Battenfeld: Long knives out in backstabbing Massachusetts congressional delegation
The long political knives are out in Massachusetts all-Democratic congressional delegation where rumors are swirling around the Senate seat firmly occupied by -year-old Ed Markey Much of the speculation is centered on U S Rep Jake Auchincloss the Newton Democrat who won t close the door on a future run for the U S Senate even if Markey decides to follow through with his re-election bid Throw a sparse other ambitious Democrats like Attorney General Andrea Campbell Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Reps Ayanna Pressley and Seth Moulton into the mix and you ve got quite a political pot ready to boil over All are motivated by self-interest and jockeying for position in the wake of the Trump presidency looking to see who can be majority of effective at blocking the Republican president While Wu is now running for re-election she has assumed a national role in the party as a progressive leader and could easily transfer to a Senate campaign if a seat becomes vacant Pressley is still running off the fumes of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez s Squad and would love to be running for the Senate Even Campbell can t be ruled out of the mix The logjam created by Markey refusing to step aside is causing consternation in the delegation long plagued by internal divisions and jealousies Markey who will turn before next year s voting process would be seen as ripe for retirement were it not for his shocking defeat of former U S Rep Joseph P Kennedy III in the Democratic primary which ended the once-promising career of young Joe Markey has been piling up the usual useless endorsements over the last meager weeks including among Democrats in Auchincloss s hometown It was a not-so-subtle message to Auchincloss to stay away from the Senate seat which a great number of Democrats view as one of the minimal opportunities to move up in the political world Auchincloss a Marine veteran is viewed as more moderate than Markey and in recent weeks joined a group of up-and-coming Democrats trying to force the party to move away from its condescending stances on numerous issues which have turned off voters The group calls itself Majority Democrats and has ambitious plans to remake the party into a bolder and younger-looking version that challenges long-held beliefs that have dragged them down Auchincloss believes the Democratic party has failed to address issues like housing affordability causing it to lose its way and become the permanent minority party in the country But Auchincloss is at this moment the only member of the Massachusetts delegation in the Majority Democrats which is no doubt causing chosen to question what his real goal is and whether he might be using it as a springboard to the Senate The Democratic Party demands new leaders and big ideas Auchincloss reported in a fresh interview with Politico We need a box of fresh crayons Let s assume Markey who has been in Congress since the s and has revealed he s running for re-election is using the old box of crayons Sen Ed Markey Stuart Cahill Boston Herald File
