April 5, 2010
Moakley Says Loughlin Has "Informally Conceded" in the First District Race
UPDATE:
John Loughlin's campaign manager Cara Cromwell says, direct quote...
"He's running this campaign one time, and he's going to win".She also adds that Rep. Loughlin and Prof. Moakley have not spoken directly, and that she suspects that some conventional political wisdom about running against entrenched incumbents, not originating from any source related to the Loughlin campaign, erroneously appears in the article as if it had come from the campaign.
An article from Dartmouth College's campus newspaper contained the excerpt below, regarding the Congressional race in Rhode Island's First District...
Maureen Moakley, a professor of political science at University of Rhode Island, said the main contest for the seat will likely be between Cicilline and Lynch.(The Dartmouth was covering the story because another rumored Republican candidate who has apparently decided not to run, Eric Pfeiffer, is a Dartmouth grad).“This is a district that is solidly Democratic and unlikely to change in the short term,” she said.
Moakley also said that Loughlin had “informally conceded” he would not win the congressional seat on the first try and would have to run several times.
According to Prof. Moakley's analysis, the general election is already over: In Rhode Island, the "Kennedy seat" stays Democratic, with a conventional Democratic pol moving up the ranks in order to claim it.
If this is ultimately how the campaign plays out, whether the winner is Cicilline or Lynch, the First District is on track to be represented by a Congressman who can be expected to represent the positions of the national Democratic leadership back to Rhode Island, rather than one who represents the interests of all Rhode Islanders to Washington.
I've contacted the Loughlin campaign, to get their reaction to the idea than an informal concession has already occurred.
Isn't this the old Democratic/Progressive meme, if you say it enough times, it'll become true?
Aren't Cicilline and Lynch also running for this seat for the first time? So does that mean they can't win either?
Posted by: Patrick at April 5, 2010 9:16 AMI'm sure simple research would show that this remark predated Kennedy's departure from the race.
A world of difference between facing a Kennedy and an open seat
Moakley is a hack. Any student who takes a course from her should demand a refund.
Posted by: BobN at April 5, 2010 10:14 AMI agree Bob,Moakley rarely says anything worth listening to-except maybe "Polly wanna cracker" because she reminds me of a very old parrot.
Posted by: joe bernstein at April 5, 2010 1:08 PMI was a student of Moakley's during my undergrad years fairly recently. Shes a decent educator when it comes to U.S. politics, not so much when it comes to RI politics or the media. She can come off bad, but one on one shes a very decent person and actually wants to help students. I agree with Joe, I dont find her appearances on local tv news/anything she writes very interesting or even worth listening to. As for the comment she made about cd1, you gotta assume shes reaching and just happy that someone called her to ask a question.
Posted by: steadman at April 5, 2010 3:13 PMReminds me of Globe reporter Joan Vennochi, who wrote that Massachusetts was solidly Democrat, and that Scott Brown couldn't, and wouldn't, win.
Perhaps the professor should ask Ron Machtley if, when the citizens are fed up, a Republican can win in RI.
Posted by: mikeinri at April 5, 2010 11:25 PMI'd prefer Machtley to anybody of either party currently in the race, If he ever wanted to make a political comeback, now's the time.
Posted by: rhody at April 6, 2010 1:26 PMRon Machtley probably makes more money in his current job than an Federal legislator and he doesn't have to deal with controversy or public oversight.Why would he run for office?He'd have to be a masochist.
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