Written by Joe Tetreault | 11 January 2010

The headline proclaims that which the story refutes. Democrats Turn Out for Coakley tops Derek Gentile's story. But the devil's in the details or the lede:

The fare was light, and attendance was even lighter, but enough contributions came in to enable the organizers of yesterday's fundraiser for state Attorney General Martha Coakley to claim the outcome was a favorable one.

First observation, if your initial comment is about lunch, then you've got nothing. Secondly, if you're relying on the organizers of a fundraiser for confirmation it was a success, then you've got even less. Oh a-fisking we will go.

"I think it was a success," reported organizer Nora O'Brien. "We raised more than $1,500, and that's a good figure."

Local Democrats had hoped for at least 100 attendees. O'Brien estimated the number was close to that.

Did they try counting? If it gets tricky after ten gather nine friends and it's easy to get to 100. Seriously, I can except estimates for crowds larger than a 1000 or so, but if you didn't hit 100, hiding the actual number means it was a disappointing turnout.

But in reality, Sunday's event paralleled the listlessness with which voters statewide have treated the upcoming election to fill the unexpired Senate term vacated by the death of former Sen. Edward Kennedy. Coakley, the Democratic candidate, now leads Republican challenger Scott Brown by a relatively moderate nine points in the most recent statewide poll.

A ha! Listlessness. Ever the word campaign advisor grope for when describing their unstoppable juggernauts.

O'Brien said she was told by several male Democrats that scheduling the fundraiser for Sunday afternoon during a playoff appearance by the New England Patriots would probably deflate attendance. O'Brien admitted, however, that she isn't a football fan.

"I said ‘Who are they?' " she said, referring to the team that lost its playoff game to the Baltimore Ravens.

Critical thinking skills are not required on the Coakley campaign. As for who are they? Perhaps this is an indicator:

Scheduling a fundraiser concurrently with an NFL playoff game in an area that has become rabid in its following of the local team. Failure to adhere to Tip O'Neill's dictum ("All politics are local") results in those charges of a disconnect between a candidate and the electorate sticking. This should not be a goal.

Perhaps more importantly, Coakley was not there. O'Brien said Sunday's event was set up too late for the candidate to change her schedule.

Never mind. Too late. Disconnect would be a compliment. Sure, you're just up nine points, but all indicators are pointing to a closer race, and worse, as Nate Silver will tell you, special elections are difficult to accurately poll. But hey, you schedule during a playoff game and you can't get the candidate to show. That's a recipe for a successful fundraiser.

Those who were in attendance got to enjoy a very tasty spread of pizza, sushi, various types of finger food, cheese and fruit donated by the hosts, Jae's Spice.

And there were a number of the county's more prominent Democrats in attendance, including Berkshire County Sheriff Carmen C. Massimiano.

Please note, the juxtaposition of the buffet before the "prominent" local politicians. But it was tasty, very tasty. And the politicians were, ummm, politicians.

"I think this is an extremely key race," said Massimiano. "The attorney general is the nominee for a reason. She's a great candidate and her views on health care and her understanding of the law make it important we send her to the U.S. Senate."

"Well, for one thing, she's a candidate for the Senate who actually knows where Berkshire County is," said former state Sen. Andrea Nuciforo, referring to Coakley's Berkshire nativity. Coakley was born in Pittsfield and graduated from Drury High School in North Adams and Williams College in Williamstown.

Nuciforo was echoed by North Adams City Councilor Lisa Blackmer, who added that "it's time for a woman to represent us in the Senate."

"Women are very underrepresented [in the Senate]," said Joan Mears of Lenox. "I think it's refreshing to hear a women's point of view. Being a product of the North Adams public school system is an important connection, too."

"Having someone from this part of the state who knows we exist is important," concurred Pittsfield resident Eric Vincelette. "I think she'll bring us support and recognition."

Typical boilerplate.

So what have we learned. Coakley's staff couldn't be bothered to consider that there might be other priorities on a January Sunday in New England (and given the Pats game, that's not such a fatal failing), couldn't pull the candidate to speak to the people they are begging to fund the last push to the finish line and her local political allies are convinced she's doing a great job. But at least the food was tasty, very tasty.

UPDATE: Thanks to Professor William Jacobson who linked this story from his blog, which has become my go to site for the Scott Brown-Martha Coakley race.

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