Jim McGovern Makes Last Effort to Hold His Seat

BOSTON -- While most pundits are not putting McGovern on the list of challenged Congressional seats, McGovern knows better. Sunday he was out with Governor Patrick, not for the Governor's benefit, but for his own. Marlborough has always been a loyal Democratic base for state and national elections even though it has strong local Republican politicians. However, with Danielle Gregoire in trouble and Marty Lamb launching McGovern's first real election challenge, the Democratic leaders are nervous.

The Democratic leadership has taken Marlborough voters for granted for a long time. Sean Navin, the local Democratic Chair, failed in his efforts to become a City Councilor. However, the election of Danielle Gregoire made all feel the threat of Republican encroachment in the area had ended. The Democratic committee has not yet understood the emerging independent movement in the district. Republican candidates have new strength with the support of local Tea Party groups. Many members have never engaged in politics in the area. Marty Lamb has greatly benefited from the support and enthusiasm of local Tea Party members who are willing to work to get Lamb's message out to the public. While Navin does not seem to have learned from his defeat, the Tea Party will learn from their victories and any defeats before the 2012 elections. This will result in more challenges for the Democrats. Each victory will create a stronger organization to build for more challenges in the future. I hope that this will lead to an end to uncontested elections for our district. Voters deserve choices.

While McGovern visited Marlborough with Governor Patrick, Marty Lamb also made a visit to Marlborough. Mr. Lamb was observed doing standouts with his supporters near Price Chopper. While McGovern has enjoyed mocking Lamb's play on his name to remind people about McGovern's focus on government pork, Lamb's supporters seem to have embraced it. Signs indicated support for Lamb not pork at the event. These supporters are not intimidated by the mailings that mock not only their candidate, but also those who support him. McGovern does not realize that his actions have made future elections in this area far more challenging for Democratic candidates. Far from destroying opposition, he has made opposition stronger, and educated those engaged on better methods for talking to voters and reaching the public. Win or lose, McGovern can be credited with building a stronger opposition party for 2012 to put more Republicans in the races.

I think that is what has impressed me most about this race. The nastier McGovern attacks, the stronger and more loyal Marty Lamb's supporters have grown. Lamb has gained supporters since the primary from residents who had not seen this side of Jim McGovern prior to this race. With every negative advertisement, McGovern continues to build the will of the district for stronger candidates to run against establishment Democrats. Republicans around the district should send their thank you notes to Jim McGovern now. Instead of crushing the will of the people to see opposition candidates run, McGovern has only highlighted the need for more average citizens to be involved and engaged in elections. While I deplore his actions, I can applaud their outcome.

Paul Crocetti, "Patrick to Visit Marlborough as Election Nears" ,MetroWest Daily News