After the letter he just sent, you have to wonder: Will he get booed at the convention? … The letter sounds like it was written by a committee led by Hunter.
Month: July 2024
-
Now he’s just angering Dems …
-
A lesson for Dems from France?
France just proved that it’s possible to desperately throw together a last-minute strategy solely aimed at stopping a particular party from obtaining power. The problem is we’re not talking about parliamentary elections in America. We’re talking about a one-on-one presidential matchup. The dynamics are different. But the results in France must still be somewhat intriguing, if not encouraging, for those Dems desperately hoping to replace Biden with another candidate who can stop Donald Trump.
Update — Not that any of this matters.
-
It’s not just zoning that’s restricting new housing
It’s also high interest rates and construction costs, as the developers of the old Suffolk Downs can attest. … There’s a pipeline of nearly 23,000 residential units already approved for construction in Boston. But they’re not getting built due largely to high costs . The Wu administration deserves criticism for a lot of things, but not this.
-
Paying $30 billion for a marketing company? A marketing company?
I know HubSpot is more than just a marketing firm. It has a software platform supporting its standard “inbound marketing” strategy that relies on blog posts, newsletters and other channels to drive traffic to desired sites. But it’s still a marketing company. So it’s hard to get your head around the possibility of Google buying the Cambridge-based HubSpot for $30 billion. And an unprofitable marketing firm at that.
The BBJ’s Lucia Maffei has more.
-
France and America: Two heartlands, same problems
What if the NYT’s Roger Cohen traveled through America’s heartland, not France’s heartland, to give us a similarly honest and elegant account of the attitudes and legitimate complaints of Midwesterners? … This is a terrific look at what’s driving people to support the far-right National Rally party in rural France. It’s all the little things adding up to bigger things – and the National Rally filling political voids while trying to hide its true nature. Sound familiar?
But I doubt we could ever get consistent reporting like this about America’s heartland. The coverage would almost inevitably descend into predictable left-right-paradigm reporting designed to keep base read-to-confirm subscribers happy.
-
‘Irretrievable,’ Part II
Gov. Healey yesterday went further than most other Dems in suggesting that Biden consider withdrawing. But “carefully evaluate” isn’t the same as “irretrievable,” a word usage that remains a mystery. … Adrian Walker thinks Healey seems ambivalent. Or as a friend told me: “I agree with you that the Governor’s ‘irretrievable’ is an ambiguous choice of words. Also suspect that was an unambiguous choice to be ambiguous.”
-
“Irretrievable”
The local media really needs to press Gov. Healey on this one. The governor has reportedly told President Biden’s chief of staff that the president’s political position was “irretrievable” after last week’s debate disaster, as the NYT reported and as the Globe has since confirmed. … Her comment can mean a number of things. What exactly is “irretrievable”? His image? His chances of winning? Should he stay in the race? Leave the race? … My hunch is she thinks the debate damage is too great to overcome, suggesting he may need to step aside. But we just don’t know. And she probably won’t say what she really thinks even if asked.
BTW: Her opinion is significantly more important than the opinion of U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, who has called for the president to withdraw from the race. Keep in mind Moulton also asked Nancy Pelosi to step down as House speaker way back when. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise he’s again calling for a Dem elder to step aside.
-
Does it matter if Biden stays or goes?
I loved this line from a friend regarding the Biden mess: “Honestly, this is shaping up like 1968, where Johnson quit the race because he couldn’t win, then the Dems lost anyway.” … I hate to say it, but he’s probably right. I see Dems losing no matter what Biden decides.
Meanwhile, the should-he-or-shouldn’t-he debate continues. Allan Lichtman at the Hill thinks it would be “foolhardy nonsense” for Dems to replace Biden at this point. Yet Nate Silver at the NYT thinks sticking with Biden is the ‘riskiest plan of all’ for Dems.
-
Steve Pagliuca to the rescue?
Wyc may be selling his share of the Celtics. But Steve isn’t. And that’s highly encouraging. … Btw: Pagliuca also is a co-owner and chairman of Italy’s Atalanta football club, making him one of four local billionaires who own multiple pro-sports teams around the world. Of course there’s John Henry and Bob Kraft. But can you name the fourth?
-
‘Healey rolls up the migrant welcome mat’
Look at the photo accompanying this Globe link. Is it really humane to encourage people to come to Massachusetts, via the state’s “right to shelter” law, when their living accommodations include children sleeping on the floors at Logan Airport? … Gov. Healey is admirably trying to put a stop to, or at least a limit on, this highly misguided shelter policy.
Hub Blog 