Count on the Herald to post nasty and stupid articles.

[Mass]

This has to be the most stupid article in a while, but is also certainly a warning shot of times to come.

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20100123john_kerrys_star_eclipsed_upstart_seizes_limelight_from_senior_senator/srvc=home&position=also

But Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said, “I’m sure he had hoped he would be the senior Democrat. Not only is Brown more prominent publicly right now, but he’ll be doing a two-step around Kerry on some of these issues. You can’t be a leader when there’s no one following you.”

As the Wrentham Republican prepares to be the 41st vote to topple key Democratic initiatives including President Obama’s health-care plan, Kerry warned, “Republicans on the other side of the aisle hear the message (of Brown’s election upset) as well. (Voters) want us not to say, ‘No’ to things but to get the business of the people done.”

Kerry’s colleagues also argued that Brown’s celebrity status could fade quickly while the Democratic senior senator chairs prominent committees such as Foreign Relations and continues to command respect from both sides of the aisle.

“I think it’s recognized nationally that he’s doing a great job and his role is only going to increase with time,” said U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Malden.)

But one source close to Kerry noted: “Obviously (U.S. Sen.-elect) Scott Brown is on the tip of everyone’s tongue, and being the only Republican senator in Massachusetts makes him even more prominent. Now more than ever John Kerry needs to be the guy.”

[karynnj]

1. The last sentence you quoted is asinine

Brown is the only Republican Senator, but Kerry is the only Democrat. Satato has always only liked the most conservative Democrats - and never Kerry. The idea that "no one" is following Kerry implies that only Coakley had she won would have.

[Luftmensch067]

2. Thanks, I was trying to find out about Sabato

That confirms my suspicion. It's a skewed and idiotic article, altogether. Everything JK is quoted as saying is actually strong and smart, they just present it as if it weren't.

[wisteria]

3. BH is going to continue to promote Brown and put down Kerry. Doing so will increase their readership

I think Kerry can handle this BS, just watching him command and control the interview the other day, it is clear he is yielding no ground or importance to Brown.

And, you are correct, this is a very stupid piece, but it is just the beginning of more to come from the BH, IMO.

[karynnj]

4. Exactly

The fact is Kerry is one of the dozen top Senators per an inside list. At that point, Obama, Clinton and McCain were listed ahead of him - and I think Dodd and Kennedy were as well. Kerry is clearly in the top 10 and possibly top 5 now.

Brown will be a "shining thing" for a while and he might even become a GOP VP list candidate. (Think John Edwards in 2000 - his pluses - looks, supposed charm, and beating the Republicans in a state they had had for years.) Note that one down side for him is that is that he can't run in MA and on the VP ticket.

The fallacy is that Brown's victory changes Kerry's status in the Senate or in Massachusetts to any real degree. Coakley was Clinton's candidate, not Kerry's - which might explain part of why there really is no attempt here or anywhere I've seen to blame Kerry.

[wisteria]

6. I think if Brown attempts to run for VP he will lose the independents in the state.

This would make him look like a real opportunist.

[ladym55]

9. Fox has bigger ambitions than VP

They apparently were suggesting Brown would be the presidential candidate in 2012:

http://mediamatters.org/columns/201001220042

[wisteria]

10. Yeah, I just saw this. Disgusting isn't it. It apparently doesn't matter if you are qualified any

longer. You just need to be popular,good looking and say what the Repubs and the Tea party'ers want to hear.

[TayTay]

11. That Herald writer is a Repub Party official

She wants to use the philosophy of the "Big Lie" to advance her cause. In this case, the Big Lie is that Kerry is no longer a leader in the Senate or in MA. This is untrue and silly on the face. John Kerry has been tested before the MA electorate 6 times, 5 times for the Senate. His position is secure. The Big Lie is an effort to put out a falsehood and pretend it is real by using repetition to enforce it.

It's still a lie.

[karynnj]

12. It is also a lie they have tried in the past

In 2008 they repeated it, but ultimately wrote an endorsement essentially begging him to stay in Senate seat.

The funny thing is that in their Brown hysteria, Ayla actually countered the less important big lie - that Kerry is elitist and not pleasant.

