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THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING
At caucuses, Reich supporters vow to press the liberal cause
By John McElhenny, Globe Correspondent, Globe Staff, 2/9/2003 Reich supporters, many of whom hadn't been politically active before
last year's campaign, turned out for Democratic Party caucuses around the
state yesterday, even though their candidate is no longer a political
force.
''Half of the people here are here because of Reich,'' said David Prum,
a Reich supporter, with a nod to the 100 or so people gathered for
caucuses at a Cambridge senior center yesterday.
Prum, 44, a private detective, was a Reich delegate at last year's
caucuses, even though he hadn't been active in politics for 14 years -
since Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential campaign.
''I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I got in because of Reich,'' he
said.
Many Reich supporters, energized by his candidacy last year, are vowing
to keep pushing their liberal message. They say the state's Democratic
Party has moved too far to the center in an effort to attract
independents.
Reich, the Brandeis professor and former US labor secretary who
campaigned as a reform candidate, finished second in the Democratic
primary in September, losing to state Treasurer Shannon O'Brien, who went
on to lose the general election to Republican Mitt Romney. Democrats
Thomas F. Birmingham, Warren Tolman, and Steven Grossman also ran.
Reich, 56, who qualified for the primary after his strong showing in
the party caucuses last February, one month after he joined the race,
surprised many observers.
As Reich's candidacy gained momentum, many who said they had lost
interest in politics jumped on the bandwagon. Democrats saw it as a strong
injection of dynamism for a party that had in many ways been victimized by
its own success, with Democratic candidates around the state facing little
opposition, leading to a lack of interest among voters.
Jane Lane, a party spokeswoman, said the five Democrats running for
governor last year accounted for some of the spike in Democratic
participation, measured in huge attendance at the caucuses, but there was
another factor as well.
''Robert Reich attracted a whole new level of Democratic voters,'' said
Lane. ''To a great extent they were young, well-educated, and hadn't been
very involved with the party before.''
Reich proved himself an able campaigner during last year's race, with
his self-deprecating wit, comfortable speaking style, and appeal to
liberal voters. But his campaign was hampered by poor fund-raising and the
lack of an established network of supporters. Some derided him as too
liberal, even for Massachusetts.
In the September primary, Reich finished just ahead of Birmingham, then
Senate president, and Tolman, a former state senator, but well behind
O'Brien.
Reich, who was elected a convention delegate in Cambridge yesterday,
said he has ''no idea'' if he will run for office again. He said he was
heartened by those who kept active in Democratic politics after supporting
his candidacy.
''The next best thing to winning is to have gotten a lot of people
involved who would not otherwise be involved,'' he said.
About 200 Democratic Party caucuses met around the state yesterday,
choosing about 3,000 delegates for the issues convention in June.
In Jamaica Plain, Deb Pasternak, 35, an alternate delegate for Reich
last year, said she planned to stay involved with the Democratic Party.
''It's not about Bob any more,'' she said. ''For me, the Reich campaign
made me realize how much power an individual has.''
Joanna Weiss of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.
This story ran on page B1 of the Boston Globe on
2/9/2003. |