POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: WARREN and the 2020 cycle – The first BALLOT QUESTION ads of 2018 – MOULTON’s Pennsylvania swing
WARREN and the 2020 cycle – The first BALLOT QUESTION ads of 2018 – MOULTON’s Pennsylvania swing
03/12/2018 07:02 AM EDT
By Lauren Dezenski (ldezenski@politico.com; @LaurenDezenski) with Brent D. Griffiths (bgriffiths@politico.com; @BrentGriffiths)
GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Welcome to Monday. Ready for another snowstorm?
WARREN'S 2020 VISION - Sen. Elizabeth Warren is the latest Massachusetts pol to take a spin in the 2020 news cycle, refusing to commit on NBC's "Meet the Press" this weekend to fulfilling her six-year term if reelected this November.
"I am in this fight to retain my Senate seat in 2018," she said. "That's where I'm focused. That's where I'm going to stay focused. I'm not running for president."
But it's not just the national press interested in a 2020 answer from Warren. Warren has crisscrossed the state in town halls for months as the public's interest in a potential bid has amped up. She often fields similar questions - posed not quite as pointedly - from her constituents. The question came up on Friday, as Warren took questions from a crowd of just under 400 people at Springfield Technical Community College.
"Is it OK to ask you about 2020?" a constituent named Dave asked.
"Dave, you have the mic. But I can tell you the answer: No," Warren replied quickly.
Constituent Dave then asked about the Democratic Party not gelling around a certain candidate just yet. "I want to make a pitch to you. Maybe that's a good thing," Warren said. "We cannot be a party that says everything exciting happens once every four years. ... We now have to be a party and frankly we have to be a democracy that says you have to show up every day and be in the fight every day."
Warren also weighed in on Gov. Deval Patrick's interest in 2020 while chatting with the press after the event: "I think that Governor Patrick is a terrific man. He is a good human being. I think he was a strong governor, and whatever he wants to do in public service, I'm sure, would benefit this country."
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: ldezenski@politico.com.
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TODAY - Sen. Ed Markey, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Boston Police Commissioner Bill Evans, Mass. Police Chiefs, and gun safety advocates announce new federal gun safety legislation in a press conference at the Boston Police Department HQ. Per his office, Markey's new legislation will outline how Massachusetts gun licensing laws could serve as a model for the nation - Gov. Charlie Baker leads a closed-press discussion of the administration's housing bill at the State House. Also on-hand: Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Jay Ash, MassHousing Director Chrystal Kornegay , and several local business leaders - New Hampshire regulators will consider whether to vacate their previous decision to reject the Northern Pass electricity transmission project.
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DATELINE BEACON HILL -
- "State senate leadership fight full of intrigue, complications," by Bob Salsberg, Associated Press: "Amid new twists and turns in the wide open race to be the next leader of the Massachusetts Senate, lawmakers are struggling to stay focused on major legislation pending in the current session. Democratic Sen. John Keenan, of Quincy, is the latest member to signal his interest in becoming Senate president, one of the three most powerful positions on Beacon Hill along with governor and speaker of the House."
DAY LATE CHARLIE RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION WAKES UP! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN CHARLIE?
- "In Baker's New $610M Economic Dev. Bill, Tax Credit And A Call For Permanent Sales Tax Holiday," by Michael P. Norton, State House News Service: "To foster growth around the state, the bill adds to the state's debt load with a $300 million capital allocation to the MassWorks infrastructure program, $100 million for a new regional program in which the state and communities would partner on 'high-impact projects,' and $50 million apiece for saltwater dredging and to build maritime economies. Baker has steered cleared of pushing broad-based tax cuts to propel the economy, but in his new bill he calls for a new apprenticeship tax credit designed to spur companies to train and hire employees in health care, manufacturing and information technology - fields the administration says are hungry for qualified workers."
ON THE STUMP -
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: 'TIS THE SEASON - The first ads of the 2018 ballot question season are OUT. They come from opponents to the ballot question that would set a strict limit for nurse staffing levels in hospitals and so far they're only online (but look for them to potentially air on social media platforms). Video one, video two, and video three will be posted on the Coalition to Protect Patient Safety's website at noon.
MASSACHUSETTS: NO! NO! NO!
- "State GOP candidates call for guns in schools," by Stephanie Murray State House News Service: "In the wake of the Parkland shooting, Massachusetts lawmakers are considering tightening gun laws and urging other states to adopt strict laws already on the books here. At a Republican Town Committee meeting in Wilbraham on Thursday, three GOP hopefuls struck a different tone."
JUST IN - Ventura Announces Candidacy for the Bristol and Norfolk State Senate Seat: "Jacob J. Ventura (R-Attleboro), an attorney, announced his 2018 candidacy for the Massachusetts State Senate to represent the Bristol and Norfolk district. Ventura made the formal announcement this Saturday while meeting residents in Sharon, Massachusetts. Ventura was elected as the Republican nominee in the 2017 special election for the district."
- OPEIU local 453 (an MBTA union) endorsed Jay Gonzalez for governor this weekend. The union's president, Tim Lasker, came to the office opening on Saturday morning and introduced Jay. Also on-hand: Sen Cindy Friedman, Cambridge Mayor Marc McGovern, and 117 supporters.
THE WARREN REPORT -
- On getting a DNA test to settle the Native American heritage debate: "I know who I am because of what my mother and my father told me, what my grandmother and my grandfather told me, what all my aunts and uncles told me and my brothers," Warren said on "Fox News Sunday."
