Charlie Baker is the real deal. He served as secretary of health and human services and administration and finance under Bill Weld. In the private sector, he delivered Harvard Pilgrim from receivership.
Unlike the past four Republican governors he has the street cred when it comes to knowing how to run a bureaucracy and a business (and knowing where the bodies are buried). He knows how to blog. He also has a commitment to making it in Massachusetts.
Of course, Baker is only a danger if he enters the race. he already hemmed and hawed his way through much of 2005 before declining a run in 2006. While Baker is considering it again, he really has to enter the race unless he wants to become Massachusetts' version of Richard Blumenthal. Short of a vicious primary battle between Deval and Tim Cahill, I don't see how Baker wins.
Anyway, one of my first stops on the "get-to-know-the-candidate" tour is the OCPF and FEC databases. Here is what I found -- since the beginning of 2006, Baker has put about $60,000 of his dollars into Republican campaigns around the country -- and less than one-sixth of it is going toward local Republicans:
The spending is sporadic with only a couple in-state donations throughout all of 2007, and not coming close to what Baker can afford to give. If one breaks down Baker's state- and federal-level donations in 2008, this is what one sees:
GOP candidates outside Mass: $12,300
Mass. GOP candidates/PACs for US Congress:$7,500
Mass. GOP State Sen/Rep with no challenger: $1,700
Mass. GOP State Sen/Rep with Dem challenger: $900
Mass. GOP Challengers for State House: $750
Other (PACs, other offices): $800
Total donations in 2008: $23,950
What really jumps out at me is the second line. Talk about pissing money away. The Mass. GOP is on life support, and why a possible knight-in-armor is blowing his donations on wild goose chases rather than the hard and vital work of getting people into office is beyond me. He spends more on State House incumbents than on GOP challengers! Spending that will improve fortunes for Massachusetts Republicans clearly isn't high on the list of Baker's priorities.
Of the couple dozen Republicans who in 2008 sought to take an open or Democratic seat in the State House, Baker supported...three. In other words, he invested more in unopposed incumbents than in Republicans trying to grow the party. Baker has invested a titanic amount in the hilarious and incompetent Republican attempts to win a Congressional seat.
I don't know what Republicans want. I wouldn't be surprised to see them invest their dreams in a man who is spending money on every possible function of the Republican party other than a realistic attempt to revive itself. But it is kind of an odd thing, ain't it?
Below are the results of OCPF (Massachusetts) and FEC (federal) contribution reports on Charlie Baker:
OCPF
3/9/2006 Republican State Committee, MA $65.00
3/28/2006 Jones Jr., Bradley H. $200.00
4/22/2006 Knapik, Michael R. $300.00
4/22/2006 Peterson Jr., George N. $300.00
4/27/2006 Smola, Todd $300.00
6/9/2006 Barrows, Fred J. $250.00
8/30/2006 Hillman, Reed V. $500.00
9/1/2006 MA Republican House PAC $500.00
9/19/2006 Healey, Kerry Murphy $500.00
9/25/2006 Republican State Committee, MA $2,500.00
10/21/2006 Lees, Brian $250.00
10/25/2006 Villamaino III, Enrico John $200.00
2006 total: $5,865.00
3/6/2007 Tisei, Richard R. $300.00
5/5/2007 Knapik, Michael R. $200.00
2007 total: $500.00
1/11/2008 Tarr, Bruce $300.00 Unopposed Incumbent for State Senate
2/28/2008 Blaisdell , John $500.00 Challenger to Dem Incumbent
3/20/2008 MA Republican House PAC $300.00 PAC
5/22/2008 Bennett, Doug $500.00 Candidate for City Council
6/18/2008 Brown, Scott P. $300.00 Incumbent Senator, Dem Challenger
7/31/2008 Lees, Brian $200.00 Unopposed Incumbent for State Senate
8/2/2008 Peterson Jr., George N. $300.00 Unopposed Incumbent for State Rep
8/7/2008 Barrows, Fred J. $300.00 Incumbent Rep, Dem Challenger
8/26/2008 Jones Jr., Bradley H. $300.00 Incumbent Rep, Dem Challenger
8/28/2008 Smola, Todd $300.00 Incumbent GOP State Rep, unopposed
10/9/2008 Pope, Susan W. $250.00 GOP challenger to Dem incumbent state rep
2008 total: $3,550
FEC
BAKER, CHARLES
SWAMPSCOTT, MA 01907
HARVARD PILGRIM HEALTH CARE/CEO
| MASSACHUSETTS REPUBLICAN STATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE | |||
| 06/08/2006 | 1000.00 | 26950355755 | |
| 08/29/2006 | 2500.00 | 26940339415 | |
| 09/25/2006 | -2500.00 | 26950657214 | |
| 12/19/2006 | 1000.00 | 27940116945 | |
| 02/27/2007 | 3000.00 | 27930342695 | |
| 02/04/2008 | 3000.00 | 28990592040 | |
| 11/04/2008 | 2000.00 | 28993358959 | |
BAKER, CHARLES
SWAMPSCOTT, MA 01907
HARVARD PILGRIM HEALTH CARE/HEALT
| JOHNSON, NANCY L. VIA JOHNSON FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE | |||
| 06/12/2006 | 500.00 | 26930408529 | |
BAKER, CHARLES
SWAMPSCOTT, MA 01907
HARVARD PILGRIM HEALTHCARE/EXECUT
| BRADLEY, JOSEPH E. MR. III VIA JEB BRADLEY FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE | |||
| 10/07/2008 | 500.00 | 28992932379 | |
BAKER, CHARLES
SWAMPSCOTT, MA 01907
HARVARD PILGRIM/C. E. O.
