacles placed before it.

In Montville, the Democratic majority, which appears to have governed fairly responsibly, was replaced by a mix of Republicans and people who are even crazier than Republicans. Two Democrats, Edward Radgowski and Catherine “Candy” Buebendorf, both members of the previous council, were tied for the last seat on the council. Ragdowski was the quicker thinker, and almost immediately conceded, before that option occurred to Buebendorf. She is now stuck on the council with the loonies for the next two years.

Here in Groton things didn’t go so well for us Dems. We lost ground on the council, and the RTM will be decided in a recount. It’s the old story of turnout. The heavily Republican districts turn out at up to twice the rate of the most Democratic, and some Districts barely turn out at all. If we elected local offices in even years, the Democrats would likely win big, but of course it doesn’t work that way.

Nationally, the media is playing local events as if they had national meaning. There were only two that really might have some significance. Although the good guys lost in Maine, it wasn’t by much. Young people were massively against the recall, and they represent the future. The other race was the 23rd in New York. The Democrat, who is not much of a Democrat won. But more importantly, it was likely a glimpse of the intra-party squabbles we’ll be seeing among Republicans later this year. If there are any moderates left (apparently Charlie Crist is now in the crosshairs), they will be targeted, as the revolution eats its own. Most revolutions wait until after an initial victory to start eating that particular kind of lunch, but the tea party folks apparently can’t wait that long.