It is interesting that she is a Republican party official and there is no disclosure.

[Luftmensch067]

13. Interesting is one word for it...!

Thanks for the info, Tay!

[wisteria]

15. Yes, you would think since it is an opinion piece it would list a lot more about this woman. n/t

[wisteria]

14. It still remains the first article when you google John Kerry news.

It has been there for days obviously reenforcing the repetition you were writing about. Do you know of any way to have it drop down and then disapear?
Do you think it would do any good to complain about it?

[karynnj]

16. good question

I was told that it was an algorithm based on the number of people who click on it, that likely weights the newer clicks over the older. (Years ago, we needed to know this as we created a web site for my daughter, who had just published a book. We wanted her web site to be the first thing that came up and doing that was very easy. This was much easier to do than affecting Kerry's google results as very few people knew her.

What will move it down is when Kerry does anything new that generates interest.

I don't think that article is all that bad. It is clearly an opinion piece and a silly one at that. It also reflects how importance is measured - and in terms of "celebrity", at the moment Brown is the political shining thing. As a Senator, Kerry, a senior member of the majority clearly is far more important than Brown in terms of pushing legislation - but, like Nelson, if Brown decides to be moderate, there will be times where he is in the spotlight. In addition, he is a very possible VP choice if he moves to the right - like Mitt they will forgive him his past moderate (even liberal - gay marriage is settled law) positions.

By not too bad, I mean it does not accuse Kerry of anything that diminishes him or his family. (I hated how long the Alexandra story lasted and all the Edwards related stories because K/E is mentioned there in the google searchs)

[wisteria]

17. A person not a educated as yourself reading the headlines would not take

away from this article what you do. IMO, the title itself is insulting and meant to be. Most people won't read past the title and form their opinion from there.
But, if it goes or stays is dependant on popularity, then it is a shame, because the good works of Senator Kerry drop to the bottom and this negative piece stays on top-even if it contains no truth.
I suppose I am to conclude from this is that people like to read negative Kerry news.

[karynnj]

19. The bright side is that the only people who see the google result for John Kerry

are the people who bother to google "John Kerry". This set of people likely know enough about him to know that a) this is the Boston Herald and b) he is a 5th term Senator, who supposedly has the President's ear and is chair of an important committee. The only question for the BH is when did they ever concede Kerry was a star?

[Mass]

18. Not any more. It was replaced by John Edwards, an article about a guy who may run against Kerry in

2014, and the announcement Kerry will address the World Youth Congress.

All so much more important than the articles about Climate Change or Google and China. Consider this as part as the shift from informative news to entertainment news. Any flashy object becomes important.

[karynnj]

20. You aren't kidding

The first Cohen article on Edwards actually is pretty good - it argues that the celebrity culture is what lets us pick people like Edwards, Palin or Obama (who he says he knows nothing nefarious about) when we really know little about them.

Whet he doesn't say is that in 2008 the media framed things giving us a choice of just 3 Democrats - for me, it wasn't that I was going with the celebrity that I knew little about - it was that I knew enough that I didn't want the other two. It was after all the media, which declared Kerry, a man of long record and proven integrity, not cool enough for them. Maybe Cohen needs to take some of the blame.

[karynnj]

21. As to the potential opponent, being with Stone and the MAFIA doesn't speak well for him

If he runs, I think he needs a psychiatrist. He sounds worse that Jeff Beatty.

[Inuca]

5. Sabato is an idiot

A pompous one.

[ObamaKerryDem]

7. The Herald's pro-Republican/Right Wing bias really comes glaring through here..

:thumbsdown:

And please. Scott Brown has a LOT of ground to cover before he can even think of "eclipsing" John Kerry. He'll likely be a footnote in Massachusetts/national history, while Kerry will be one of the people who stand out. Even if Kerry were to step down tomorrow, he'd still have acheived much more than Brown has. And these people chastised Obama for running for President (and us, in turn, for either supporting him in that or seriously considering it) in his Senatorial first term? At least he waited until a few years after he was sworn in!

The hypocrisy of the RW on this is stunning.

[wisteria]

8. They are still in gloat mode. n/t