Judging from the reactions posted over at Blue
Mass Group, the Deval Patrick revolutionaries came to yesterday’s
Democratic Party caucuses expecting to be shut out of the primary
process, like Reich had been in 2002, only to find the battiments
already crumbling down.
Meanwhile, over at Ward 10 in Mission Hill, I felt like a French
peasant in the provinces while revolution waged in Paris - vaguely
aware that something was happening elsewhere in the state, but unsure
exactly what it could possibly be.
I’m still left mystified by the caucus process. It was a chummy
gathering, with everyone pretty much knowing everyone else from
neighborhood association meetings or from Deval Patrick meetings. The
Ward gets 13 delegates, and there were probably 30 to 35 people
there, so competition for delegate spots wasn’t fierce. Compounding
that was a seemingly tacit decision to quickly close nominations
after 6 women were nominated, meaning that no discussion or vote took
place on them. There were 9 male nominees, but in introducing
themselves, one man said he’d keep an open mind on the eventually
nominee (he didn’t win), and another said he’d vote for Patrick (he
won); none of the rest even mentioned a candidate’s name. NO mention
of lieutenant governor the whole time. Given that the rules allowed
only for these 1-minute introductions, there was no opportunity for
discussion or questions.
So I’m mystified by these tallies that people are giving for
Patrick vs. Reilly’s delegates, or news
that Reilly led in Boston. How do they know? Is it something that the
campaigns themselves tally? Because there was barely a word at my
caucus of how anyone would vote at the nominating convention.
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