Michelle Obama’s blistering takedown of Donald Trump during the opening night of the Democratic National Convention on Monday was noteworthy because she largely steered clear of the president’s policy record and focused instead on the character of a man she deemed wholly unfit for office.
In an odd parallel, the same issue-free attacks on character are now animating the closing days of the Democratic primary showdown between Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy.
Sure, they have traded charges on policy points. But such exchange have often fallen down rabbit holes of congressional arcana, such as Kennedy’s charge that Markey was the only member of the state’s congressional delegation to vote for a bill setting “bed quotas” for immigrant detainees, something Kennedy also later voted for — though in a very different context, his campaign says.
The squabbling and seeming hair-splitting over such votes underscores what’s been true since Kennedy first declared nearly a year ago that he would take on Markey for his seat: The two liberal lawmakers are pretty closely aligned on most major issues.
That has contributed hugely to the increasingly personal tone of their attacks, jabs that go much more at what each is made of than how he would vote in office.
Kennedy’s most pointed attacks on Markey’s character now center on how he responded — or didn’t — to two families in crisis who came to him for help.
Kennedy has been hammering Markey over a meeting the senator had with the parents of DJ Henry, an Easton resident killed by police in an encounter near the college he was attending in the suburbs outside New York City. Henry’s father has said Markey was dismissive of the family’s efforts to seek further review of the police shooting. This week, Kennedy raised the story of another father who says he was blown off by an “aloof” Markey in a moment of crisis, a man whose wife had fled to Egypt with their two young sons.
“The difference that we can make in this position is that you help when people are in need,” Kennedy said of Markey’s inaction in last night’s final debate of the campaign. You almost expected him to steal Amy Klobuchar’s devastatingly simple attack on eyebrow-raising Trump behavior during the Democratic presidential primaries: “Who does that?”
For his part, Markey has been pounding Kennedy over attack ads from a super PAC that he charges is being organized by Kennedy’s twin brother and funded in part with the campaign account of his father, former congressman Joseph Kennedy II. Markey has slammed the surge of so-called “dark money” spending and implored Kennedy to call off his father’s spending. Finance reports that would show whether Kennedy’s dad is, in fact, dipping into money left in his campaign account to fund the super PAC aren’t due until after the primary. Kennedy is quick to point out that Markey refused to sign a so-called “People’s Pledge” against outside spending, as he did in his 2013 race to win the Senate seat.
Markey has zinged Kennedy by posting a TikTok, set to the Hall and Oates song “Rich Girl,” with its reference to relying on “the old man’s money,” reinforcing the idea that the 39-year-old congressman is largely riding on his family’s fame and fortune. Markey has also gotten under Kennedy’s skin with a new ad that plays off Kennedy’s great uncle John F. Kennedy’s call for Americans to “ask what you can do for your country.”
The bottom line with less than two weeks until what many will probably consider a merciful ending to the race: Those looking for riveting policy discourse and a campaign with candidates debating the great issues of the day have had to look elsewhere.
MICHAEL JONAS
FROM COMMONWEALTH
Nearly half of Massachusetts businesses received loans through the federal Paycheck Protection Program.
Ed Markey and Joe Kennedy engage in a lackluster, low-brow debate that showcased how little they have to say.
Jordan Meehan takes on Brighton state Rep. Kevin Honan, which is his first challenge in 34 years.
Katie Theoharides, the governor’s secretary of energy and environmental affairs, softens her stance a bit on incursions into the Charles River in connection with the I-90 reconstruction in Allston.
More than 1 million Massachusetts voters have applied for ballots to vote by mail.
Seventy percent of the state’s school districts are opening this fall with some form of in-person learning.
Gov. Charlie Baker is getting in line for President Trump’s enhanced unemployment insurance benefit even though he doesn’t like the way it’s funded. “I don’t think Massachusetts should pass on that,” he said.
Opinion: No one-size-fits-all plans for Massachusetts school districts, say Thomas Scott of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents and Robert Baldwin of the Fairhaven Public Schools.
FROM AROUND THE WEB
HEALTH/HEALTH CARE
The FDA warns of false positive test results from a COVID-19 test developed by Massachusetts company Thermo Fisher Scientific. (MassLive)
WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
A Republican-led Senate committee releases a 1,000-page report on Russian interference in the 2016 president election detailing extensive ties between Trump campaign advisers and Kremlin officials. (New York Times)
Few states are pursuing President Trump’s offer to extend jobless benefits. (NPR)
President Trump said he plans to issue a pardon for Susan B. Anthony. (Associated Press)
ELECTIONS
It’s official: Joe Biden is the Democratic nominee for president. (Washington Post)
Progressives are ripping the DNC for only allotting rising star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 90 seconds to address the convention. (Boston Herald)
US Rep. Jim McGovern calls for a federal investigation of what he calls President Trump’s “criminal” attempt to sabotage the US Postal Service to win reelection. (Telegram & Gazette)
Joe Kennedy’s college roommate Jason Collins, a black former basketball player who became the first openly gay NBA player, calls Ed Markey’s digs at Kennedy’s membership in the fraternity with ties to Robert E. Lee that they both belonged to “a cheap attack.” (Boston Herald)
A Berkshire Eagle editorial summarizes the Richard Neal-Alex Morse debate and its significance beyond western Massachusetts without taking sides. “Across all the issues raised in the debate, a prevailing theme was one that has come to essentially define the increasingly bitter contest: political power and the responsibility of wielding it,” said the editorial.
Rep. Claire Cronin, an Easton Democrat, was chosen to represent the state in nominating former Vice President Joe Biden for president. (The Enterprise)
EDUCATION
Interest has exploded in homeschooling amid the pandemic and school closures. (Telegram & Gazette)
Amherst is planning to bring young children back for in-person learning this fall, but the union representing teachers is fighting the decision. (Daily Hampshire Gazette) New guidance lays out which youth sports can be played this fall and which must be deferred until the winter. (MassLive)
Social distancing and space constraints at Sturgis Charter Public School in Hyannis allow students back just once a week. (Cape Cod Times)
School has barely started, but Boston University and Emerson University already reported positive COVID-19 tests among students returning to college. BU had eight cases and Emerson one. (MassLive)
TRANSPORTATION
The Globe rolls out the first part of a series on driving records reporting that 1 of every 10 American drivers has a driving offense that’s not recorded on their official record.
ARTS/CULTURE
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg donates $3 million toward a new public library in his hometown of Medford. (Associated Press)
WGBH commemorates black suffragists who fought for women’s right to vote, with images created by artist Ambrojah Williams.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS
The Massachusetts Bail Fund has put up money for the release of another high-bail defendant, drawing criticism from a local police chief. (Boston Herald)
Sheriffs throughout the state are championing a bill that would eliminate most detainee transports for court hearings, except trials and contested evidentiary hearings. (Patriot Ledger)