DesertFox
06-25-2008, 03:41 PM
Longstanding bad blood between Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Sen. John F. Kerry is coming back to haunt the senator as he faces re-election and a primary fight for the first time in nearly a quarter century.
In a high-profile slap, Menino abandoned Kerry as the senator sought to block a primary rival from winning enough support to make the ballot at the Democratic State Committee convention in Lowell two weeks ago.
Not only did the powerful Boston leader fail to rally his political foot soldiers to Kerry’s aid, he didn’t even show up himself.
“We didn’t twist any arms,” one top Menino political adviser said.
Observers say it was a calculated snub that wound up hurting Kerry by helping his challenger, Ed O’Reilly, get 22 percent of the convention votes - far eclipsing the 15 percent he needed to get on the September primary ballot. It was a blow that means Kerry - who has sought to rebuild his national profile since his 2004 presidential defeat - will face a primary foe for the first time since 1984.
More (http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/politics/view/2008_06_25_Convention_snub_fuels_longtime_feud:_Ke rry_gets_zero_help_from_mayor/srvc=home&position=0)
In a high-profile slap, Menino abandoned Kerry as the senator sought to block a primary rival from winning enough support to make the ballot at the Democratic State Committee convention in Lowell two weeks ago.
Not only did the powerful Boston leader fail to rally his political foot soldiers to Kerry’s aid, he didn’t even show up himself.
“We didn’t twist any arms,” one top Menino political adviser said.
Observers say it was a calculated snub that wound up hurting Kerry by helping his challenger, Ed O’Reilly, get 22 percent of the convention votes - far eclipsing the 15 percent he needed to get on the September primary ballot. It was a blow that means Kerry - who has sought to rebuild his national profile since his 2004 presidential defeat - will face a primary foe for the first time since 1984.
More (http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/politics/view/2008_06_25_Convention_snub_fuels_longtime_feud:_Ke rry_gets_zero_help_from_mayor/srvc=home&position=0)