Martha Coakley is now the Democratic nominee for the US Senate, with an opportunity to not only be a strong leader, but also to bring women’s representation in the Senate up to 18%!  Congratulations to her and thank you to all who have worked so hard on her behalf. 

We at Women for Coakley have thoroughly enjoyed being part of this historic effort.  It is now time for us to return our attention to other aspects of our lives, so this will be our final post. 

Remember that Coakley still needs our support in the general election, so mark your calendars for January 19. 

We’ll meet again on another campaign trail.  Thanks for the company along this one.

Barrier-breaker Gloria Steinem endorsed Coakley, but I was more touched by the endorsement by another barrier-breaker, as described by Striker57 on Blue Mass Group:

In 1970, Deb Gilcoine, a 17 year old single Mom, became the first woman apprentice in the Painters Union in New England. Deb went to work as an apprentice bridge painter – one of the toughest and most dangerous (and therefore the best-paying hourly rate) job in the Union. She broke the barrier not only as a painter in a male dominated construction industry – but as a bridge painter in the most macho part of the industry… Friday night at the Elks Club in Quincy, Deb Gilcoine (who broke a barrier in 1970) stood with Martha Coakley and offered her support as Martha works to break a barrier in 2009 as the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts.

Another barrier beaker to endorse Coakley was Lt. General Claudia Kennedy (ret.), the first woman to reach the  rank of three-star-General in the US Army.  She said

Martha Coakley has the leadership and determination to be a US Senator of great distinction.  I’m endorsing Martha because I share her deep and abiding commitment to public service and to making our nation safer and more prosperous for everyone.

From my point of view, I saw too many areas where there wasn’t any experience used to go after predatory lending, for instance, to hold banks accountable.

Coakley, by contrast, has a strong track record of going after predatory lenders as AG, which Capuano acknowledged later in the debate, saying,

Martha, I think you did a pretty decent job on these things.

Later, Capuano said

I’ve been very proud of working with Barney Frank as chair of the Financial Services Committee to re-regulate some of the industries we’re talking about.

I Googled “Barney Frank” and “regulation” and the first reference to appear was a Boston Globe editorial by Jeff Jacoby entitled “Franks fingerprints are all over the financial fiasco.”  It concludes:

Wall Street and private lenders have plenty to answer for, but it was Washington and the political class that derailed this train.  If Frank is looking for a culprit to blame, he can find one suspect in the nearest mirror.

has reduced the other three to squabbling with each other.

Indeed, it was hilarious when Capuano answered a question about his impatience by saying

I believe I’ve demonstrated immense patience in the House…

and then within the same question, he responded to an interruption from Pagliuca by saying

Am I going to be able to finish or are we going to have this childish back and forth again?

Later, he pleaded to the moderator:

May I say something without him yelling at me?

Rooney also said that

Alan Khazei has made a bit of a fool of himself [with his] constant… holier than thou nonsense…

And she wasn’t even referring to his pride in his donation from Leonard Nimoy:

Live long and prosper… If I’ve got Spock on my side, I can’t fail.

Said AG Douglas Gansler of Maryland:

Martha Coakley has been an innovator. Her colleagues across the country routinely look to her exemplary leadership, whether it’s her Cyber Crime Initiative modernizing crime fighting or her standing up to Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs and predatory mortgage lenders like Fremont Investment and Loan whose irresponsibility threatened our economy. Martha will make an outstanding Senator on behalf of the people of Massachusetts.

From Rick Holmes of GateHouse News, one of the panelists:

Coakley has proven to be sure footed.  Even in high heels, she’s still leading this footrace.

Joan Vennochi of the Globe:

Indeed, when you have two guys fighting over abortion, it’s a decent night for Martha Coakley.

Suddenly, Michael Capuano started talking like Gloria Steinem, as he challenged Stephen Pagliuca on his pro-choice credentials. Have you ever known a poor woman who didn’t have the money to pay for an abortion? …

Their squabbling was a reminder that Coakley, the only woman in the race, first made abortion rights an issue when the House of Representatives passed a health care reform bill with an amendment restricting access to abortion.

Capuano, who voted for the legislation, later said he would vote against a final version if the restrictions prevailed.

