With US Rep. Ed Markey all but poised to try and grab the Democratic baton in the likely match up against perennial senator-in-waiting Scott Brown, it’s gone quiet on the interim US Senator front.
The seat could have gone to Michael Dukakis or Vicki Kennedy, who would be popular picks. But both have said no.
The one candidate who hasn’t exactly shot down the trial balloons hoisted by the commentariat is US Rep. Barney Frank. Frank would be a leading choice to replace Secretary of State-in-waiting John Kerry until a special election is held to fill out the remainder of his Senate term.
The interim senator from Massachusetts will be voting for a raft of new Cabinet officers. With Kerry destined for a rose petal-strewn path to confirmation from his Senate colleagues, the spotlight now shifts to the Pentagon. Republican Chuck Hagel, the former Nebraska senator who lost his bid to return to the Capitol Hill in November, seems to be President’s Obama pick.
Despite the bruises suffered in the unsuccessful fight to send UN Ambassador Susan Rice to Foggy Bottom, Obama has insisted on supporting Hagel over objections to his opposition to the Iraq War and his nuanced stances on Israel and Iran.
Which brings us back to Barney Frank. If his defense and foreign affairs views weren’t controversial enough, Hagel has major problems on the gay rights front. LGBT advocates, including Frank, have condemned Hagel’s past anti-gay stances, especially his 1998 remarks about James Hormel, President Clinton’s openly gay pick for ambassador to Luxembourg.
But in a little-noticed remark, Daily Beast’s Andrew Sullivan points out that Frank has praised Hagel, too. “I think he’d be very good. … You need someone intelligent to help cut [the Pentagon] budget.”
While Kerry is an easy “aye,” a possible Hagel nomination is shaping up to be as dicey as the fight over Rice. With Brown out of the picture at least in short term, the last thing Obama wants is quibbling from a Bay State senator, and a temporary one at that, should he finally decide to go with Hagel.
If the soon-to-be former congressman wants to keep the Senate seat warm for Brown, Markey, or some other member of the DC delegation, would Frank signal to the president’s man in Mass, Gov. Deval Patrick, that he could find a way to support the now apologetic Hagel in what could be another nasty confirmation battle?
–GABRIELLE GURLEY
BEACON HILL
The state plans to phase out a policy of temporarily housing homeless families in motels, but advocates are worried there will not be suitable alternatives to meet the demand.
The Lowell Sun, in an editorial, slams Rachel Kaprielian, the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, for failing to properly enforce a law designed to keep illegal aliens from acquiring vehicle registrations.
The Globe reports that Senate President Therese Murray will outline an agenda for the new legislative term that includes a financing plan for the state’s ailing transportation system and welfare reform measures.
Herald columnist Joe Battenfeld urges Scott Brown to resist the temptation to beat up on Rep. Ed Markey in a special election for the Senate, and run for governor instead.
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
The Salem City Council prepares to pick a replacement for Joan Lovely, who left to become a state senator, the Salem News reports.
Fitchburg is making some progress in the battle against childhood obesity, WBUR reports.
The Globe takes a look at Lawrence’s controversy-plagued mayor, William Lantigua, and his prospects for reelection this year.
Lynn and its firefighters union sign a one-year agreement calling for a 2 percent wage increase, the Item reports.
Towns on Cape Cod are trying to figure out what the medical marijuana law means for them.
NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON
Congress extends the middle class tax cuts permanently but kicks the fiscal can down the road two months. The House vote divided the Republican caucus, with 150 GOP members bucking Speaker John Boehner and voting against the deal. A fight over the debt ceiling still looms. A New York Times analysis argues that, even a few years ago, the fiscal deal would have been a GOP coup. The left is disgruntled, too. Here is the House roll call. Politico reports that Boehner confronted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Friday, telling him to “go fuck yourself.” No matter, the stock market is happy.
In his last significant vote in office, Sen. Scott Brown supported the fiscal cliff deal that raises taxes on high earners, even though he insisted adamantly throughout his bruising — and ultimately losing — campaign against Elizabeth Warren that he would not vote for any tax increases, even those targeted at the wealthy. He comes in for scathing criticism today’s Globe from Republican strategist Todd Domke, not for supporting the deal, but for doing so very quietly.
House Republicans decide not to take up a Hurricane Sandy relief bill, Politico reports.
The New York Times spotlights the rise of the female delegation in New Hampshire.
Slate’s Matt Yglesias wants Congress to bring back earmarks, arguing Washington works better when it’s more corrupt: “It turns out that a Congress full of highly principled men and women, fired-up by genuine idealism about America’s future, is a place where nothing gets done.”
ELECTIONS
National Review’s senior editor Jay Nordlinger launches a full-throated defense of Mitt Romney and his campaign to beat back what he says is myopic revisionism by his fellow conservatives.
Rep. John Tierney is already restocking his campaign account.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
Avis is buying Boston-based car-sharing company Zipcar.
CHARITY
America’s wicked wealthy slowed their charitable donations in 2012.
EDUCATION
Texas is one of ten states that will see legal challenges to its school funding system this year.
HEALTH CARE
Paul Levy combines the rate of health insurance in each state with its obesity rate to come up with what he labels “The Pain Index,” which he thinks is a good measure of where the unhealthiest population is and where the greatest health care costs will be.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
Scientists have determined an asteroid that had a chance of hitting Earth in 2040 will miss by about a half-million miles but there is a chance for another collision from another asteroid eight years later.
Quincy is facing hefty fines from the state for environmental violations at the city’s public works and a field where a running track was recently built.
The Globe reports on the hard times for heating fuel oil dealers in Massachusetts as consumers continue the migration to lower-cost natural gas.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
A former corrections officer was arraigned on charges of having sex with an inmate while she worked at the state prison in Bridgewater.
MEDIA
And then there was one. Talk radio station in Boston, that is. WTKK-FM (96.9) officially killed its talk format and is switching to music, leaving WRKO (AM 680) as the sole survivor. Howie Carr can’t help but think he could have single-handedly saved the station.
In case you missed it, Beat the Press did a wrap-up of the seismic shifts in 2012 across Boston’s media landscape.