| COLLINS, SUSAN M VIA COLLINS FOR SENATOR | |||
| 09/11/2008 | 1000.00 | 28020510075 | |
BAKER, CHARLES
SWAMPSCOTT, MA 01907
HARVARD PILGRIM/EXECUTIVE
| BARTON, RICHARD W VIA RICK BARTON FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE | |||
| 02/08/2006 | 500.00 | 28930066850 | |
BAKER, CHARLES
SWAMPSCOTT, MA 01907
HARVARD PILGRIM/HEALTH CARE
| BECH, NATHAN ALEXANDER VIA COMMITTEE TO ELECT NATHAN BECH; THE | |||
| 06/08/2008 | 1000.00 | 28932181972 | |
| OGONOWSKI, JAMES VIA OGONOWSKI FOR CONGRESS | |||
| 08/27/2007 | 1000.00 | 27931292333 | |
BAKER, CHARLES
SWAMPSCOTT, MA 01907
HOWARD PILGRIM HEALTH CARE/HEALTH
| COLEMAN, NORM VIA COLEMAN FOR SENATE 08 | |||
| 10/09/2008 | 500.00 | 28020700483 | |
BAKER, CHARLES
SWAMPSCOTT, MA 01907
INFO. REQ./INFO. REQ.
| COLEMAN, NORM VIA COLEMAN FOR SENATE 08 | |||
| 05/16/2008 | 2000.00 | 28020352865 | |
BAKER, CHARLES D
SWAMPSCOTT, MA 01907
HARVARD PILGRIM HEALTH CARE/EXECU
| SUNUNU, JOHN E VIA TEAM SUNUNU | |||
| 06/02/2006 | 500.00 | 26020491203 | |
BAKER, CHARLES D
SWAMPSCOTT, MA 01907
HARVARD PILGRIM HEALTH CARE/PRESI
| SUNUNU, JOHN E VIA TEAM SUNUNU | |||
| 03/19/2008 | 1000.00 | 28020153158 | |
| 09/21/2008 | 2300.00 | 28020520745 | |
BAKER, CHARLES D
SWAMPSCOTT, MA 01907
HARVARD PILGRIM HEALTHCARE/PRESID
| KENNEDY, JOHN NEELY VIA JOHN KENNEDY FOR US SENATE INC | |||
| 10/02/2008 | 2000.00 | 28020730435 | |
BAKER, CHARLES D. MR.
SWAMPSCOTT, MA 01907
| MCCAIN, JOHN S. VIA JOHN MCCAIN 2008 INC. | |||
| 05/22/2008 | 2000.00 | 28991300300 | |
Total Contributions: 24800.00
4 comments:
Nice post. And I agree with you that the biggest question is whether Charlie will actually take the plunge.
Great post. Thanks for the digging.
Actually, the donations to the State GOP Congressional PAC aren't wasted money. That scam is how the State GOP pays its staff. If you look at their expenditures, they rarely give more than a pittance out to actual candidates.
blaisdell wasn't facing an incumbent; that was an open race for a special election.
He later ran again against the winner of that first election, just a few months later - so I could see how you could be confused, if you were, but there really were 2 elections for that seat in about 6 months LOL.
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