Patrick takes on the cynics
WORCESTER
HOWARD DEAN was in the hall. Only this time, he was black and running for governor of Massachusetts.
Massachusetts Democrats endorsed and embraced Deval Patrick as the party's gubernatorial nominee. You could feel the love oozing from Patrick supporters, just like you could feel it from the Deaniacs during the 2004 presidential campaign.
Patrick, a very smart man, anticipated the next hurdle in the electoral process: the nay-sayers. He took them on directly in his speech to delegates. Comparing cynicism to ``an opiate" like heroin, he told his adoring crowd, ``Some in politics and some of the media, frankly, are dealers, peddling cynicism by tearing down anything positive and hopeful."
Well, one man's cynicism is another woman's reality.
Patrick delivered an amazing, inspirational speech to delegates. He rocked the place in a way no Bay State politician but Ted Kennedy could hope to emulate. He owns the hearts, minds, and souls of grassroots liberal activists in Massachusetts.
Now, the hard part. Can he expand the circle of love? Liberal activists alone cannot elect Patrick governor, any more than they could elect Dean president.
His Democratic opponents are aiming directly at voters threatened by the notion of returning an unabashed liberal to the corner office. As Attorney General Thomas Reilly told the crowd, ``There are hundreds of thousands of people not in this hall today who will also make a big difference in November. They are the independent-minded voters of Massachusetts."
Venture capitalist Chris Gabrieli stressed competence, not ideology, the failed mantra of Michael Dukakis on the 1988 presidential trail. But competence, not ideology, has its appeal in the 21st century. Voters are starved for less-partisan, more results-oriented government. It is what Mitt Romney promised but abandoned after winning the governor's race in 2002. Romney veered right when he chose to go national, disappointing centrist voters. Now, with Gabrieli on the ballot, the pitch holds new promise, and Gabrieli has the platform and resources to promote it.
That is political reality, not spiteful cynicism. It is reality even though Patrick brings much to the table. He is a charismatic speaker. His life story, from Chicago tenement to Milton Academy to Harvard Law School, is more compelling than Dean's. Like Dean, he challenged the political establishment, and in this instance exposed the surprising vulnerabilities of a sitting attorney general. That is a tremendous accomplishment for any political newcomer. It is especially noteworthy when the challenger is an African-American taking on the Massachusetts establishment.
Like gender, skin color is an unknown factor in the electability equation. At a press conference last week with Patrick and Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the two men were repeatedly asked a version of this question: Can a black man win the governor's office in Massachusetts? Obama said he doubted race ``will even register," that voters would judge not skin color but whether a candidate was ``looking out for their interests."
Still, that raises a second key electability factor. Has Patrick positioned himself so far to the left on fiscal, tax-and-spend issues that the voter in the middle questions whether he is looking out for them? If that's the case, Patrick cannot win in November, no matter how inspirational his life story or how electric his speechifying.
Patrick traveled far over the last year. But the real journey starts today. Now, he must win a Democratic primary, which is very different from winning a Democratic state convention.
He must fight the political establishment that put its weight behind Reilly at this convention, from the Teamsters to Senate President Robert Travaglini; and the personal wealth and appeal to independent voters that Gabrieli brings to the race.
Dean could not fight the establishment, despite the love, passion, and idealism of his supporters. The rigors of campaigning also exposed personality flaws that undercut Dean's effort.
In Dean's case, the cynics were right. Patrick now has his chance to prove them wrong. 