Thursday, July 25, 2024

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Elizabeth Warren's media blitz

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AS SEEN ON TV — Joe Biden’s reelection campaign may be over. But Sen. Elizabeth Warren, one of his highest-profile surrogates, hasn’t missed a beat when it comes to hitting the trail for his hand-picked replacement.

Warren has been on a media blitz ever since Biden announced he was stepping aside and endorsing his Vice President Kamala Harris. Warren has done more than a dozen interviews — from local radio to cable news hits — in the four days since announcing her own endorsement of the vice president on Sunday afternoon.

While Harris was still shoring up support from within the Democratic Party Sunday afternoon, Warren was hitting the phones and the airwaves, chatting with my colleagues and hopping on MSNBC for an interview with former-Biden-press-secretary-turned-cable-host Jen Psaki.

“Think about Vice President Harris’ years as a prosecutor. She’s someone who’s gone toe-to-toe with people who bluster, people who bully, people who lie — and she has held them accountable. … I think somebody like that is really frightening to Donald Trump,” she told Psaki.

Then it was CNN, and the next morning MSNBC’s flagship morning show “Morning Joe.” She’s also hit the locals: WBUR, GBH News and NBC10 Boston. The message the senator’s hammering sounds much like the one Harris delivered in her first campaign outing Tuesday.

The show of support from Warren isn’t surprising. Even before Biden dropped out, the Bay State’s senior senator signaled she’d be behind Harris, telling MSNBC that the vice president was ready to step up and prepared to make the case against former President Donald Trump.

But Warren's relationship with Harris, her formal rival for the 2020 Democratic nomination, has had its ups and downs. They had an awkward and tense — if brief — moment last year when Warren, asked if Biden should keep Harris on the ticket, deferred to “what makes Biden comfortable on his team.”

Boosting Harris now has its advantages for Warren, too — strengthening her relationship with the potential next president after four years of influencing Biden administration personnel and policy.

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS . Send your tips, scoops, birthdays and more to kgarrity@politico.com.

TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey has no public events. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll announces Community Development Block Grant awards at 10 a.m. in Chelsea and unveils the first-ever Massachusetts Ice Cream Trail at 1 p.m. in Middleton. Sen. Ed Markey and Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson host a press conference on expanding the Supreme Court at noon on the steps of the Supreme Court. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at the reopening of the BCYF Clougherty Pool at 10:20 a.m. in Charlestown and at a ribbon cutting for an ice cream shop at 4 p.m. in Roslindale.

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “Massachusetts gave ‘Don’t Look Up’ $46 million in taxpayer-funded credits, the largest for a film in state history,” by Matt Stout, The Boston Globe.

— “Insulin could cost $0 under Bay State plan to regulate Pharmacy Benefit Managers,” by Matthew Medsgar, Boston Herald: “On Wednesday, and with just a week to go before their formal session ends for the year, lower-chamber lawmakers unanimously passed An Act relative to pharmaceutical access, costs and transparency, adding yet another proposal to the pile of bills to be reconciled with their Senate colleagues. The bill, according to Rep. John Lawn, of Watertown, would dramatically change the cost of prescription drugs in the Bay State by ‘shedding light on pharmacy benefit managers, whose deceptive practices increase drug prices, decrease transparency and harm consumers and independent pharmacies.’”

FROM THE HUB

— “As crowds and drug use return, Boston city councilor says Mass and Cass approach has been a ‘failure’ and needs to be reevaluated,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Councilor Ed Flynn plans to file a hearing order at the next City Council meeting on Aug. 7, that he says is aimed at addressing the ‘humanitarian crisis, public safety and public health emergency’ at and around the intersection of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue, and the ‘critical need to enhance city response and services related to this area.’”

MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS

— “At least 20,000 people wait to learn English in Massachusetts,” by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News.

— “Mass. town cleaved by shelter opening ‘supports’ Healey’s sweeping system changes,” by Hadley Barndollar, MassLive: “ Residents in Norfolk, about an hour southwest of Boston, have been staunchly divided over the former Bay State Correctional Center being turned into an overflow shelter site. … ‘The town of Norfolk supports the changes announced by the governor today, as they ensure the town can continue to support the shelter without overtaxing its ability to provide core programs and services to residents,’ Town Administrator Justin Casanova-Davis said in a statement Tuesday.”

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2024 WATCH

— “Biden is passing the torch ‘to unite our nation’,” by Eli Stokols and Lauren Egan, POLITICO: “Speaking for the first time about his historic decision to end his reelection bid, President Joe Biden said that ‘saving our democracy’ was ‘more important than any title.’ During an Oval Office address, Biden told the country that his painstaking choice to step aside, which only came after weeks of pressure from fellow Democrats, was made with the good of his party and country in mind.”

WHAT'S ON CAMPBELL'S DOCKET

— “After Southwick students hold mock slave auction, AG Campbell works to revise district’s policies on racism,” by Helena Getahun-Hawkins, The Boston Globe.

— “AG’s office said Holyoke City Council violated Open Meeting Law,” by Aprell May Munford, The Springfield Republican: “When the City Council went into a closed-door session in February, the meeting notice listed the topic for discussion as ‘litigation update.’ That was insufficient, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office recently determined. The City Council breached Open Meeting Law by not specifying the subject to be discussed at a Feb. 6 meeting, Elizabeth Carnes Flynn, an assistant attorney general, said in a July 19 letter sent to city officials.”

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO AVOIDED CORRUPT NETANYAHU'S EVENT! ALLOWING A WAR CRIMINAL TO ADDRESS CONGRESS DEFIES REASON!