- "On Meet the Press, Elizabeth Warren grilled with questions raised by Berkshire Eagle editorial," by Dick Lindsay, the Berkshire Eagle: "The Berkshire Eagle editorial calling on US Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to take a DNA test to end doubt about having Native American blood grabbed the national spotlight Sunday. NBC 'Meet the Press' host Chuck Todd asked Warren to respond to the editorial just two days after she defended her ancestry in a regional television news program interview."
- "Elizabeth Warren prepares to make Kushner's life hell," by Bess Levin, Vanity Fair: "In a pair of characteristically fiery letters sent to Citigroup and Apollo Global Management-the institutions that lent Kushner Cos. more than half a billion dollars after a few meet-and-greets with Jared in his D.C. office-Warren, along with Representative Elijah Cummings, Senator Tom Carper, and Senator Gary Peters, reminded the companies' C.E.O.s that "federal ethics laws prohibit federal employees from profiting from their government service.' While a subpoena would likely get people talking, Warren would need to have the cooperation of her Republican colleagues, who apparently believe it's Kushner (and the Trump family)'s God-given right to profit off the presidency."
- "Warren hosts town hall in Weymouth," by Audrey Cooney, Patriot Ledger: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., stressed the importance of political engagement to about 750 people at a town hall at Weymouth High School on Saturday."
MOULTON MATTERS -
- "Democrat Conor Lamb spends final days of campaign with voters on their doorsteps," by Aaron Aupperlee, Trib Live: "Lamb, joined by Seth Moulton, a Democratic House member from Massachusetts, headed to Jefferson Hills to knock on doors. ... Moulton flew in from Washington to help Lamb in the final days. The two are alike in many ways. One woman mistook the two for her grandsons when they knocked on her door. Another commented on their similar haircuts."
- ON THAT NOTE: Six of Moulton's staffers were on the ground in Pennsylvania knocking doors for Lamb on Saturday and Sunday, his team tells me. Team Moulton also held a phone bank out of their Salem, Mass., office on Sunday night.
- "Seth Moulton rips Chinese institute, wants it off college campuses," by Laura Krantz, Boston Globe: "US Representative Seth Moulton has urged two colleges in Massachusetts to cut ties with on-campus institutes that have ties to the Chinese government and are believed to promote censorship and undermine human rights. Moulton, a Democrat from Salem, sent letters this week to Tufts University and UMass Boston asking them to disassociate with the Confucius Institute, which operates centers on both campuses."
2020 WATCH -
- "In Philly, a new chance for Patrick to raise his profile," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "Former governor Deval Patrick will appear at a sold-out event in Philadelphia next week, marking the latest opportunity for him to raise his national profile amid speculation about his White House interest. Patrick's scheduled appearance at the National Constitution Center on Thursday will come just weeks after he told a Kansas City radio station that a 2020 presidential campaign is on his 'radar screen."
TSONGAS ARENA -
NEW THIS MORNING - "International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 35 endorses Koh for Congress," from the Koh campaign: "The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 35 today endorsed Dan Koh in the race for the 3rd Congressional District. District Council 35 represents approximately 4,000 members and is the ninth union endorsement that Koh has received, more than any other candidate."
DATELINE D.C. -
- "Rep. Richard Neal: Ten proposals to address gun violence in America," by Richard Neal, the Berkshire Eagle: "While I have always supported rights of hunters, sportsmen, and gun collectors to bear arms under the Second Amendment, I believe there are 10 sensible proposals that Democrats and Republicans should consider to prevent future mass shootings. The following is a list of common sense measures I spoke about to Pittsfield and Taconic high school students and I am proud to share them with you."
WOOD WAR - Herald: "LIZ PLAYS DODGE BALL," "Tourist copter crashes." - Globe: "President offers plan on safety in schools," "Unions get surprise lift from millennials," "Detained and bewildered," "After 31 years, an arrest in slaying of teen," "Tow company's old bill has driver on hook for $7k."
THE LOCAL ANGLE -
- "Two Upper Cape towns dominate Massachusetts real estate market," by Sean F. Driscoll, Cape Cod Times: "Don't look now, but two towns on the Cape have roared onto the scene and become some of the hottest housing markets in the state. LaMacchia Realty, a Waltham-based real estate agency that covers the Upper Cape, found that Bourne was the third-hottest market for home sales in 2017."
- "East Boston High student accused of making threat detained by ICE," by Owen Boss, Boston Herald: "A 19-year-old East Boston High School student who was arrested last week for allegedly making threats at school is in ICE custody after authorities realized he'd been living in the United States illegally since 2015, an ICE official said. A Boston Public Schools spokesman said an automated phone call was sent to the school community letting them know that Funes had 'made verbal threats of violence toward members of our school community' and that staffers 'immediately took action and contacted Boston School Police and t he Boston Police Department.'"
- "Mitt Romney hit for 'liberal Massachusetts values' in first Utah attack ad," by Tristan Justice, Washington Examiner:"Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is under attack in his race to replace retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, in a new ad released Thursday labeling the former Massachusetts Gov. as an establishment 'flip-flopper' with 'liberal Massachusetts values.' The ad released by right-wing primary challenger Utah attorney Larry Meyers, brings back popular lines of attack that were used during Romney's run for the White House in the 2012 election cycle, accusing Romney of changing his position o n key issues important to Republican primary voters."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Mitt Romney, who is 71,
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? No! The Celtics fell just short to the Pacers, 99-97, while the Bruins' winning streak was snapped in Chicago, 3-1.
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