Green party hopeful taps anger
Stein takes page from Brown
By Michael Levenson
Globe Staff / February 9, 2010
Lexington doctor Jill Stein launched her second long-shot campaign for governor yesterday with a forceful attempt to tap the populist anger that propelled Republican Scott Brown into the US Senate last month.
“If you’ve had enough business as usual, if you’ve had enough of the culture of influence, if you’ve had enough payoffs and layoffs and rip-offs and bailouts, this is the campaign for you,’’ Stein, a Green-Rainbow Party candidate, told about three dozen supporters, speaking from the steps of the State House.
Stein’s antiestablishment rhetoric showed how much Brown’s election has forced candidates across the political spectrum to modify their pitch.
While Stein touched on traditional Green Party issues such as broadening access to health care, shifting the burden of taxes to the wealthy, and reforming drug laws, she also blamed “waste’’ and “skullduggery’’ on Beacon Hill for driving up taxes and fees.
Stein is, by now, a familiar face on this stage. In 2002, she won 3.5 percent of the vote in a five-way race for governor, and she won 16 percent of the vote in a two-way race for secretary of state in 2006. She also ran unsuccessfully for state representative in 2004.
Yesterday, Stein cited Brown’s campaign as a model, saying he had successfully appealed to disaffected voters who did not necessarily agree with his agenda but “were making a protest statement in the only way they could.’’
“I do think there is a voter revolt,’’ Stein told reporters after her eight-minute speech, “so let’s give voters something to vote for, instead of something to vote against.’’
Especially in a tight race, Stein’s candidacy could pose a threat to Governor Deval Patrick’s reelection campaign by peeling off liberal Democrats, some of whom have been frustrated with his support for initiatives such as casino gambling. She told reporters that the governor “could be fighting for the ordinary people of the Commonwealth, and that’s what we intend to do.’’
“Our taxes are regressive, and they’re not adequate to cover the needs,’’ she said. “We’re slashing human services. We’re slashing support for the homeless. The most vulnerable in the Commonwealth are paying the highest price now.’’
Patrick’s campaign released a statement yesterday saying he “welcomes Jill Stein and the Green-Rainbow Party to the race.’’
“The governor has been actively working on behalf of working families for the past three years, creating new jobs, getting over 97 percent of the Commonwealth’s residents affordable health care coverage, investing at unprecedented levels in our schools, and just today announcing additional initiatives to create jobs and help small businesses grow,’’ the statement said.
Patrick is facing a Democratic primary challenge from Grace Ross, who ran as the Green-Rainbow Party’s candidate for governor in 2006. In the Republican primary, Charles D. Baker Jr., a former health care executive, is facing Cape Cod businessman Christy Mihos. State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, who left the Democratic Party in July, is running as an independent.
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