By Michael Jonas
We have officially entered the silly season in campaign coverage, at least over on Wingo Way.
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Why in the world would anyone be surprised to learn that Republican US Sen. Scott Brown is backing the Republican candidate for the open state treasurer’s position? And how could that yawn-inducing news possibly be regarded as a “snub” of Democrat Steve Grossman, who is also vying for the treasurer’s post?
Good questions for the Boston Herald. “Brown’s snub not bothering candidate,” is the headline on today’s Herald story by Hillary Chabot, which is a write-up of Grossman’s meeting yesterday with the Herald editorial board.
The story devotes seven of its eight paragraphs to the news that Grossman, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, downplayed the significance of Republican state Rep. Karyn Polito receiving the endorsement of the national GOP it boy – “even though Brown famously attracted disaffected Bay State voters in January.” How would anyone expect Grossman to react? By saying he is quaking in his boots on word of Brown’s endorsement, which surely will give Polito the push she needs to capture the treasurer’s office?
After hosting Grossman for what was presumably supposed to be a session to talk about his platform for the treasurer’s office, the Herald seems to have manufactured a story of drama and conflict where there really is none. Meanwhile, anyone hoping to learn what Grossman might do with the treasurer’s office was out of luck. With all that non-news to report, his ideas for the office were reduced to single, throwaway summary sentence at the end of the story.
