There may be another reason why Coakley’s lead has dissipated: she wants to lose. Seriously. Last night Coakley was interviewed on Dan Rea’s radio show on WBZ (AM 1030) – a golden opportunity for her to take advantage of some free media exposure. WBZ has a strong signal that carries pretty much throughout the state, and Rea is a long time television journalist who typically wins his evening slot among the hard news audience.
So, what did Martha say that had Rea popping a vein? Listen here.
That’s right. She described former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling – he of bloody sock fame, whose gutsy performance in Game 6 of the 2004 playoffs against the Yankees will be remembered as perhaps one of the three greatest moments in Red Sox history – as “a Yankee fan.” Rea gave her a chance to retract, but the best she could manage was to point out that Schilling no longer pitches for the Red Sox. Excuse me? Have they removed the sock from the Hall of Fame now that he’s retired? Unless you grew up in Massachusetts and sat through 1967 and Yaz and the Impossible Dream, and 1975 and Fisk’s home run and 19 “effing Bucky Dent”78 and 19″effing Billy Buckner”86, as I did, it’s hard to describe just how big a gaffe this is to several generations of Massachusetts voters.
Schilling, who has campaigned on Brown’s behalf, wasted no time in responding on his own blog, saying: “But never, and I mean never, could anyone ever make the mistake of calling me a Yankee fan. Well, check that, if you didn’t know what the hell is going on in your own state maybe you could….”
Coming on the heels of her comments suggesting it would be a waste of time to stand outside Fenway Park, in the cold, to meet voters, one really has to wonder if she secretly hopes to lose.
If not, Coakley has to hope the voters are in a forgiving mood.