If you thought a four-on-one attack in a heavily-contested political fight’s final round would deliver a knock-out punch, you would be wrong.
Eighth Essex District Democrats Jenny Armini, Diann Slavit Baylis, Terri Tauro and Polly Titcomb signed a letter earlier this week slamming U.S. Sen. Edward Markey’s endorsement of 8th Essex candidate Tristan Smith.
The attack ended not with a bang, but with a whimper. Not one of the four took a shot at Smith when they had the chance to do so during Monday evening’s Essex Media Group/Marblehead Weekly News forum.
By Wednesday, Marblehead, Swampscott, and Lynn residents were writing letters noting how Markey can be a strong ally on 8th District priorities like the King’s Beach cleanup, and mockingly dubbing the letter writers “The Fearsome Foursome.”
Unless one of the candidates launches a surprise attack ad this weekend, the letter will stand as the vitriolic highpoint in the 8th Essex contest. Its length and apparent group authorship make it worth analyzing.
The four stated that they “were disappointed to learn” of Markey’s endorsement, not because of the “potential impact . . . on our candidacies, but rather what it says about the state of our political system.”
They went on to sketch out an I’ll-scratch-your-back-if-you-scratch-mine premise encompassing accusations about campaign contributions made by Smith’s father, attorney and former state Rep. James Smith, to the politicians who endorsed Tristan Smith.
“Money in politics and progressive values simply cannot coexist,” stated Armini, Baylis, Tauro, and Titcomb. (Let’s not forget Doug Thompson who was also subject to the Foursome’s righteous wrath).
There are a number of major flaws with this argument and with the object of the Fearsome Foursome’s attack that sank their proverbial ship before it left the harbor.
First of all, anyone over the age of 40 knows that money fuels politics. Let me say it again: Money fuels politics. You may not like that reality. You may even be intent on challenging it. But the reality is that it is expensive to run for office if you’re interested in winning.
On the other hand, almost no one under the age of 40 who isn’t interested in politics gives a fat fig about Barney Frank and Ed Markey endorsing Tristan Smith. You might as well tell someone with ear buds jammed into their head and their eyes glued to an iPhone that Elbridge Gerry and Thomas Dewey endorsed Smith, for all they could care.
It should be noted that Markey is still basking in the glow emanating from the 2020 win he scored, in no small part, from his close association with progressive darling U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The other problem with the attack letter is that Smith is a humble, unassuming guy and a good listener. The letter doesn’t flat out say it, but its authors certainly insinuated that Smith is a daddy’s-boy who woke up one day and said, “Geez, pop, I’d really like to be a state representative.”
I’m not convinced that insinuation won’t come back to haunt the Foursome in four days.
Since they brought it up in the letter, it’s worth the time to analyze the fact that the four women in the 8th race played the gender card in attacking Smith.
“Currently, only 28.5 percent of our representatives are female,” they wrote. Guess what? Sixty-six percent of the candidates in the 8th Essex District race are women who, at least from this observer’s perspective, are perfectly capable of standing on their accomplishments without tucking it to Mr. Smith.
Will “Mr. Smith goes to Boston” be the last line written in the 8th Essex race? I’m not sure. I live and vote in the 8th Essex, and I haven’t made up my mind who I will pick on Tuesday (yes, I actually vote in person).
I can guarantee you one certainty: Whoever wins the 8th Essex is going to face a tough rematch in 2024 with opponents picking apart the winner’s legislative track record and, specifically, how well Tuesday’s winner delivers or does not deliver for Marblehead, the town that sent the district’s previous three legislators to the Statehouse.
Good luck to one and all.
