Gabrieli: Good Start

Despite some snarking (both legit and not) on various websites, Chris Gabrieli appears to have gotten off to a pretty good start. He benefits from having credibility with the media because a) he didn't instigate the St. Fleuriasco, b) he was already vetted in 2002 and c) he's a likeable guy. I still resent his coming into this race at this stage, but I don't deny his right to do so. I also don't care that he's paying for signatures - I'd do the same thing if I felt strongly about getting my name on the ballot. The truth is that while he'll have some volunteers supporting him, he could never have a standout, never have an unpaid mailing and never have people sending "dear friend" cards and he'd still have as good a shot at winning as the others. Campaigns at the Governor's level can, theoretically, be won without a "ground game" if you can pay for TV ads, mailings and robo-calls to combat the lack of troops on the ground - and that's as legit in America as running a grass-roots campaign on a shoestring.

It appears that Gabrieli is also out there hiring people away from other ventures (read: David Howard from the Mass Dem Party). Again, I do NOT begrudge anyone for doing that either. Think of it this way: work for the Party behind the scenes, help Dems win in November, get no love post election. Or, get paid a bunch of dough to leave your job to work for Gabs, have a legit shot at winning, and get a plum post in the Gov's office if you do win, which then leads to a plum private sector job down the road with mucho $$. And if you lose, go work for Mass2020 and make the world a better place. Doesn't seem to hard of a choice to me!

All in all, kudos to the way in which Gabs has made his entry. Boos for entering the race at all.