BIBI BOYCOTT — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to both houses of Congress drew thousands of demonstrators to the Capitol and surrounding areas yesterday.

Roughly half of congressional Democrats skipped the address in protest of the Israeli leader’s approach to the war in Gaza, including multiple members of the Massachusetts delegation.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley announced her plans to skip the session Tuesday evening, saying in a statement that Congress should “never give this platform to a war criminal.”

Both Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey said they wouldn’t attend in statements on social media. Warren criticized Netanyahu’s “indiscriminate bombing campaign, ”calling the event a “political show,” while Markey called for an immediate ceasefire in the region.

Rep. Lori Trahan opted against attending after meeting with families of some of the hostages taken by Hamas. “Time after time, [Netanhayu] has obstructed and denied ceasefire agreements that would secure the release of the hostages, including innocent Americans still in captivity,” she said in a statement, blasting the Israeli leader’s plan to travel to Mar-a-Lago to meet with former President Donald Trump.

There is no reasonable excuse for defending GENOCIDE!
BLOCKING HUMANITARIAN AID & MEDICAL SUPPLIES, STARVING GAZANS is a WAR CRIME!

Rep. Jake Auchincloss, the staunchest supporter of Israel among the delegation, was in the chamber when Netanyahu spoke, and brought Newton Rabbi Michelle Robinson as his guest. For a while, he was seated next to Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), but moved when she began holding up a sign calling Netanyahu a war criminal, POLITICO’s Anthony Adragna reported. More on the speech from Anthony Adragna, Matt Berg and Nahal Toosi.

THANK YOU REP. RASHIDA TLAIB!

Representative Rashida Tlaib holds up a GUILTY OF GENOCIDE sign during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to a joint meeting of Congress at the U.S. Capitol.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) protests during Netanyahu's speech in the House Chamber. | Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

THE LOCAL ANGLE — “Protesters at Northampton rally call for Israeli PM’s arrest just before Netanyahu addresses Congress,” by Alexander MacDougall, Daily Hampshire Gazette.

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PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “Advocates renew push for congestion pricing,” by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune.

YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — SEIU Local 509 has endorsed Arielle Faria for the open Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket seat, according to her campaign.

Know before you vote: Candidates and issues in House seat for Barnstable, Dukes, Nantucket
CAPE COD TIMES

IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

— “GE Vernova blames manufacturing snafu for Vineyard Wind blade failure in Nantucket crisis,” by Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald: “GE Vernova is pointing to a ‘manufacturing deviation’ and not an engineering design flaw in the failure of its wind turbine off the coast of Nantucket, roiling the summer island community. … The latest development in the Vineyard Wind crisis broke during a second-quarter earnings call with investors early Wednesday morning. It followed the release of an initial environmental analysis of the disaster Tuesday night, with the assessment finding debris from the blade to be “inert, non-soluble, stable and non-toxic.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Civil rights complaint alleges racial harassment, violence at Lawrence School,” by Vivi Smilgius, Brookline.News: “An eighth grade student at the Lawrence School was allegedly subjected to racial harassment and physical violence, including a ‘reenactment’ of George Floyd’s murder, according to a federal civil rights complaint filed Monday by Lawyers for Civil Rights. During the 2023-24 school year, MC Henry, who is Black and uses they/them pronouns, was subjected to multiple instances of racial harassment, and their parents’ requests for assistance from the district were ignored, according to the complaint.”

IGNORING OR DEFENDING PHYSICAL ASSAULT IS INEXCUSABLE!

— “Taunton City Council president still has faith in mayor’s administration despite recent arrest,” by Sarah Doiron and Shiina LoSciuto.

excerpt:

It’s business as usual at Taunton City Hall, even though Mayor Shaunna O’Connell is facing a felony assault charge for attacking her husband over the weekend.

O’Connell, who was arrested Friday night, is accused of biting her husband, hitting him with gasket scraper and jumping on the hood of his car as he tried to leave.

O’Connell has been charged with felony assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, as well as assault and battery on a family member, which is a misdemeanor. She pleaded not guilty in court Monday and was released on personal recognizance.

Police said Ted O’Connell told officers his wife bit him on his left forearm and then grabbed a gasket cleaner — a tool typically used to clean debris from metal surfaces — and “struck him with it on his right hand/knuckle area.”

A photo submitted in court documents showed the bite mark, and police said they saw “multiple open wounds” on Ted O’Connell’s knuckles. Police also recovered a gasket cleaner from the home and tagged it as evidence.

O’Connell’s husband also told them his wife jumped on the hood of his car to prevent him from leaving, according to the police report. Officers noted a small dent on the hood, along with a bent broom in the driveway.

— “Segregation in New Bedford,” by The New Bedford Light: “New Bedford, a city proud of its abolitionism, is today still marked by racial and economic segregation. As the nation looks back on the 70 years since the federal desegregation order in Brown vs. Board of Education, new research shows that segregation has returned after solutions were allowed to slip away. Ten public and charter schools in New Bedford received a label of ‘segregated’ in a report from the Racial Imbalance Advisory Council (RIAC) this year, a group within the state’s department of education. The city’s borders with its suburbs also mark sharp differences in racial, ethnic, and economic composition — which reproduce divisions in the schools and may affect the resources and opportunities available to children.”

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HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Shrewsbury state Rep. Hannah Kane, the Boston Globe’s Sean Cotter and Milton Valencia, former World Bank president Robert Zoellick, Amanda McGowan, Andrew Feldman, Alan Chartock and David Marx.

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