From Joanna Weiss of the Globe:

Capuano spent much of the debate with a look of frustration on his face, as if he were an air conditioning repairman who had just stepped into a symposium on the philosophical underpinnings of the air conditioner…There was even awkward honesty in his response about what he’s done, personally, to weather the recession:  “Mostly light bulbs.”

Todd Domke of the Globe:

Coakley… spoke eloquently about health care and seemed stateswoman-like while her opponents squabbled.  She was the only candidate who flashed a winning smile — and had reason to.  Mike Capuano was the big loser…. his nasty side came out frequently. He was testy, snide, and seemed indignant that he had to compete with amateurs… Steve Pagliuca was another loser. He still has trouble delivering scripted lines… Alan Khazei seemed thoughtful and sincere, as usual, but was at his best on a non-federal issue: opposition to casinos.

 Also, don’t miss this Politico article.

Learned something new: the Attorney General’s office returns to Massachusetts $5 for every dollar it spends. That’s the kind of financial management we need in Washington!

Loved the moment when the moderator asked a tough question about end-of-life care and all of the previously snide and bickering guys went dead silent. Only Coakley was bold enough to step up and address the question.

Laughed out loud when Capuano was angrily defending a woman’s right to choose against restrictions such as those in the House bill that he — uh — voted for. Remember the days when he was mocking Coakley for sticking up for those rights, calling her position “mana from heaven”?

Argh! Coakley was rocking her closing statement and had said “finally,” when the moderator cut her off. I was dying to know what her final point would have been, so I checked in with the campaign. She would have spoken about ensuring equal civil rights for all Americans.  Amen!

Don’t miss tonight’s debate, to be televised at 7:00 pm on Channel 5, WCVB, with live blogging on TheBostonChannel.com and KennedySeat.com.

List of Debates & Forums featuring all four Democratic candidates:

1. Saturday October 3 – SEIU Candidate’s Forum
2. Sunday October 18 – Merrimack Valley Candidate’s Forum
3. Monday October 26 – Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Candidate’s Forum
4. Monday October 26 – JFK Library Debate
5. Thursday October 29 – AFL-CIO Candidate’s Forum
6. Thursday November 12 – WTKK Debate
7. Sunday November 15 – GBIO Candidate’s Forum
8. Tuesday November 17 – Massachusetts Candidate’s Forum on the Environment
9. Monday November 23 – Candidates’ Forum with Emily Rooney
10. Monday November 30 – Boston Herald Debate
11. Tuesday December 1 – Channel 5 Debate
12. Wednesday December 2 – Boston Globe/NECN Debate
13. Saturday December 5- UMass Dartmouth

Leading up to next Tuesday’s primary, Coakley plans to attend 25 rallies and visits in five days.  Here are the details announced so far:

Thursday the 3rd:

• Framingham
• Fitchburg
• Springfield

Friday the 4th:

• Lynn
• Peabody
• Gloucester
• Haverhill
• Lowell

Saturday the 5th:

• Hyanis
• Brockton
• Quincy

Sunday the 6th:

• Newton
• Worcester
• Marlborough
• Springfield

Monday the 7th

• Dorchester

The subject of tonight's discussion is: Why are there no women on this panel?

Since Since the Globe’s endorsement over the weekend, I’ve received a lot of e-mailed questions about who exactly makes such decisions.  According to the Globe’s website,

The Publisher of the newspaper, P. Steven Ainsley… usually determines political endorsements for high office, working in consultation with Peter Canellos, editor of the editorial page.

That’s Ainsley on the left and Canellos on the right — or vice versa.  Who can tell, what with the overwhelming diversity?

 Regarding the 57-year-old Ainsley, e-mailers point out that he retires in a month, and aspires to work in the non-profit world.  Well, in that case, a friend like Khazei can’t hurt. 

Regarding Canellos, e-mailers observe that his presumptive agreement with the endorsement may be part of a trend that the Phoenixobserved earlier this month.   Adam Reilly wrote that under Canellos, the Globe editorial page has a more ”snarky tone” and “populist pugnacity,” perhaps designed to boost readership and advertising in the face of dire financial straits. 

The real question is, will the endorsement matter?  The Globe’s presidential primary endorsements of McCain and Obama proved to matter not one whit when Romney and Clinton won the state.  If the senatorial endorsement does make a difference, I hope the difference will be that it motivates Coakley supporters to get out and vote on December 8.