and who - and why - they are backing for 2008.
http://www.thephoenix.com/Article.aspx?id=36396&page=1 Who’s with whom
When John Kerry bowed out of the presidential sweepstakes, it freed Boston’s big Democratic brokers to find a favorite.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN
March 29, 2007 10:37:06 AM
For Democratic presidential candidates, Boston is the ATM kiosk on the way to New Hampshire. Massachusetts’s primary votes — few in number and late in the process — don’t mean much, but the Bay State’s deep-pocketed liberals dispense large quantities of cash that pays for the staff, offices, phone banks, and advertising necessary to win votes in Manchester and Keene, as well as in other early-voting states across the country.
Last go-round, most of the area’s big fundraisers made the easy choice to support their home-state senator John Kerry: 57 Bay Staters served as contribution “bundlers” for Kerry, including two dozen who raised $100,000 each. There were only rare exceptions — such as former DNC chair Steve Grossman, who signed on with Howard Dean...
...The early rush to declare one’s intentions has drawn criticism from some who want to see the candidates campaign for a while before declaring. “There’s this whole class of people who care more about being in the game than common sense,” says one major local funder. It was this group, or many among them, who rallied early around Attorney General Tom Reilly in the recent gubernatorial race, for instance. “They feel they have more experience and more insight, and should be the first to select a candidate. But they show worse judgment, not better, than average voters,” the funder says.
Not everyone feels that need for involvement — especially those who went all-out for Kerry last time around, such as Jack Manning, CEO of Boston Capital. Manning counts Biden, Clinton, and Dodd among his “very good friends,” says spokesperson David Gasson, but isn’t yet ready to throw himself into another presidential whirlwind. “Jack put a lot of himself into Senator Kerry’s campaign,” Gasson says. “He’s a recovering supporter.”
Others are holding off in anticipation of a sign as to whom the office holders are loyal. “If you’re a close friend of a Senator Kerry or Deval Patrick, you want to see what they do,” says Crowe...
...Clinton’s strategy has been to lock up party-insider support as early as possible. So it’s a little surprising to see that very few of Kerry’s big local-area fundraisers have signed on with her — only four of his 57 Massachusetts “bundlers” have lent their names to the host committee of her Friday fundraiser...
...But as noted above, many of Dodd’s prominent Boston-area friends have not yet committed full-tilt to help his campaign. Crowe is holding off on choosing between his good friends Biden and Dodd. O’Neill is in the same boat, choosing to aid both. “I’m in the mood to help friends,” he says. “Joe Biden’s people would like to have me to themselves, and so would Chris Dodd’s.”
...Dodd, a New Englander, Providence College grad, and lifelong Kennedy friend, probably boasts the greatest number of personal friends and acquaintances in Massachusetts among all the Democratic candidates. Many of them are sticking loyally with Dodd, at the expense of others who might have expected their support.
For that to happen, Dodd will need to prove he’s a viable candidate. If he does, more Boston power players will kick into action...
Much more...
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